Warriors defeated in women’s derby

• Match report as Wigan Warriors suffered their first Women’s Super League defeat of the season against St Helens.
• The hosts came from behind to claim the two points after the Warriors held onto the lead at half-time following a Mary Coleman try.
• FT | St Helens 24-8 Wigan Warriors.

Wigan Warriors suffered their first women’s super league defeat of the season after losing 24-8 to St HELENS.

A fast start at the Totally Wicked Stadium saw Warriors build an 8-0 lead inside half an hour after Coleman’s try and four points from Emma Knowles.

Despite a valiant defensive effort for much of the second half, the Warriors fell short to St Helens, who crossed for five tries.

Report

The hosts started strongly as Wigan were forced to defend their own try line in the opening stages, however some alert defending from Isabel Rowe released the pressure after a threatening kick at the back.

Wigan grew in confidence following back-to-back high kick penalties and shortly after being held over the line, a short pass from Rowe allowed Coleman to weave through three attackers to open the scoring. Emma Knowles added the extras to give the Warriors a 6-0 lead after 15 minutes.

The Warriors almost added a second try in the 23rd minute when a tackle saw Rowe send Emma Welsford over from close range but the score was ruled out due to a forward pass.

St Helens continued to face a bombardment of attacking pressure from the Warriors, who saw an attack stopped 10m out due to an offside offence. Knowles extended the points gap to eight after sending the ball through the posts from the tee.

From the restart, St Helens regained possession before applying pressure to the Warriors back line. Despite initially keeping Chantelle Crowl out of close range, Wigan were unable to prevent Luci McColm breaking through to score. Faye Gaskin’s conversion attempt was unsuccessful as the Warriors held an 8-4 lead at the break.

The Warriors started the second half on the front foot following a St Helens forward pass. Rease Casey almost found a way through after picking up the ball, before Gaskin got a shot on the final tackle to clear the danger.

St Helens crossed for a second try on 50 minutes when play was worked wide to McColm who dived in the corner to double his tally. The contest remained tied at 8-8 after Gaskin’s shot bounced off the post.

The hosts increased their pressure on the Warriors defense as Katie Mottershead almost added a third try before the hour mark, however the ball was kicked forward in her attempt to ground.

Despite holding off several St Helens attacks, the hosts found a way through the line when Vicky Whitfield crashed over from close range. This time the shot managed to make the score 14-8 in the 65th minute.

Gaskin extended the points gap further with a fine strike in the last 10 minutes before St Helens added their fourth try when Beri Salihi dived over in the corner. Despite a missed shot, the Warriors went up 20-8 with three minutes left.

A brief restart was claimed by Paige Travis who raced deep into the Wigan half before play was sent down the left wing to Salihi who crossed for her second. The kick was unsuccessful on the hooter as the Warriors fell to a 24-8 loss.

Gallery:

St Helens: Beri Salihi, Phoebe Hook, Stott, Luci McColm, Rebecca Rotheram, Zoe Harris, Faye Gaskin, Vicky Whitfield, Tara Jones, Chantelle Crowl, Paige Travis, Emily Rudge, Williams.

Change: Philippa Birchall, Katie Mottershead, Amy Taylor, Georgia Sutherland.

18th player: Williams.

Try: McColm (33′, 50′), Whitfield (65′), Salihi (77′, 79′).

Objectives: Gaskin (2/6).

Wigan Warriors: Georgia Wilson, Emma Welsford, Kaitlin Hilton, Anna Davies, Ellise Derbyshire, Isabel Rowe, Emma Knowles, Holly Speakman, Rease Casey, Alice Fisher, Victoria Molyneux, Mary Coleman, Rachel Thompson.

Change: Abbie Singleton, Jade Gregory-Haselden, Cerys Jones, Bethany Jones.

18th player: Gracie Bradshaw.

Try: Coleman (15′),

Objectives: Knowles (2/2).