Saints edged past Warrington Wolves 12-10 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Thursday evening to extend our lead at the top of the Betfred Super League table to four points.
π΄βͺ ππΌππππ πππΌπ ππππ! π΄βͺ
We roll again with the same team ahead of tonight's clash with @warringtonrlfc! β#COYS
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) May 19, 2022
The first chance of the game came for Saints in the second minute as we forced a Warrington knock on in their own 30 after Gareth Widdop had collected a high kick before fumbling the ball in the tackle. The chance came to nothing though as Curtis Sironen was unable to cleanly collect a pass with the try-line beckoning.
It was the hosts who took the lead in the 14th minute. A move down their right edge saw a cut-out pass find Connor Wrench, he broke down the line before finding Widdop on his inside who just about beat a Saints defender for pace to score in the corner. Widdop was unable to convert his own try, 4-0 Wire led.
Saints responded with a try of their own. Warrington were awarded a scrum on their own ten metre line after a Saints knock on, but the hosts tried to keep the ball in the back of the scrum as Saints pushed forward and Alex Walmsley won the race to the loose ball and kicked it ahead before grounding the ball to score maybe the easiest try of his career. Tommy Makinson converted, 6-4 Saints led.
TRY from Walmsley!
Warrington Wolves 4-4 St Helens π₯ pic.twitter.com/Xr1VrywIu5
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) May 19, 2022
The Saints lead was extended three minutes before the break. A high kick down the short-side by Jonny Lomax on the last was patted backwards by Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Saints were able to keep the ball alive somehow and Agnatius Paasi threw a great cut-out pass towards the right wing to find Konrad Hurrell who found Makinson who used his pace to squeeze in at the right corner. He nailed a touchline conversion to add two more points to his tally for the night, 12-4 Saints led at the break.
HT: πΊ Wolves 4-12 Saints π΄βͺ
We take an eight point lead into the break!#COYS
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) May 19, 2022
Saints had the best chance early on in the second half. Jack Welsby made a great break downfield and got around Widdop who just about managed to ankle tap him which allowed another Warrington defender to make the tackle. From the play-the-ball, Ben Davies opted to go by himself down the short-side, but fumbled the ball out of play.
Saints had two great chance to grab their third try. The first one came in the 54th minute as Konrad Hurrell made an interception and headed for the line, but he was stopped by Matty Ashton only a few metres short. Then, one minute later, James Roby went for one from dummy half from close range, however the skipper fumbled the ball when going to ground it and the video referee said no try, so our lead remained eight points.
Racing into the last 2οΈβ£0οΈβ£ π #COYS | @konmanhurrell pic.twitter.com/0OxL1Ful6k
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) May 19, 2022
Warrington grabbed their second try just before the hour mark. Saints were caught off guard after kicking to the hosts, which allowed Peter Mata’utia to put Widdop through a gap, he then found George Williams on his outside who was just about able to beat the Saints defence to the try-line. Stefan Ratchford took the conversion and kicked it to make it 12-10.
Warrington had a great chance with their last possession of the game as they kicked early and Conor Wrench made a massive break down their right sideline, but a last gasp Makinson tackle saw the hosts throw the ball forward and Saints held on for the win!
FT: πΊ Wolves 10-12 Saints π΄βͺ
π πππ π!#COYS
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) May 19, 2022
Match Summary
Warrington Wolves Team:Β Gareth Widdop, Connor Wrench, Peter Mata’utia, Toby King, Matty Ashton, Stefan Ratchford, George Williams, Joe Philbin, Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Ben Currie, Oliver Holmes, Billy Magoulias.
Interchanges:Β Jason Clark, Joe Bullock, Matt Davis, Robbie Mulhern.
Tries:Β Gareth Widdop (14), George Williams (58)
Conversions:Β Gareth Widdop (0 from 1), Stefan Ratchford (1 from 1)
Saints Team:Β Jack Welsby, Tommy Makinson, Konrad Hurrell, Sione Mata’utia, Mark Percival, Ben Davies, Jonny Lomax, Alex Walmsley, James Roby, Matty Lees, Joe Batchelor, Curtis Sironen, Morgan Knowles.
Interchanges:Β Joey Lussick, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Agnatius Paasi, James Bell.
Tries:Β Alex Walmsley (21), Tommy Makinson (37)
Conversions:Β Tommy Makinson (2 from 2)
HT:Β 4-12
FT:Β 10-12
Attendance:Β 10,476
