St Helens boss takes positives from ‘small margins’ defeat to Warrington Wolves

St Helens head coach Paul Wellens has spoken after his side’s 14-12 defeat to Warrington Wolves with Marc Sneyd’s boot proving the difference.

Sneyd’s kick assist for George Williams try was a moment of genius given that the half-back pair had trained together just twice, whilst his six points from the tee also proved pivotal.

For St Helens, their attack looked far better than it did against Hull KR in Round Four when they looked relatively static, however, a lack of execution on the final play saw them fall short.

As such, St Helens head coach Paul Wellens conceded that it was a game that they could have won as he rued the missed opportunities in the first-half, during which they had the majority of the possession.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Wellens said: “We created a couple of opportunities in the first half that we didn’t quite nail and I think if we nail those then put some scoreboard pressure on the opposition.

“Like you say, it is small margins and if you don’t nail them then you put yourself under pressure.”

St Helens boss takes positives from ‘small margins’ defeat to Warrington Wolves

Despite the pain of losing by such small margins, Wellens stated that he was “absolutely delighted” with St Helens’ approach

“I’ve got to say that I’m absolutely delighted with the team’s approach to that game,” Wellens said.

“We really challenged them with the ball. We continue to work really hard defensively and there’s a lot to like about that performance, however, we are naturally disappointed with the result.”

Saints will get to know Warrington quite well over the course of the next month with this game being the first of three meetings in the space of six weeks, however, Wellens will not be looking forward to seeing that Wire spine of Dufty, Williams and Sneyd.

“It’s very difficult because they can threaten you in a number of different ways,” he admitted.

“Marc Sneyd, I’ve said for a long time has arguably one of the best kicking games that Super League has seen and when you combine that with the running threat of George Williams and Matt Dufty then you’ve got to be on red alert.

“It is really challenging but I really like the way our guys approached that today because we conceded one try from a kick and one from an intercept. It’s not like we got busted open for four tries.”

Saints’ tries were scored by Morgan Knowles and Dayon Sambou, the man who was trusted to replace Kyle Feldt and Wellens offered praise for the young winger with his performance being another positive to take away.

On Sambou, he said: “I told you before the game that he’d earned the opportunity. He’s had a really strong pre-season and approached the reserves games in the last two weeks really well so I was delighted for him.”

⏹ The Wolves edge a close one at the Totally Wicked Stadium against the Saints #COYS | @LPL_Airport pic.twitter.com/suUfuZ6jEb

— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) March 21, 2025