Wigan lose out in the Derby
- Match Report as Wigan Warriors fall to defeat away at St Helens.
- Bevan French scored for the Warriors.
- FT | St Helens 12-4 Wigan Warriors.
Match Report as Wigan Warriors Fall to Derby Day defeat away to St Helens.
It was a competitive first half as both sides battled hard, however neither side could find an opener – the only points saw St Helens in with the advantage at the break as the boot of Mark Percival had them at 2-0.
Wigan got themselves in front in the second half through a touch of Bevan French magic, but with a man-deficit due to a red card for Liam Byrne, Wigan conceded two late tries to fall to their first defeat of the season.
Report
The atmosphere was electric in the Totally Wicked Stadium for the highly anticipated Good Friday derby. Saints had the earliest opportunity on 9 minutes as Lewis Dodd escaped through the defensive line but Jai Field covered well to chase down the Saints half and bundle him into touch, to the delight of the travelling Warriors fans.
St Helens got repeat sets at the Wigan line but their efforts came to nothing as Wigan backed up well in defence, with Wardle earning Wigan the ball back after a defensive period with a solid tackle on Konrad Hurrell to force the turnover of possession.
St Helens got the first points of the game as Wigan were penalised for offside close to their own goal line. The Saints opted to kick for goal and were successful from the boot of Mark Percival to make it 2-0 after 25 minutes.
Wigan were reduced to 12-men on the half hour as Tyler Dupree was sent to the sin bin for a raised arm as he crashed into a tackle. The hosts couldn’t take advantage of the additional man though as the teams went in at the break with St Helens having the two-point advantage after a bruising first forty.
It was a fiery opening to the second half as both sides continued to go set-for-set with big challenges coming in. Luke Thompson returned for the second half after passing a HIA assessment as Kruise Leeming was introduced to the action on 50 minutes.
Wigan got the first try of the game as a sustained period against the St Helens line allowed Bevan French to show a touch of brilliance, sending a grubber kick through to collect himself before the dead ball line. The effort was sent to the video referee to check the grounding, but the score was confirmed to put Wigan head. The touchline conversion from Harry Smith ricocheted off the uprights but Wigan held the 4-2 edge going into the final 20 minutes.
Wigan were once again reduced to 12-men in the 62nd minute, but this time for the remainder of the game as Liam Byrne was shown a red card for a high tackle on Mark Percival.
St Helens retook the lead in the 73rd minute. A break down the middle from Alex Walmsley took the hosts close and on the final tackle, a kick to the corner found Tommy Makinson to go over. The conversion from Lomax was wide though and it remained a two-point game going into the final 6 minutes.
The hosts confirmed the derby win with a late effort from Konrad Hurrell, the centre crashing over on the right edge in the 78th minute, converted by Lomax.
Gallery:
St Helens: Jack Welsby, Tommy Makinson, Konrad Hurrell, Mark Percival, Jon Bennison, Jonny Lomax, Lewis Dodd, Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, Matty Lees, Matt Whitley, Curtis Sironen, Morgan Knowles.
Interchange: Sione Mata’utia, Joe Batchelor, Moses Mbye, Jake Wingfield.
18th Player: Ben Davies.
Tries: Makinson (73′), Hurrell (78′)
Goals: Percival 1/1, Lomax 1/2
Wigan Warriors: Jai Field, Abbas Miski, Adam Keighran, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall, Bevan French, Harry Smith, Liam Byrne, Brad O’Neill, Luke Thompson, Willie Isa, Liam Farrell, Kaide Ellis.
Interchange: Patrick Mago, Kruise Leeming, Tyler Dupree, Junior Nsemba (unused).
18th Player: Harvie Hill.
Tries: French (56′)
Goals: Smith 0/1
Sin Bin: Dupree (29′)
Red Card: Byrne (62′)
Referee: Chris Kendall
Attendance: 17,980
