Konrad Hurrell’s brief reflection on Wigan Warriors clash sums up the intensity of the derby

All this week, there’s been debate over which derby is the biggest in Super League: is it the inner-city rivalry that comes with the battle of Hull or is it the original derby Saints-Wigan.

Both games lived up to the hype with a second half rally from Hull KR handing them the spoils at Craven Park 16-4 and a similar second stanza from Super League Champions St Helens secured the points for them as they won 22-4 against Wigan despite going behind to a brilliant Jai Field try.

The Saints-Wigan game was also the battle between the top two with neither side losing on British soil in 2022 prior to the clash live on Sky Sports yesterday.

Either side would have gone top with a win and ultimately the triumph went to the Saints in a high-paced, high intensity affair that demonstrated why the two teams were first and second going into Rivals Round.

There were plenty of derby debutants on both sides with Abbas Miski being thrown in at the deep end for Wigan whilst Jon Benninson was trusted on the wing for St Helens. James Bell meanwhile made his full St Helens debut in the game whilst Konrad Hurrell got his first slice of derby action.

Hurrell did have a taste of the Leeds-Bradford derby during his time as a Rhino but that came in a shock Challenge Cup defeat to the Bulls at Odsal as Leeds struggled in 2019. So, this was his first chance to properly taste one of Super League’s headline derbies and his response on Twitter summed up just how intense the game was and why we may see Wigan and Saints dominate the league in 2022.

He simply said: “Wow that was hectic” hinting at the speed the game was played at by perhaps the two fastest teams in the league. Just look at the likes of Jack Welsby, Bevan French and Jai Field in full flight and it’s hard to dispute that these are the two fastest sides in Super League. But further to that point, no side plays the game tackle to tackle as fast as the lightning quick and ultra fit Champions whilst Wigan certainly seem to be attempting to emulate that speed in their own performances.

Perhaps this shows that the Saints-Wigan derby is right now just a step ahead of the Hull-derby too due to the stakes and the intensity the game is played at as both pursue silverware in 2022 – maybe this fixture is as close to rugby league’s equivalent to Liverpool vs Manchester City at this moment.

That is up for debate, but Hurrell’s response to the fixture is another reminder of the great product Super League always serves up in Rivals Round.

Wow that was hectic 🔥🔥

— Konrad Hurrell (@konmanhurrell) April 15, 2022