Wakefield Trinity Ladies

Wakefield Trinity Ladies are a women's rugby league team based in Wakefield, England. They were founded in 2016 and compete in the RFL Women's Championship. Between 2018 and 2022 they played in the Super League.

History

In July 2016, it was announced that the women's team for Wakefield Trinity was being established and would be based at Sharlston Rovers ARLFC for its home ground and that this would also provide its training facilities. They were the first women's team to be linked with a men's Super League team and this came with the benefit that the team could play some of its matches as double headers for the men's team at Belle Vue stadium. The team planned to take part in the 2017 Summer League and began by organising pre-season friendlies against teams from the WRLA Winter League including Hull Wyke, East Leeds and West Leeds Eagles. Their first win, a 10–0 victory over East Leeds, was played in September at Belle Vue before the men's match against Catalans Dragons.

In 2017, Wakefield joined the Championship but missed out on the play-offs by finishing fifth on points difference. They were also unsuccessful in the Challenge Cup and Shield, losing in the first round of each competition. During pre-season for the 2018 season the club stated their intention to join the Super League in 2019. They started their 2018 campaign with a 40–10 win over Hull FC, and remained unbeaten until a loss to Leeds Rhinos in the Challenge Cup. They also reached the semi-final of the Challenge Shield before losing to Bradford Bulls. Wakefield finished the season as league leaders with 11 wins from their 14 games. As with the 2017 season the points difference played a part in the league standings, though this time in favour of Wakefield at the expense of Stanningley, by a margin of just two points. However, Stanningley went on to win the grand final after Wakefield lost to Leigh Miners Rangers in the play-off semi-finals.

In 2019, Wakefield joined the Super League and made the competition up to 8 teams. They finished bottom of the table with their only league win coming in round two at York City Knights and their Challenge Cup run was ended in the semi-final with a 0–100 loss to Castleford Tigers. Following the cancellation of the 2020 season Wakefield had an unsuccessful 2021 league campaign and lost to York in the first round of the Challenge Cup. The 2022 season began with a 32–10 win over Castleford in the Challenge Cup, before a 14–12 loss to the Oulton Raidettes saw Wakefield knocked out at the group stage. In 2022, Wakefield were placed in Group 2 of the Super League where they recorded only one win, a 8–4 victory over Castleford, and finished bottom of the table.

The 2023 season saw Wakefield return to the Championship. In April 2023, the club announced the launch of a girls' development academy, with the aim of encouraging potential new players.

Seasons

Honours

*RFL Women's Championship:
**League Leaders: 2018

References

External links

{{RFL Women's Super League

2016 establishments in England
Rugby clubs established in 2016
Women's rugby league teams in England
RFL Women's Super League teams
Wakefield Trinity