St Helens have “lost their identity” says Matt Peet as Wigan Warriors boss assesses Challenge Cup semi-final win

Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet believes that St Helens have “lost their identity” after their exit from the Challenge Cup.

The Warriors downed Saints in impressive fashion, winning 32-0 which is their biggest ever Cup win over Saints and their biggest winning margin over Saints since 2000.

Zach Eckersley and Jack Farrimond both scored twice, whilst Jake Wardle and Adam Keighran bagged the other tries.

Wigan will now return to Wembley for the third time in five seasons, and will be joined by the Warriors Women’s side in the capital after their victory over York Valkyrie.

Peet spoke to the BBC to reflect on their semi-final victory, and he believes that Wigan’s defensive determination got them over the line.

“It’s all I talk about, really. It’s very simple. You’ve got to look after one another. You’ve got to keep turning up for one another.

“When you get that, there’s things that you can’t work on in training, the things that you can’t draw on a chalkboard.

“They’re just moments of desire, the connection, the courage, and that’s what we’ll base our game on.”

Peet revealed that he knew his side would be victorious from the moment the two sides were drawn together, with Wigan wanting to avenge their defeat to Saints over the Easter period.

“I just knew we weren’t going to be beat today, and I knew that as soon as I knew the draw, to be honest, because of what happened.

“…After Good Friday, it was very important that we didn’t let St Helens get there, and it did mean a bit more today.”

The Wigan boss also had his say on the Red Vee bringing in loan players as opposed to using their academy, something that proved fruitful for his side this afternoon with Farrimond, Junior Nsemba and Noah Hodkinson all having stellar performances.

“St Helens [fans] had a loan player scores in front of them, and they celebrated it like it was a fantastic moment in their history.

“I think it showed they’ve lost their identity. I knew that we’d celebrate in front of our fans today, and that’s what we’ve done.”

Peet was referencing the Bill Leyland try that won Saints the game against Wigan in early April.

Leyland was on loan from Hull KR that weekend, and he re-joined the club last week purely to allow Saints hooker Daryl Clark to have a week’s rest prior to this game.