Wigan coach Shaun Wane crushed after dramatic loss to St Helens
Friday 18 September 2015 23:33, UK
Wigan coach Shaun Wane admitted it will take him several days to get over his side’s dramatic 18-14 loss to arch rivals St Helens at Langtree Park.
The Warriors never trailed in the game until Saints centre Josh Jones out-jumped full-back Matty Bowen to collect Jon Wilkin's high kick and score the match-winning try just three minutes from time.
The loss cost Wigan them the chance to go top of the table with one game left to play and means Leeds Rhinos stay top despite losing their last three matches.
Reigning champions Saints host Warrington next Thursday, with Huddersfield and Leeds meeting 24 hours later when Wigan are at home to Castleford, although Wane was not yet ready to look ahead to the next game.
"That's hurt me badly, very badly," Wane said. "It will take me a few days to get over this.
"That's rugby league, it's a tough sport. Unless you concentrate for 80 minutes, you can get burned and we did today.
"I thought we controlled the game for large parts but it shows the quality they have. They never go away. I never felt comfortable.
"It was a great game to watch I'd imagine. I'm very proud of the effort of my players but to come away with nothing after doing as much as they did is an absolute heart breaker.
"It's a tough one to deal with but there are lots of positives. Our middles dominated and we did some good things at the end of our sets."
The teams were level at the break after Luke Walsh cancelled out Joel Tomkins' early try for the visitors but Wigan opened up a 14-6 lead after 50 minutes with a solo try from George Williams and a third goal from Matty Bowen.
The turning point came on 73 minutes when St Helens winger Tom Makinson prevented Wigan centre Oliver Gildart touching down when he reached the line, and four minutes later Jones came up with the winner.
"If Oliver Gildart had scored, it would have been a different outcome," Wane said. "It was great tackle to stop him scoring."
St Helens coach Keiron Cunningham is hoping his side's third successive win, which followed three straight defeats, will silence his club's critics.
"I thought the boys played really well," Cunningham said. "They've had a lot of stuff said about them in the last few weeks and it wasn't very nice about certain individuals. Let's see what they say this week.
"We weren't that great with the ball but we defended like troopers, we just kept hanging in there and finding a way to keep turning up.
"It's that team spirit you can't manufacture, you've got to have that fight and that will. It makes it special when you see players fighting for each other.
"As soon as we put a combination of our attack and defence together, we'll be a fair side. I thought our halves were great and I can't praise Jon Wilkin high enough."
