Warrington Wolves 24-14 St Helens: Cai Taylor-Wray dazzles for Sam Burgess' side as Saints' Paul Rowley era starts in defeat
Warrington had an 18-0 lead at the break; St Helens hit back twice but a Josh Thewlis try cemented the win; Jackson Hastings was shown a yellow card for a late hit; Sky Sports is the only place to watch every Super League game live in 2026
Friday 13 February 2026 22:50, UK
Warrington Wolves’ young fullback Cai Taylor-Wray impressed as they started their season with a 24-14 win over St Helens at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
In front of the biggest crowd in this stadium in 52 years, Warrington put on a show in the first half with St Helens stunned by their attacking prowess.
With that, Warrington had a comprehensive 18-0 lead at half-time through Toby King, Albert Hopoate, and a brilliant Cai Taylor-Wray effort. Marc Sneyd converted two of the tries plus added a penalty at the end of the first 40.
- Super League: Warrington Wolves vs St Helens- as it happened!
- Newcomers York stun Hull KR to win in Super League opener
- Super League 2026 - fixtures for regular season and play-offs
- Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream contract-free on NOW
- Download Sky Sports app for expert analysis, video and more
St Helens managed to hit back in the second half with Jack Welsby and Tristan Sailor going over to bring the score to 18-10, the former suffering a suspected dislocated shoulder in the process.
However, Warrington's Josh Thewlis then hit back to restore the home side's two-score lead, with Saints stand-in captain Jackson Hastings sent to the sin bin for a late hit in the process.
St Helens' got a late try through Kyle Feldt but it was too little too late as they fell to the 10-point loss.
It is a sobering start for Paul Rowley in his first game at his new club, with under pressure Sam Burgess off to the perfect start.
Warrington impress as Saints left with defensive questions
In a bouncing and sold-out Halliwell Jones Stadium, with 15,000 packed in, it was an attritional opening 10 minutes as both sides completed well.
Then, off the back of a forced goal line dropout, Warrington used their territory well, shifted out wide through George Williams, and King got the better of Harry Robertson on the edge. Marc Sneyd then converted for a 6-0 lead after 13 minutes.
That try was then followed up by an absolutely spectacular try from young fullback Taylor-Wray as he broke through St Helens' line then put on the after burners to pass everyone and race 70 metres to score, Sneyd converting once again for a 12-0 advantage.
When Taylor-Wray weaved his magic again, bursting through St Helens' desperate defenders to create a debut try for Albert Hopoate, the Wire were in dreamland and St Helens were crestfallen.
Sneyd missed from the tee, but when Saints were penalised for accidental offside a minute before the break, he stepped up to give the hosts an 18-0 half-time lead.
At the start of the second half, after Luke Littler's Word Darts Championship trophy parade, St Helens exclusively had possession for the first 10 minutes but could not turn their pressure into points as the home outfit's scramble defence was incredibly solid.
Eventually, after 13 minutes of pretty much pure pressure Saints finally thought they got over as, off the back of a Warrington knock on, Welsby ran a nice line to go over. However, after a video referee check it was given as no try due to an obstruction in the build-up.
Alex Walmsley then thought he had barged over from short range on the 57th minute but that effort was ruled out too for double movement.
On the third attempt they were eventually in as they went out to the left edge and Welsby threw the dummy and slid over to bring the score to 18-4. However, it came at a cost as the fullback looked to dislocate his shoulder in the process.
With one then came two as Sailor jumped highest when a huge kick went up on the last to go in under the sticks, Jackson Hastings converting this time to bring the scoreline to 18-10 with just over 15 minutes remaining.
Despite being hit twice in quick succession Warrington were not fazed and on their first opportunity went over again as, after a six again, they shipped it out wide for Thewlis to show off his acrobatics in the corner.
Things then only got worse as Saints skipper Hastings was shown yellow for a late hit in the build-up on Taylor-Wray.
Warrington thought they had capped off their win in style with a spectacular Williams to Hopoate finish, but with the effort ruled out for a tackle off the ball in the build-up, St Helens got the last points on the scoreboard as they found the overlap for Feldt to stride in to make things 24-14.
It is a start to the season that Warrington will be more than content with, with St Helens having now fallen to eight consecutive defeats in a row to their local rivals.
Burgess on 'work in progress' Taylor-Wray | 'Warrington did fundamentals better'
Warrington head coach Sam Burgess speaking on Sky Sports+:
"We all see how talented Cai is. He's a great young lad and a joy to coach. He's exciting, but he's also got a lot to work on in his game. He made a number of errors tonight, and he'll make them throughout the year - and we're OK with that as a club. We're happy to watch him develop.
"I thought he was very good tonight. When he needed to come up with a few plays, he made them, so I'm happy with him.
"It's completely up to Cai to find out what he's capable of - whatever he wants to be capable of.
"Like most players, he applied himself over pre‑season. He's very committed to his role and to the big responsibility of being fullback for this side.
"He's been in our system for a long time. It's going to be a work in progress with him throughout the year, but there are some wonderful parts of his game that we really enjoy watching."
St Helens head coach Paul Rowley speaking on Sky Sports+:
"Warrington were very desperate today and deserved the victory.
"We dipped our toe in the water defensively, which is very unlike Saints, so it's a good lesson - maybe a bit of over‑confidence.
"Warrington came to play, were the more aggressive side, did the fundamentals better than us, and got what they deserved."
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+
