St Helens half Jackson Hastings has explained the club’s spine dynamic after his side’s victory over Toulouse Olympique, whilst also confirming the club’s standpoint on the injury crisis they find themselves in.
Hastings kicked three of five conversions and tacked on another two penalties as St Helens won 30-16 in France, holding off a resurgent Toulouse in the second-half.
Saints were near perfect in the first half as they went into the sheds 28-0 up and Hastings near said as much when speaking to Sky Sports, though he paid huge credit to the hosts,
He explained: “The first half was great. Great intent, great preparation. We came out and did exactly what we wanted to do and then sometimes you’ve got to credit the opposition.
“We knew in the second half, if we dipped the toe-in, they were going to punish us and I’m going to give them their respect by saying we didn’t dip the toe-in. They were just too good for us in parts of that half.
“We take the two points, we go home and we’ve got two big challenges coming up against the last two champions and obviously the best team in the world at the moment so it’s exciting.”
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‘Injury list speaks for itself’
With Hull KR and Wigan Warriors up next, tonight wasn’t a game to be picking up more injuries but that’s what St Helens did with George Whitby failing a HIA, however, Hastings revealed the club’s mantra of simply playing the cards that are dealt.
“Our injury list kind of speaks for itself,” he said, adding: “There’s no point dwelling on it or whinging about it. You have just got to get on with it and play the cards you’re dealt.
“We obviously lost another one tonight in young George Whitby so the list keeps going but if we want to do anything towards the back end of the year, we’re going to use the whole squad anyway.
“We’re lucky in that respect that we’ve got a deep squad and we’ve got to keep relying on the young fellas and people that maybe not expect to play us early but it’s all part and parcel.”
St Helens’ spine dynamic explained
With Jack Welsby being one of the long-term injuries it’s seen Tristan Sailor move to full-back with Harry Robertson partner Hastings in the halves in a very fluid spine, with Hastings explaining the dynamic.
On Sailor and himself, he said: “We’re the two senior spine players and we’ve got Harry playing a role that he played growing up at five-eight. He’s a great runner to the footy and we just want him to back himself and play his instincts.
“We’re trying to play a way that suits him and also suits the way that myself and Tristan play. Tristan’s nailed down a spot down on the team. He was all over the joint last year. We’ve been able to have an extended period playing together.”
Paying further praise to Sailor, Hastings said: “He’s one of them guys, like a lot of teams, that have a great full-back or five-eight, that runs the ball well and I’m just lucky that he’s a foil for me.”
“We’ve known each other for a long time, so it’s cool to be playing together.”
