There has rarely been any shortage of effort or endeavour from Paul Wellens and his St Helens side, and that was certainly the case here. But even the most ardent Saints supporter cannot argue that, right now, there is a gap between their team and their most ferocious rivals which is cause for concern.
These two clubs have been thrashing it out for 150 years, since way before the advent of league itself. Yes, there have been greater gulfs between them than they are now – even in their very recent history. And yes, the Saints deserve immense credit for fighting back from 18-2 to set up a grandstand finale.
But the reality is that this was the right outcome, and for the seventh time in the last eight derbies it was Wigan who emerged victorious. It was not a vintage match by any stretch of the imagination but they handled the conditions and the occasion better. They remain the team to beat.
This was another landmark day to be a Wigan supporter. Even before the Warriors moved up to second courtesy of this victory, they were giving their fans something to cheer with the announcement that Christian Wade would cross codes and join the Super League champions later this summer, when his commitments with Gloucester in union’s Premiership conclude.
The winger, who has tried his hand at American football, was at the game but has a challenge breaking into this Wigan side. The suggestion is he would be vying for Abbas Miski’s spot on the right wing but the Lebanese player’s two tries here were telling – as was the display of a man Wade would relish lining up alongside.
Jai Field is undisputedly Super League’s most enthralling and exciting player and he also has the knack of delivering his best performances when it matters most. Last week, it was his try that set Wigan on the way to an away victory against the league leaders, Hull KR, and on Friday his double proved to be the difference on an enthralling afternoon.
“They rose to the occasion and had to overcome some adversity,” Wigan’s coach, Matt Peet, said. “That’s what I was most proud of. I just liked the way they stuck together and I had every faith in them.” Few would dispute his side were worthy winners. They handled difficult conditions much better than their opponents and they were 12-2 ahead at half-time.
Field’s first came from an inch-perfect Bevan French kick before Harry Smith caused mayhem among the St Helens defence, leading to Miski scoring. In response, the Saints could not muster anything meaningful and were far too profligate when it mattered most.
Hull KR will finish the Easter weekend top of Super League after withstanding a second-half fightback from 12-man Hull FC to claim a hard-fought 28-14 win.
Less than a fortnight after beating their rivals in the Challenge Cup quarter-final, the Robins made it a double at the MKM Stadium as they bounced back from last week’s first loss of the season to Wigan.
Willie Peters’ side led 16-4 at half-time against a side that were a man down from the 16th minute as a result of Cade Cust’s red card for a reckless and full-force shoulder-to-head charge on Arthur Mourgue. The hosts narrowed the deficit to 16-14 thanks to tries from Tom Briscoe and Jordan Rapana but James Batchelor and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves touched down to give the Robins derby bragging rights.
Not since the early 1980s have the teams occupied the top two spots in the league table and a 21,000 crowd – Hull FC’s highest since the 2009 Good Friday derby – witnessed a breathless encounter.
Rovers' head coach, Willie Peters, said: “Hull are a very tough team when they’ve got 13 players, but they found another leg when they had 12. They pushed us right to the end and that could have gone either way. “We didn’t really handle the 12 men the way we should. I thought we lost our way a little bit. I’m just happy that last 20 minutes, we found something when we needed to."
Kallum Watkins scored on his second Leeds debut as they beat Huddersfield 28-6 at Headingley to send the depleted visitors spinning to another Super League defeat.
The former Rhinos captain Watkins – signed last week from Salford – powered over for their second try soon after the interval. Lachlan Miller had gone over for Leeds' opening score but they had had to wait over half an hour for that after three first-half efforts had been ruled out by the video referee and some dogged Huddersfield defending.
Ash Handley, Jake Connor and Ryan Hall also went over for Leeds, who cut loose after the interval to seal their third win in four Super League matches.
The Huddersfield prop Tom Burgess scored a deserved late consolation try but the Giants went down to a ninth successive defeat in all competitions this season. PA Media
When Field scored a sublime second shortly after half-time to make it 18-2, the contest felt like it was emphatically heading one way. But to their credit, the Saints stirred into life in the final quarter as Lewis Murphy’s solo finish narrowed the arrears, before Agnatius Paasi forced his way over from close range.
Two goals from George Whitby made it 18-14 and suddenly we had a gripping ending on our hands. However, those early shortcomings and Wigan’s tries at pivotal moments would prove key, as the Saints made an unforced error with two minutes to go when chasing the game. That led to Miski touching down for his second and putting the derby beyond doubt.
It left Wellens downbeat. “It’s all about one thing and that’s winning and unfortunately we came out on the wrong side of the result. We were the engineers of our own downfall.”
It would be hard to disagree. His side have enjoyed great success in recent years but right now, rugby league’s biggest derby is decisively ruled by one team.
