Morgan Knowles talks about the prospect of facing Jai Field

St Helens and Wigan Warriors face off on Saturday afternoon at Elland Road in the Betfred Challenge Cup Semi-final.

The clash is part of a triple header which also sees Hull KR face off against the Huddersfield Giants in the other men’s Semi-Final whilst the event is opened by the Women’s final which will be contested by St Helens and Leeds Rhinos.

With Wigan and Saints’ clash falling in the middle of the afternoon, it will possibly be the pick of the bunch in terms of the action as the two fierce rivals face off and fight for the opportunity to play at the outstanding Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 28 in the Challenge Cup final.

Morgan Knowles has had another brilliant start to the season for Saints after being a mightily impressive player within Super League over the past few seasons.

His afternoon was cut short however on Good Friday as the two sides met after Knowles picked up a head injury and left early in the first 40 minutes.

Jai Field went on to score the opener in that game which eventually saw Saints win in quite convincing fashion, but the Warriors and Field will know exactly what to do if they want to progress into the Challenge Cup final.

Speaking at a media event at Elland Road on Tuesday afternoon, Knowles spoke about facing the Wigan star-man and the game itself.

“I can’t wait for it, it’s a big game, against Wigan, a derby and Semi-Final, and the chance to play at a great stadium like Elland Road so yeah I’m really looking forward to it.

“It doesn’t really get much bigger for both sets of fans and players. The Wigan-Saints derby is massive.

“Wigan are probably the form team and they’ve been really dangerous and can cause a threat. We’ve had a couple of injuries and things that we’ve had to deal with.”

Knowles had received a lot of praise a couple of weeks ago after he virtually won his side two points in the last minute against Salford red Devils with a try-saving last-gasp tackle to prevent Saints throwing away a victory at the death.

But his focus is fully on getting past their rivals and keeping the Warriors’ star-man quiet.

Knowles added: “I don’t think I’d catch him (Jai Field) if he made a break, there’s no chance of me chasing him.

“We’ve been keeping a close eye, as you do, and watching how our rival teams are doing and Wigan have been going brilliant and it’s something we’re going to have to try and deal with.”

With Knowles having not been able to complete the game against the Warriors last time around, he will be hoping for a much more positive afternoon on a personal note and a similar outcome for the team as they look to progress to the Challenge Cup final.

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