Challenge Cup: Wigan Warriors thrash St Helens after strong defensive display to reach Wembley final

Wigan Warriors summoned a stirring defensive effort to crush rivals St Helens 32-0 and book their return to Wembley Stadium in the Betfred Challenge Cup final later this month.

Jack Farrimond and Zach Eckersley each scored a brace to do the damage on the scoreboard as Matt Peet's men shrugged off their recent Super League travails in emphatic fashion in Warrington.

But the result told only half the story as the record 21-time winners were forced to repel wave after wave of Saints attacks before seizing their moments in clinical fashion.

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Wigan will now face either Warrington Wolves or Hull KR in the final on May 30, as they look to win the Challenge Cup for the third time in five seasons.

Wigan thrash Saints to secure Wembley return

Hunting their first final since 2021, Saints arguably entered as favourites after winning their last five in all competitions - including a dramatic Good Friday success against their ailing opponents.

Paul Rowley's side shrugged off the first-minute loss of Matty Lees with a knee injury to dominate the early field position but would be ruthlessly punished for failing to make that dominance count.

Wigan grabbed the lead in their first real attack after a moment of brilliance from Brad O'Neill. The hooker roved forward and shrugged off two Saints tackles, playing a neat-one two with Jay Field before off-loading for Farrimond to score the opener.

Adam Keighran kicked a penalty but Saints responded by continuing to pile on the pressure. Lewis Murphy was guilty of wasting another good opportunity, while Jackson Hastings was denied by some scrambled Wigan defence on their try-line.

Wigan stepped things up in the final 10 minutes of the half. Farrimond's clever kick was helped on by Keighran and Eckersley flopped onto the loose ball to steer his side into double-figures.

Eckersley produced an acrobatic finish to seal his second in the corner after another superb piece of work from Farrimond, whose floated pass to Keighran created the space for his team-mate to send the winger over.

Saints' first-half misery was complete just before the hooter when Joe Shorrocks' short pass was intercepted by Jake Wardle who gleefully charged clear for Wigan's fourth, with Harry Smith booting them 22-0 up at the break.

Saints came out firing again after the break, piling on the pressure on the back of a Smith knock-on, but despite deploying their battering rams they simply could not find the innovation to crack Wigan's resolute defence.

Alex Walmsley, Deon Cross and Jack Welsby all edged within inches to no avail, and as the minutes ticked by Saints' frustration began to mount, and Welsby was sin-binned with 15 to go after interference in the ruck.

Tempers inevitably began to fray in the dying stages but Wigan remained admirably resolute, slowly squashing any hopes their opponents had of wrestling their way back into the game.

Fittingly, a scoreless second period was broken in the 75th minute when the outstanding Farrimond surged over to score Wigan's fifth, and Smith's neat kick sent Keighran over to complete their win on the hooter.

Peet 'could just feel' Wigan win coming

Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet:

"I woke up this morning and it's the most confident I'd felt for a few years.

"The desire to really turn up for one another, get the job done and make some special efforts was brilliant. Just the smell of the place leading up to it, where the lads were and getting some players back, I could just feel it.

"We just knew this was one of those days when we had to step it up."

St Helens head coach Paul Rowley:

"Obviously I wanted to be in a cup final, so it's disappointing. But they owned some really big moments from start to finish - most of the big moments, to be honest.

"What we've learned in this game is you can change things around and you can score a lot of points in a short space of time. We started the second half strong and dominated territory, but we just didn't get the points.

"We'll look back at the tries we conceded and we'll be disappointed. But we'll be disappointed by the fact that we didn't put ourselves in the picture by having enough excitement and energy at the right times."

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What's next?

The other semi-final takes place on Sunday, with Warrington Wolves hosting defending champions Hull KR in a repeat of last year's final (4pm kick off). The final then takes place at Wembley Stadium on May 30.

St Helens return to Super League action on Thursday when they travel to Huddersfield Giants, live on Sky Sports+ from 8pm. Wigan host Leeds Rhinos on Friday, live from 7.30pm on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports+.

Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season - including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week shown on Sky Sports+