Wigan Warriors v St Helens - Tetley's Super League VI Round 5
Good Friday 13th April 2001. Kick Off 2:05pm at JJB Stadium

Match Report by Andy Ellis (wiganwarriors.rivals.net)

The traditional arm-wrestle between these arch-rivals proved to be a real spectacle as the two teams fought hard for a 22-22 draw at JJB Stadium.

The Riversiders worked hard to gain an advantage, as Steve Renouf seemed to target Sean Long as a weak link, but then Saints battled back to grab two great tries, the last coming from great play from Paul Sculthorpe, to eventually even the score.

The sides got stuck into each other from the first second but although Wigan piled on the early pressure it was St Helens who grabbed the first score.

A poor pass from Adrian Lam, as the Warriors camped on the Saints line set up the first try. Paul Newlove intercepted and passed to his shadow Anthony Sullivan who raced half the length of the pitch before being caught by the speedy Brett Dallas. However, one quick play-the-ball later and Sean Long was able to dart through a huge gap close to the sticks to touchdown; a score he improved with an easy conversion.

Wigan quickly battled back though when Lam made up for his earlier error with a perfect weighted chip over the top that set up a try.

Warriors full back Kris Radlinski was the recipient of Lam's kick, dropping on to the ball in St Helens in-goal area.

Wigan edged in front when Andy Farrell hit a great long penalty from the sidelines to add to his earlier conversion, but it was the visitors who struck the next major blow.

Former Wigan star, Kevin Iro shrugged off David Hodgson after being played in by Sean Long to go in at the corner-Long improved the score further by launching a great conversion from the sidelines.

After the break Wigan renewed their effort and it was not long before they again took the lead. The ball was zipped along the line until it found Steve Renouf who fended off Sean Long to cross in the corner. The Aussie clearly fancied his chances against the Saints scrum half and repeated the dose just minutes later, bounding through the attempted tackle from Long for his fifth try of the season, leaving the fans with that sense of deja vu.

Saints dug deep and kept within a try and a kick off their arch-rivals when Dwayne West sneaked in at the corner after quick hands from the visitors.

Saints fought like demons and had the home team rocking and with time running out they managed to equalize.

A great barnstorming run from Vila Matautia put paid to the Wigan win bonus.
Matautia appeared to be wrapped up close to the line by several Wigan defenders but managed to off-load into the path of Paul Sculthorpe who kicked the ball into the in-goal area before delightedly dropping on to it to bring Saints within two points of the home side.

With Sean Long adding the extras the onus was then on the two sides to try and pinch the game at the death.

Andy Farrell tried a penalty from his own half, which fell short before the obligatory drop-goal attempt from Wigan sailed past the post.

It may have been rather cruel for Saints to be denied something from this game after their spirited comeback.

Team Sheets

Score Sheet

Scoring Pattern

Other Information

Attendance: 21,073