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Betfred Super League
St. Helens (4) 4
Cross-referencing
Wigan (12) 18
With a stunning derby victory over St. Helens at the Totally Wicked Stadium, the Wigan Warriors successfully defended their position as league leaders’ shield.
The Warriors were unsure of what to do with a four-point deficit before their Sunday derby against Hull FC because they were unsure of whether a victory would save them.
A Deon Cross try gave Saints the lead at half-time, but Wigan regained their winning ways by clawing their way back as reigning champions by kicking tries from Jake Wardle and Liam Marshall and Harry Smith’s penalty.
With veteran leaders Hull KR only having three games to add the League Leaders’ Shield to the Challenge Cup they won in June, Wigan knew that going top would be a pipe-dream.
With the mercurial Bevan French returning to his best after a long layoff and head coach Matt Peet returning their defensive strength, they are in good nick as they attempt to defend their title. Their main goal was to build momentum going into the play-offs.
In the opening 20 minutes, Saints launched into the attack, crossing the line with a superb looping pass from Jack Welsby.
However, Wigan girded their loins before Marshall capitalized on a successful leap and overhead pass from Junior Nsemba to add another. Liam Farrell’s break, however, set up another Jake Wardle try.
At half-time, Smith kicked the extras and a penalty to give Wigan a cushion, and they were never denied.
The response to “It was a strange game”
Paul Wellens, the head coach of St. Helens, told BBC Radio Merseyside:
“The way we started the game was really good, so it was a frustrating evening.” Given that we didn’t have Morgan [Knowles] and George [Delaney] there, we set up a little bit differently, and it turned out well.
A lack of intelligence hurt us, they said. Even with the ball in hand, we were attempting our absolute best to execute the game plan, but we did things in and around them that only added to our mounting pressure and limited our ability to carry out our plans.
“We delivered 90% of what we had discussed earlier this week,” the statement read. “But that final 10% is really putting a strain on us.”
Matt Peet, the head coach of the Wigan Warriors, told BBC Radio Manchester:
It was one of the team’s key points, and I’m proud of them. It didn’t seem particularly set-for-purpose for a Wigan-Saints game, which was odd.
We defended comfortably the majority of the game, they said. We were the better team once we started reversing them and creating a set-for-set.
Changes: Burns, Bell, Paasi, and Sironen.
Wigan: Field, Eckersley, Keighran, Wardle, Wardle, Marshall, Marshall, French, Smith, Hill, O’Neill, Byrne, Walters, Farrell, Ellis, and others.
Havard, Thompson, Nsemba, and Leeming swaps.
related subjects
- Rugby League
- Wigan Warriors
- St. Helens