Widnes travel to Hull KR as the team look to continue their winning run
It has been a mightily impressive start to the 2026 National Championship campaign for Widnes in their debut season.
The Vikings earned promotion from League One at the end of 2025 and haven’t looked back since, winning two out of their first three league games this season.
The standard of opposition has significantly increased stepping up to Championship level and the team have took it in their stride so far, rising to each challenge put in front of them.
Widnes currently sit fourth in the National Championship table after recording a convincing 34-6 victory against a well established Bradford Bulls team last time out.
The result sent out a clear message to the rest of the division that Widnes are here to compete rather than make up the numbers.
Attention now turns to round four as the team prepare for another away trip, this time to Hull KR, in hope of stretching their winning streak to three consecutive games.
Team News
Head coach Dom Dean makes one change to his starting team that claimed a 34-6 victory over Bradford. Winger Naoimh Gill-Ward returns to the starting line up after being named on the interchange bench last weekend.
Utility player Juliet Porter drops to the bench in hope of strengthening the Vikings mid game rotation.
After impressing from the start last week, England Community Lions star Lily Wilkinson retains her starting position at Hooker.
Chloe Richardson remains absent from the team as she continues her neck injury recovery, whilst Codie Slack remains unavailable.
Rachael Porter and Simone Hart both impressed in the Back-row last week and they too retain their starting positions.
Green Shoots of growth
The impact on the field from the girls has been clear to see. Passion for the shirt and intensity of performances has been the key to the Vikings success in 2026.
Widnes look like a team that has competed at Championship level for many of seasons, battling and beating established Championship teams to earn their place in the current top four.
Arguably the biggest progress made has been off the field with many players now present within the community drawing eyeballs to the women’s game.
Captain Aimee Wood has joined the Forge Podcast in recent weeks discussing the journey of the Widnes team, whilst also appearing in hospitality offering updates of the women’s season.
Vice captain Jenny Moss joined Aimee at a recent golden generation meeting representing the women’s team again spreading the word of the progress made by the girls.
Jenny alongside Hookers Lily Wilkinson, Sammy Traynor have represented the team organising children’s activities prior to the men’s fixture, exposing young Vikings supporters to their first taste of basic Rugby skills and some of the teams stars.
Rugbee’s is now up and running on a Saturday morning introducing young girls to the sport offering a pathway into the game. This is also supported by a number of the women’s team stars.
Women’s Rugby League within the town is not just thriving on the field, it has a presence off the field more than ever. The driving force behind the ongoing momentum is the team itself, who are as just as passionate about inspiring the next generation as they are winning games.
Hull KR
The hosts for this weekends action sit in sixth position, level on points with the Vikings. Opposite to Widnes, Hull KR got their 2026 campaign off the mark with a 18-16 victory against bitter rivals Hull FC.
Hull KR stretched their winning streak to two games as they defeated Bradford Bulls 12-4 in round two, however fell short last week against Sheffield Eagles suffering a 20-10 defeat.
Only goal difference splits the two teams, which indicates how evenly matched the two teams are. It promises to be a classic encounter and the Robins will want to put a stop to the Vikings 2026 Championship charge.
