St Helens welcome back Hoyle

St Helens Women welcome back England international forward Shona Hoyle, who re-joins the Saints ahead of the 2025 Betfred Women’s Super League season.

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The Saints Women are pleased to announce England international forward @shonahoyle returns to our team for 2025!

Read more ? https://t.co/W2SEZVZg2B#COYS

— St.Helens Women (@saints1890women) November 8, 2024

Originally starting with the Red V during the 2022 season, Hoyle played eight times and scored three tries in her first Saints campaign. However, in 2023 Shona truly shined scoring 16 times in 17 match appearances, earning a Woman of Steel award nomination for that year too.

During her first campaign with the Red V, Hoyle was cup tied meaning she could not feature in the Saints’ 2022 Challenge Cup run. However, she was a member of our team that made history by becoming the first women’s rugby league team to win the Challenge Cup at Wembley Stadium, a game in which she also scored.

One of the star forward players in women’s rugby league, Hoyle’s story in the sport began at her local club Siddal. Following the birth of her son Shona returned to action by initially joining Featherstone Rovers, and then Bradford Bulls where she was part of their treble-winning 2017 squad - the opening season of the Women’s Super League era.

From 2019 through to 2021, Hoyle was with the Castleford Tigers and earned the 2019 Women’s Super League - League Leaders’ Shield, and in 2021 stepped up to be co-captain of the Tigers. In 2022 just before moving to St.Helens, Shona was with Huddersfield Giants but made the decision to be a Saint in April that year.

A regular England international, Hoyle this autumn earned her 20th England cap against Wales, starting the match at prop.

Delighted to be back at Saints, Shona Hoyle said to saintsrlfc.com: “I'm very excited! Happy to be back in the Red V, but also, I’m really looking forward to being around the girls and being with Dek and Craig, which is really exciting. I can learn loads, keep learning and keep developing my game especially.

“I'm really happy to be around Dek and Craig, Craig especially because I can learn loads from him as he was a forward player like myself, and I want to keep developing my game.”

Reflecting on the season away from St Helens and talking about why she chose to come back, Hoyle was thankful for her experience with the Rhinos but expressed her desire to work with Hardman and Richards:

“I wanted to be closer to home, my family, my son, my fiancé, and life was easier with being at Leeds but with Dek & Craig coming back I really wanted to be coached by them both.”

Joint St Helens Women's Head Coach Craig Richards commented: “Shona is one of the best running forwards in the game and I am very much looking forward to coaching her again. She adds so much on and off the field to the playing group.”

Derek Hardman, Joint Saints Women's Head Coach, shared his thoughts and said: “The addition of Shona to our team is exciting and I know she is just as keen to get to work at Saints as we are to work with her.”