Round 13
St Helens 57 d. Wigan Warriors 16

2008 engage English Super League Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: United Kingdom > National > First Grade Competition: engage English Super League

Saints slice through woeful Pies
Mon May 5, 2008
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

St Helens scrum-half Sean Long cast his spell on woeful Wigan Warriors to add some late gloss to the Millennium Magic weekend in Cardiff.

Still smarting from their 34-18 defeat at the Millennium Stadium 12 months earlier and a 46-10 Good Friday mauling at Knowsley Road, the Warriors suffered yet more misery at the hands of their arch rivals.

With Long in magnificent form, Saints were simply irresistible as they cut loose against some pathetic defence with six high-class tries before half-time, when they led 35-0, and they added four more after the break.

When Saints reached the half-century mark, Wigan fans among the 32,516 crowd - which took the total for the two days to a bumper 63,144 - began to head for the exits, even though there was still half-an-hour of the match left.

Long, so often Wigan's nemesis, was at the heart of the destruction, scoring three tries and kicking seven goals, including a cheeky drop goal, for a personal haul of 27 points.

Long kept his footing on the slippery surface to wrongfoot Wigan captain Sean O'Loughlin and swerve past full-back Richard Mathers for the game's first try after only five minutes.

If Mathers was uncomfortable over his role in the first score, he will be having recurring nightmares over his part in Saints' second try, a 70-metre effort which highlighted the current gulf in class between these two old rivals.

Second rower Jon Wilkin took Jason Cayless' pass to go through a gaping hole in the Warriors defence and, without support, decided to take on the full-back. A thunderous hand-off sent Mathers sprawling and left the second rower with a clear run to the line.

Long converted both tries to give his side a 12-0 lead and it got even worse for Wigan on 19 minutes when Saints winger Francis Meli grabbed a controversial 60-metre try.

Meli looked to be offside when his centre Willie Talau palmed the ball back from an offload by O'Loughlin and appeared to be waiting for the whistle after collecting the ball.

Referee Phil Bentham allowed play to continue before passing the decision on to video official Richard Silverwood, who stunned Wigan fans by giving the green light.

The score clearly dispirited Wigan, whose defence cracked three more times in alarming fashion in a devastating seven-minute spell.

Right winger Ade Gardner pounced on a grubber kick from Matt Gidley for his 12th try of the season, second rower Lee Gilmour broke clear to get Talau over and Long supported a break by stand-off Leon Pryce to grab his second try.

Long took his goal tally to five from six attempts and edged his side further ahead with a one-pointer four minutes before the break, which could not come quick enough for Wigan.

The Warriors at least they had the satisfaction of scoring the first try of the second half.

Scrum-half Thomas Leuluai, who will set off for New Zealand straight after the match to link up with his country ahead of Friday's centenary Test in Sydney, jinked his way over within two minutes of the re-start.

There would have been some concern from the Kiwis camp when Leuluai came up clutching his left arm but he managed to continue.

His problems did not end there, though, for he was put on report for an alleged trip on Gardner and could face the threat of disciplinary action.

St Helens, meanwhile, continued their impressive form from the first half, with Long supporting a break by Gidley to complete his hat-trick and full-back Paul Wellens creating a second try for Talau.

Gardner then grabbed his second try and Long took his goal tally to seven to bring up his side's half-century and extend their lead to 51-4.

Saints coach Daniel Anderson took the opportunity to rest both his half-backs ahead of next week's Challenge Cup-tie with Warrington and that allowed Wigan some respite.

Second rower Harrison Hansen and hooker Mick Higham both scored tries and Pat Richards kicked both conversions before Gilmour went over for Saints' 10th try and Gidley added the goal.

Report source: www.superleague.co.uk

Article: We were in the mood - Anderson

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