Leeds Rhinos keen to show big improvement in crunch Women's Super League rematch at St Helens

It is the second time the teams have met this year after Saints’ 30-14 victory in a Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup semi-final last month. Rhinos went 24-0 in the second half behind before hitting Saints with three tries in a 15-minute purple patch, but an error-ridden opening had left them too much to do.

Sunday’s game at Brewdog Stadium will show how far Rhinos have come since then and scrum-half Ruby Walker admitted: “When we last played them we didn’t really show us as a team. I think we showed that for the last 20 minutes and showed how good we can be, but we need to make sure we start well, tire them out and play as we can.”

She recalled: “We didn’t play to our potential at the start and with a big team like Saints, a top-four team, you have to start well to make sure you’re getting in the grind. Once you start well you can play off the back of that.

“Last time we didn’t start well enough to play, we had too many errors in us and too many missed tackles. We’ve been working on that since then.”

Rhinos’ league campaign began with a narrow defeat at all-conquering Wigan Warriors and since then they’ve beaten Featherstone Rovers, top-four rivals York Knights and Barrow Raiders. Rhinos ran in 11 tries during last week’s win in Cumbria, but managed only one goal.

“We showed how we can play together,” Walker said of the successes against York and Barrow. “There were still things we need to fix, but we showed who we are as a team more than we have done in other games.”

Leeds are in a rebuilding phase after the loss of many of the players who won two Challenge Cups and the Super League title twice. Young players, including 19-year-old Walker, are beginning to make their mark and she insisted: “This is probably the closest we’ve been as a team.

“We all gel really well and there’s a really good vibe. The team’s working well together, we can all tell each other what we think and be honest and we all want to improve for each other. It is good to be that close as a team.”

On a personal note, Walker is now in her third season as a first team player. “I am loving it,” she said. “The new coaches coming in are a big boost for us - Baz [Barry Eaton] and Rich [Tillotson] played similar positions to me and it’s good to have them to help my growth in the game.”

Rhinos coach Lois Forsell has named an unchanged 21-player squad with Mel Howard and Georgia Elliston set to return from injury. Caitlin Beevers, Sophie Nuttall and Evie Cousins remain on the casualty list.

Leeds Rhinos (at St Helens): from Enright, Stead, Whitehead, Howard, Walker, Donnelly, Bennett, Glynn, Owen, Murray, Brown, Bruce, Boyd, Short, Bryer, Sharp, Blakey, Wambalu, Hirst, Elliston, Kennedy.

Kick-off: Sunday, noon.