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The Challenge Cup kings are at it again. For the first time in a good while, Wigan were arguably underdogs going into this semi-final against their fiercest rivals, St Helens, with a run of form that included four successive Super League defeats before stopping the rot last week against promoted Bradford.
In contrast, St Helens are joint-top of Super League and have won their past five, but when it comes to Wigan and the Challenge Cup, this relationship is anything but ordinary. For the 34th timethe Warriors have reached the final.
Wigan were sensational at both ends of the pitch, proving far too strong for Saints. Paul Rowley may point to the loss of his captain and influential forward, Matty Lees, after the opening tackle of the game as a major factor for their limited display. But he, and any St Helens supporter, could have no complaints after being comprehensively outplayed.
They had plenty of scoring opportunities throughout the first half here, but to describe their attack as limited would be an understatement. They had three times as many play-the-balls as the Warriors in the opposition 20, but came away without any points. In contrast, Wigan made almost every single opportunity they had count.
Down 22-0 at the break, the prospect of a miraculous comeback like the one Saints produced on Good Friday was remote at best. Wigan navigated the second half with minimal fuss.
They will face either Hull KR or Warrington, who square off in Sunday’s second semi-final. Whoever gets through, they will face a Wigan side hungry for silverware having failed to win anything last season: the first time that has happened during Peet’s first four years in charge.
Wigan took an early lead through half-back Jack Farrimond, who finished a magnificent break from Brad O’Neill. Saints responded with a glut of pressure on the Wigan line, coming closest when Daryl Clark was held up over the line. But their attack failed to create any real clearcut moments that had the Warriors too worried.
Three tries in the eight minutes before half-time put the tie to bed. Two of them came from winger Zach Eckersley, who finished wonderful set moves to put his side in complete control. The onus was on Saints to respond, but trailing 16-0 they had nothing.
So when Jake Wardle intercepted a lazy pass on the stroke of half-time to race the distance and give Wigan a 22-point lead St Helens had to score first after the restart and they had to score fast. But Wigan held them at arm’s length.
Time and time again St Helens had possession near the Wigan line, but the defence was completely comfortable, far more comfortable than they should have been for a game of this magnitude. By the time Saints’ Jack Welsby was sent to the sin-bin for dissent with 15 minutes left it did not really matter; their cup hopes had long since been extinguished.
All that was left was for Wigan to put the seal on a fairly embarrassing afternoon for St Helens as Farrimond danced his way through the line with four minutes remaining and Adam Keighran did the same as the full-time hooter sounded to round off the Warriors’ victory.
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