St Helens dramatically went top of the Betfred Women’s Super League as a last-minute converted try secured a 22-20 win over Leeds Rhinos.
In a topsy-turvy contest that went all the way to the wire at AMT Headingley Stadium on Friday night, St Helens led 12-4 at halftime before the hosts fought back to move 20-16 ahead with 13 minutes to go.
But the match turned with four minutes left on the clock when Rhinos captain Mel Howard missed a penalty, which had been given for a high tackle, in a kick that would have effectively won the match for Leeds.
Two minutes later and, after a high ball had caused confusion in the Leeds defence, former Rhinos star Caitlin Casey – the halfback who left Leeds at the end of last year – went over in the corner for a try which levelled the scores.
Faye Gaskin then converted the subsequent kick to give St Helens an incredible two-point win, triggering scenes of wild celebration from the visitors.
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Faye Gaskin converts Caitlin Casey’s last-minute try to win the game for St Helen against Leeds Rhinos
Gaskin told Sky Sports: “I knew if I missed it, my nephew Jenson always talks about why I’m so rubbish and misses kicks, so I knew I had to hit that one!
“It was a tough conversion but there was a group of girls needing that win. We need to push Wigan to get to the top of that table, so I knew I had to do that.”
The 33-year-old, who revealed she had not trained for two weeks due to nerve damage sustained against Wigan last time out, added: “I think people write us off all the time. We’ve had a bit of hate this year, we love that energy behind it, but today we had to dig in deep.
“Leeds, had us. They had us at home the other week but we just had to dig in at that end.”
Having played one game more at the start of the weekend’s action, St Helens are now one point ahead of Wigan, who host Huddersfield on Sunday, at the top of the Super League table.
Leeds stay fourth with now as many wins, three, as defeats in their first seven games this season.
Watch every Super League game this season live on Sky Sports – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+ via the red button.
