Phil Clarke on whether St Helens should have been awarded eight-point try

On Thursday night we saw something very rare.

Not one but two eight point tries were awarded to Warrington Wolves as they defeated Salford Red Devils.

These are rare enough but to see two in one game is remarkable.

Then on Friday night there were more than a few big calls but in the eyes of Phil Clarke one big decision was missed.

This came as St Helens scored the first try of the second half kicking through with Mark Percival somehow grounding the ball despite a desperate tackle from Nene MacDonald.

This came after Chris Kendall sent it up as a penalty try with Sione Mata’utia held back however Clarke believed this was an eight point try as MacDonald tackled Percival high:

“I think so,” he said when asked if it was an eight point try.

“First there was talk of a penalty try, it wasn’t but there is contact around the head so I was surprised that this wasn’t.

“After last night, it is contact with the head as he goes over the line. It is contact with the head so it is a penalty.”

Then Paul Sculthorpe echoed his thoughts on Sky Sports:

“The rules were seen in last night’s game, if there is contact with the head then it’s an eight point try.”

Those two extra points could have been the difference but the Saints did miss a penalty that could have taken them to 26 in a game that they lost 25-24.