Saints suffered a 20-0 defeat to Wigan Warriors at Elland Road on Saturday evening at Magic Weekend...
Wigan had the first real opening early on. A move from left to right saw Abbas Miski broke down the right and had support on his inside, however it was brought back for an obstruction by Sam Walters.
It was the Cherry and Whites who grabbed the first try of the game. After an initial break by Jake Wardle put them deep in Saints territory, a few tackles later they shifted it left as Adam Keighran threw a cut-out pass to Liam Marshall who had a stroll in down the left edge. Keighran converted, 6-0 Wigan led.
They quickly had another. A penalty pushed them into the Saints half, on the last tackle they opted to go down the short side and Jack Farrimond kicked the ball ahead to himself before grounding to increase the Warriors’ lead. Keighran converted again, 12-0 Saints trailed.
Saints almost got back in it. Jonny Vaughan, who had came on earlier on for the injured Curtis Sironen, ran a strong line and was able to offload to Harry Robertson, he made an effort for the line but was held up. A few minutes later, he went close again. Ben Davies bumped off a few tackles before getting an offload away, he found Robertson who made a play for the line but was tackled just short, as Wigan again held firm.
Just before the break, Wigan had a penalty as Saints got caught offside defending their own line. They opted for two points with the final kick of the half and Keighran converted, meaning they led 14-0 at the break in West Yorkshire.
⏸ The Saints are trailing the Warriors by fourteen at Elland Road.#COYS | #MagicWKND pic.twitter.com/h9fwpC7PHE
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) August 17, 2024
Both sides exchanged sets for the opening quarter of the second half. First, Tee Ritson was set free down the left wing, he kicked ahead but the kick was too strong and Robertson was unable to win the race to it. Then, Keighran tries a chip to Wigan’s left-hand side, but the ball sailed into touch.
The video referee was then called for. A high kick by Keighran was contested by Miski and Ritson, with the ball hitting the Wigan player first before coming loose for Zach Eckersley to score. The on-field verdict of no try was agreed with after a lengthy review.
Kaide Ellis was then sent to the sin bin for ten minutes. Joe Batchelor drove forward and caught a shoulder to the head from the Wigan man.
Saints had a great chance to get back into it midway through the second half. Robertson threw a great show and go down the left edge and broke through, he found Matt Whitley in support, but he was unable to get to the line and Wigan got the ball back following a knock on.
Wigan thought they had their fourth try of the evening with just under twelve minutes to go. A move from right to left saw Marshall break down the left wing. The last pass however was called forward and the play got brought back.
With five minutes to go, we had another trip to the video referee. Miski caught Keighran’s high kick on the right wing, he kicked ahead and Sam Walters claimed the loose ball to score. The on-field verdict of try was agreed with. Keighran converted, 20-0 Wigan led.
Those were the final points of the contest, as Saints were beaten 20-0 by Wigan Warriors in the Derby at Magic WKND…
⏹ Defeat at Elland Road in The Derby.#COYS | #MagicWKND pic.twitter.com/3ohHVgyaFL
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) August 17, 2024
Match Summary
Wigan Warriors Team: Jai Field, Abbas Miski, Zach Eckersley, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall, Adam Keighran, Jack Farrimond, Ethan Havard, Kruise Leeming, Luke Thompson, Junior Nsemba, Sam Walters, Kaide Ellis.
Interchanges: Liam Byrne, Patrick Mago, Tyler Dupree, Tom Forber.
18th Man: Liam Farrell.
Tries: Liam Marshall (17), Jack Farrimond (20), Sam Walters (75)
Conversions: Adam Keighran (3 from 3)
Penalties: Adam Keighran (1 from 1)
Sin Bin: Kaide Ellis (56)
Saints Team: Harry Robertson, Tommy Makinson, Waqa Blake, Joe Batchelor, Tee Ritson, Ben Davies, Moses Mbye, Matty Lees, James Bell, George Delaney, Curtis Sironen, Matt Whitley, Agnatius Paasi.
Interchanges: Alex Walmsley, Jake Burns, Jonny Vaughan, Noah Stephens.
18th Man: Jon Bennison.
Tries:
Conversions:
HT: 14-0
FT: 20-0
