The Valkyrie will host their first double-header of the season this Sunday, with the under-19’s first playing against Leeds Rhinos under-19’s (12.30pm) before the first-team tackle Leeds Rhinos (3pm) in their first home match of the Betfred Women’s Super League season.
Anfield’s team will be looking to respond to back-to-back defeats after missing out on a match at Wembley Stadium in a 10-6 defeat to St Helens, as well as an opening league day 40-6 loss at Wigan Warriors.
But an equally important matter for Sunday will be the chance to watch women’s rugby on the big stage at the LNER Community Stadium, with Anfield urging supporters to attend the Valkyrie’s matches with no York Knights action this weekend.
“It’s really important, Leeds are a tough opponent and always raise their game when they come to York, as it’s a bit of a Yorkshire derby,” Anfield told the Press.
“We need to be at our best and we need to fully focus on the task at hand, because it’s definitely not going to be easy.
“It will be great, the under-19’s and their game against Leeds will make for a great double-header.
“With the Knights not having a game, let’s hope for a big crowd to cheer the girls on.
“We’ve got the pathway to performance from the under-15’s, 16’s, 19’s and into the first-team, so we’ve really got good foundations.
“They train with us quite a lot, we sometimes run against each other and some of the players train with the open age, so we’ve definitely got some longevity in the squad by having that under-19’s team.
“It’s great, and like I said, it’s the foundations for the future as well.
“It’s just good to see that amount of women sport on the main stage in anything really, let alone rugby league.
“It’s the first one of many for this year with it being a double-header with the under-19’s, it’s just about our girls being really good role models and showing what it is to put your craft in a sport.
“To be focused and committed, and to be the best role models that they can be for these girls.”
Anfield wants her players to learn from their defeat at Wigan too, admitting that the Warriors team were ‘immense’ and played a version of attacking rugby that has never been seen before in the women’s game.
The Valkyrie Director of Rugby believes that her players were simply just unable to match that level of intensity this early in the season, but remains confident that they will find their feet moving forward.
Anfield added: “Wigan were immense, they brought a sort of attacking rugby that we haven’t really seen in the women’s game.
“In terms of the precision and their execution, they have obviously been working really hard in the off-season.
“We just couldn’t match it this early in the season, you’d like to think that later in the season when we find our feet with our new players, we might be able to.
“They have definitely hit the ground running.”
One big concern from that match was the condition of centre Tamzin Renouf, who was stretched off at the DW Stadium after being deemed to have suffered a head injury.
However, Anfield brought good news in confirming that Renouf is ‘absolutely fine’, but will miss York’s match with Leeds on Sunday through HIA protocols.
“It’s just Tamzin Renouf, who is out with a concussion,” Anfield confirmed.
“It’s a HIA, she’s absolutely fine, it was a knock on her back and her shoulder but because of the nature of how she went down, it’s gone down as a HIA.
“She’s just going through the protocols, but she’s absolutely fine.”
Zoe Hornby also made her Valks debut on Sunday, having joined the club with an array of experience to count on.
In her first week, Hornby has been helping to guide the younger members of the squad through the difficulties of defeat, with Anfield explaining: “It’s so pleasing, she’s experienced and mature and has really helped with the girls in dealing with a couple of losses.
“She’s been huge for that and I’m really pleased to have her in a Valks shirt.”
Whilst the Valkyrie and Anfield’s dream of Wembley was squashed against St Helens, the Knights were able to celebrate a trip to the capital after defeating Bradford Bulls 28-20 in the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup semi-final last weekend.
The Knights will continue to be cheered on by Anfield and her Valkyrie squad: “We were all there watching them and cheering them on.
“We were obviously gutted that we couldn’t get there, but to have one of the squads there is fantastic.
“We are fully behind Mash and the boys and we hope they can do it in the final.”
