On the night when TFI Friday returned to television screens, St Helens and Wigan showed why these days it is Super League which offers the premium entertainment on a Friday night.
Games between these two great rivals never disappoint, something the first meeting between them proved on Good Friday. Wigan edged a gritty, physical and pulsating derby 12-4 to claim the first bragging rights of 2015 but St Helens certainly exacted revenge in some style here.
They trailed 10-8 at the break after a pulsating half of action but hit back brilliantly to seal the win that moved them to the top of Super League at the expense of Leeds Rhinos in a game that had simply everything. Anyone looking for sport with tension, skill and sheer drama – this proved rugby league has all that and more.
The spirit of St Helens was summed up perfectly by their captain, Jon Wilkin; he played with heavy strapping around his head for the final quarter after suffering a nasty blow to the head, but picked himself up from the canvas to steer the Saints to what could be a monumental victory come the final table in a few weeks’ time.
“These games are just full of entertainment,” said their coach, Keiron Cunningham. “It’s not good for the coaches to watch but I thought we were just super in the second half. We got a bit of luck but you make your own luck in this game.”
There has to be a pantomime villain in games of this nature and whilst at the beginning it was arguably Ben Flower, appearing at St Helens for the first time since his red card in last year’s Grand Final, by the end of the contest it was the Wigan fullback, Matty Bowen.
Bowen made two high-profile errors from kicks that led to St Helens tries in the second half and, coupled with indiscipline aplenty from the Warriors after the break, they ultimately led to the defeat.
“Errors and penalties cost us, we weren’t good enough,” admitted the Wigan coach, Shaun Wane. “They were the better team and my team didn’t offer anything to put any real pressure on Saints – we just didn’t give ourselves a chance to win the game.”
Wigan started the better of the two sides, but after Dan Sarginson nudged them into an early lead a quickfire double put Saints in front via tries from Adam Swift and Jordan Turner.
The Saints piled on the pressure as half-time approached but Joe Burgess pounced on a loose ball to race 90 metres and give Wigan a slender 10-8 lead at the break.
But the first of Bowen’s two key errors three minutes after the restart allowed the hosts to go back in front, when he misread a Jon Wilkin kick and allowed Travis Burns to pounce.
Joel Tomkins offered brief hope for Wigan’s army of travelling fans by crossing to make it 14-14 but that was about as good as it got for the Warriors. A penalty goal from Mark Percival put Saints back in front again, before another error from Bowen off a Wilkin kick let Shannon McDonnell in for another try.
Ill-discipline and errors had cost Wigan dear, and in a frantic bid to chase the game, they sealed their own fate when Sarginson threw a wild pass on his line to nobody, allowing Wilkin to confirm the result, before Percival added another penalty just before the hooter to rub further salt into Wigan’s wounds.
St Helens McDonnell; Dawson, Percival, Turner, Swift; Burns, Wilkin; Amor, Roby, Walmsley, McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Flanagan, Jones. Interchange Masoe, Richards, Savelio, Fleming. Tries Sarginson, Burgess, Tomkins Goals Smith
Wigan Bowen; Charnley, Tomkins, Sarginson, Burgess; Williams, Smith; Mossop, McIlorum, Flower, Bateman, Farrell, O’Loughlin. Interchange Crosby, Powell, Tautai, Patrick. Tries Swift, Turner, Burns, McDonnell, Wilkin Goals Percival 5
