Warriors superior in sell-out Rivals Round encounter

Bevan French starred as Wigan Warriors took the derby day spoils following a 14-6 win over St Helens in Rivals Round.

Tries from Harry Smith and Toby King proved enough to beat the World Champions who despite a late flourish of pressure, were far from their best on Good Friday.

There was also celebration for off the field reasons as Wigan announced an attendance of 24,275, their highest attendance for 18 years dating back to 2005 as all four sides of the D.W. were packed to the rafters with a bouncing derby atmosphere.

The game got off with a real good tempo to match the carnival atmosphere at the sold out D.W. Stadium as both sides went full throttle early on.

But it was the host’s who struck first on 10 minutes as Harry Smith grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, quickened the pace of the attack and allowed Jack Wardle to break the line before teeing Smith up to go over with ease.

Smith converted his own try in front of the sticks to complete the opener and set the mood as three sides of the D.W. began to bounce with jubilation.

The lead was then extended, again by Smith as he opted to take the two points from a penalty ten metres away from the Saints try line, putting Wigan eight to the good.

The second 20 minutes of the first half were largely dominated by the Champions who put plenty of pressure on the home side but lacked an empathic finish in the final stages of their respective sets.

Konrad Hurell managed to isolate Liam Marshall on the right before setting Tommy Makinson on a burst through but it was remarkably stopped by French whose defensive efforts allowed Wigan to go in ahead at the break.

As the sun continued to shine across the East stand in the second half, Wigan came out in as impressive form as the first 40 minutes and within 10 minutes of the second half, they were celebrating again.

Once more, Bevan French played a role as he quickened the pace, found Toby King and the centre stepped past his man brilliantly before sending the sold-out South Stand into a frenzy.

Smith again converted to go three from three and put the Warriors into a commanding 14-0 lead with just under half an hour left to play on derby day.

St Helens continued to press but were struggling to get away from their disappointing opening 60 minutes which looked set to continue despite the support from their noisy away end of 5000 travelling support.

Brad Singleton received a stern talking to from referee Liam Moore after a high hit but there was no further punishment as the away side began to take control despite still not being on the scoreboard.

But just past the hour mark, that all changed as Jonny Lomax did well to get on the end of a hopeful kick and get the ball down to pull Saints back into the contest.

There was more celebrations in the away end as Saints appeared to have gone over in the corner, but celebrations were premature as the try was ruled out by the video referee for going into touch.

Nevertheless, the final ten minutes were bound to be full of drama with either side still in with a chance of coming away with two points. Curtis Sironen was the latest to get a talking to from Liam Moore for a late challenge on Morgan Smithies before there was a lengthy stoppage which saw Sione Mata’utia stretchered off  after a huge collision on his return to side.

But the stoppage dealt more than one blow to the Saints as they lost all momentum and allowed plenty of errors to creep into their final stages as the game slipped away and the atmosphere in the D.W. Stadium continued to rise.

Mike Cooper was helped off the field with five to play as he appeared to twist his ankle during a Wigan attack, but again the Warriors continued to be in control in the late stages.

There was one last chance for the away side who broke through Jack Welsby to go one-on-one with full back French but once again, the Wigan man stood strong and completed a near-perfect individual performance with another try-saving tackle.

The final hooter sounded soon after with plenty of jubilation amongst the majority of the D.W. as ‘Sweet Caroline’ was belted out on the PA system and on the terraces. The win was another example of the fine work completed by Matt Peet since his appointment at Wigan Warriors and another victory for him over his main rivals St Helens.

After the game, Saints coach Paul Wellens felt his side didn’t quite take their opportunities on the day.

Wellens said: “We left a few points out there. Wigan took their opportunities and we didn’t which is something we need to improve on. I can’t fault the effort of the players which was there in abundance.

“Today was a great advert for Rugby League. Apart from the grand final, it’s probably the biggest spectacle in Super League and well done to Matt and his players.”

Wellens also provided a small update on Sione Mata’Utia who was carried off:

“He’s conscious and getting checked over by the medical staff so there’ll be plenty of tests to do but he’s awake.”

Matt Peet was initially focussing on enjoying the win whilst being full of credit for his squad.

Peet said: “It’s a big day for the club and not just the team. People have worked long hours to make sure today runs smoothly and it’s a pleasure for us to play our part.

“To beat the champions, you need to match their effort and endeavour and I think we did that so I’m very proud of the club and the lads.

“We’ve initially focussed on the result rather than the performance but I’m very happy with both.”

Next up for Wigan is a trip to league leaders Warrington Wolves in what is bound to be a thriller whilst the World Champions will face a trip to Hull KR following a Rivals Round win of their own after they beat Hull FC 40-0 on their own patch.

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