Betfred Super League Magic Weekend
Tries: Keighran, Field, Eckersley Goals: Keighran 2
Tries: Davies, Welsby Goals: Hastings 2, Sailor
Wigan Warriors secured a dramatic and intense victory against St Helens in a stormy, action-packed derby that concluded the Super League's Magic Weekend at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
St Helens held a slim lead at halftime following a penalty goal by Jackson Hastings, succeeded by exchanged tries from Adam Keighran for Wigan and Jake Davies for St Helens, coached by Paul Rowley.
In the second half, Wigan extended their lead with tries from Jai Field and Adam Eckersley, while Jack Welsby scored late for St Helens to narrow the margin.
In a remarkable finish, after the final whistle, a tackle off the ball led to a successful captain's challenge granting Hastings a chance to send the match into golden-point extra time, but his kick missed wide.
With this win, Wigan climbed to second place in the standings, while St Helens remained sixth.
Match Overview
The match was an epic encounter, though marked by numerous handling errors. It began explosively moments after kickoff pyrotechnics, with a clash between the rivals triggered by an off-the-ball collision between St Helens' David Klemmer and Wigan's Brad O'Neill during the kick chase.
St Helens dominated the first 15 minutes in Wigan's half but were limited to a single penalty goal by Hastings due to poor decisions and resolute Wigan defense.
Two critical moments favored Wigan: Jack Welsby was sin-binned for throwing an in-goal ball into the crowd to delay the restart, and a misplaced pass by St Helens led to a swift Wigan counterattack, culminating in Keighran's try and conversion.
St Helens quickly responded with Hastings delivering a clever inside pass to Davies for his sixth try in 11 appearances this season, and Tristan Sailor added the conversion to regain the lead.
The match was a physical battle, with multiple head injury assessments and players requiring bandages and nasal treatment, forcing both teams to utilize their full benches.
A significant concern arose when Wigan rookie Nathan Lowe was stretchered off after an awkward fall during a group tackle near the touchline; Sky Sports reported he suffered a ruptured hamstring.
Shortly after, St Helens' Owen Dagnall endured a heavy double hit from Oliver Partington and Junior Nsemba, which referee Chris Kendall placed on report. Nsemba later left the field due to injury.
Second Half Action
The second half began with two more melees. Referee Chris Kendall warned both captains that future infractions would result in sin-binning, a warning he enforced minutes later by sending off Brad O'Neill and, for a second time, Welsby.
Amid the disorder, Wigan regained the lead through a dynamic break initiated by Keighran, with Eckersley assisting Field's try.
Eckersley then scored following effective scrum play, extending Wigan's lead to eight points, though the conversion was missed.
St Helens narrowed the gap to two points when Welsby was awarded a try by the video referee, overturning an on-field knock-on decision.
In the closing moments, as Wigan celebrated, St Helens successfully challenged a late tackle by Oliver Partington, granting Hastings a kick to tie the game, which he missed from wide out.
Coach Reactions
"I'm very proud – it was a very unusual game. All the young players deserve a mention. It was not a pretty game but we got the job done through character and because we've got a tough group of lads. We had people playing out of position all over the place, but I didn't really feel that we were broken down. I was very comfortable with the way we defended, but it just looked like everything that went our way was getting tested in one way or another. We knew we needed that today. The way the game panned out, it was stop-start and we wanted it to flow. But I'll take the two points, pat the lads on the backs and move on."
– Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet
"The on-report [incident involving Owen Dagnall] troubled me because there's two giant jumbo screens, and there's contact with the head. That's two points all day long, but as a result Wigan go up the other end and score a six-pointer. I look back on it with a lot of pride and satisfaction. I'm disappointed with the result but really satisfied with the commitment and the way we stood up and the intent we had. I think both teams did a tremendous job of finishing Magic Weekend off with a good game of rugby. I couldn't keep up at times, it was a violent game with a lot of changes and head injuries. We probably felt we could have taken more out of that game in terms of points but it was a really good game of rugby by two really committed teams so I'm not going to be too despondent, and that's what we can take away and learn."
– St Helens head coach Paul Rowley
Team Lineups
Wigan Warriors: Field; Eckersley, Keighran, Wardle, Lowe; Farrimond, Smith; Havard, O'Neill, McDermott, Nsemba, Partington, Ellis.
Interchanges: Mago, Kerr, Mason, O'Connor.
St Helens: Welsby; Douglas, Robertson, Macdonald, Dagnall; Sailor, Hastings; Walmsley, Clark, Klemmer, Davies, Wright, Shorrocks.
Interchanges: Host, Delaney, Humphreys, Suluka-Fifita.
