Warrington Wolves hosted St Helens in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals and here’s our verdict on the affair.
St Helens were knocked out of the competition at this stage last year by Warrington and it was the same again as they won 20-12 with George Williams at the heart of all the tries as he put on a masterful display.
Saints were hard done by on the injury front as they lost two men to HIAs but in an otherwise competitive contest, it was the brilliance of Williams which helped make the difference with Saints ultimately not having that same spark in their attack.
Both sides were forced into key changes among their backs although for Warrington, they were blessed with the return of Matty Ashton, whilst St Helens lost centre Harry Robertson which saw them shift second-rower Matt Whitley into the backs, perhaps in the hope of more defensive resilience.
Whitley had played that role last week against Catalans Dragons when Saints came out on top in a tight game, something that they’d failed to do a week prior when losing 14-12 to Warrington in Round Five of Super League.
With these sides so familiar with one another, even being set to play again in a matter of weeks, it made for a brilliant Challenge Cup clash in the sun. Here’s our verdict on the game.
Warrington Wolves keep Challenge Cup hopes alive
🤩@WarringtonRLFC triumph and have taken the last spot in the #ChallengeCup Semi-Finals! pic.twitter.com/BwQCJSZ1dj
— Betfred Challenge Cup (@TheChallengeCup) April 6, 2025
Warrington lost prop Paul Vaughan for all of the first half after just two minutes to an apparent broken finger but after an evenly-contested first 15 minutes, it was Sam Burgess’ side who opened the scoring. With the play looking stagnant and George Williams heading to the right, he reversed the ball back to Matt Dufty who crashed through a huge gap to score.
Curtis Sironen was the first of three Saints men in quick succession to leave the field for a head injury assessment but he would return, however, Jake Wingfield and Mark Percival both failed as Saints were forced into a major reshuffle, seeing Joe Batchelor move into the centres as part of that.
Despite that huge reshuffle, it was actually St Helens who scored next with Tristan Sailor latching onto a smart grubber kick to ground the ball under the sticks and help Saints tie the game up at 6-6 on the eve of half-time.
Early in the second-half, Warrington looked set to score when Matty Ashton broke but the winger didn’t use Matt Dufty which allowed Jack Welsby to make a brilliant tackle. Saints’ scramble defence then jumped offside which granted Wire a penalty which Marc Sneyd knocked over to make it 8-6, but it perhaps should have been 12-6.
The injured Vaughan would return and with that, momentum seemed to swing Warrington’s way and that momentum resulted in a Ben Currie try. George Williams broke through the middle before then dropping a kick into no-man’s land and it was Currie who got fortunate with the bounce, picking up to score under the sticks and extend the lead to 14-6.
Saints hit back immediately though through former Warrington man Daryl Clark who was on hand following Jordy Crowther’s knock-on when attempting to claim a Jon Bennison kick. Bennison then converted to make it 14-12 with 20 minutes remaining.
Minutes later and Matty Ashton had another 80-metre break which resulted in yet another Jack Welsby tackle, however, he wasn’t anywhere near when George Williams exposed St Helens’ make shift centres and broke from his own half to score a brilliant try and help extend the lead to an unassailable 20-12 scoreline and book a spot in the Challenge Cup semi-finals.
Good day for
Sam Burgess oversees yet another win over St Helens, a side he’s now beaten in every coaching performance, and these recent results are now showcasing the biggest change at Warrington under his leadership. Wire have grinded out three narrow defeats in a row, games they would have perhaps lost before, with the Burgess effect clear for all to see.
Bad day for
Paul Wellens saw two more players lost to HIAs just a week after losing Harry Robertson to one. Whilst he gets Robertson back for next week’s game against Wakefield, he loses Mark Percival creating another question at centre. Jake Wingfield, who has been a mainstay from the bench, also failed his HIA giving Wellens more selection issues.
Star man
George Williams was at the heart of Warrington’s first try, assisted the second through his kick, and then scored their third in a brilliant performance. It’s clear to see how much pressure Marc Sneyd’s addition has released which has allowed George Williams to play his own brilliant off-the-cuff game.
Teams
Warrington Wolves XIII: Matt Dufty, Arron Lindop, Ben Currie, Rodrick Tai, Matty Ashton, George Williams, Marc Sneyd, Zane Musgrove, Danny Walker, Paul Vaughan, Adam Holroyd, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, James Harrison
Interchanges: Jordy Crowther, Luke Yates, Joe Philbin, Sam Powell.
St Helens XIII: Jack Welsby, Jon Bennison, Matt Whitley, Mark Percival, Dayon Sambou, Tristan Sailor, Jonny Lomax, Alex Walmsley, Moses Mbye, Matty Lees, Curtis Sironen, Joe Batchelor, Morgan Knowles.
Interchanges: Daryl Clark, Jake Wingfield, Agnatius Paasi, George Delaney
18th Man: James Bell
💪 Today, we’ll find out which team will claim the final spot in the @Betfred #ChallengeCup Semi-Finals!
📺 Watch @WarringtonRLFC and @Saints1890 battle it out at 2:30pm live on @BBCTwo pic.twitter.com/Zsx7CUHXja
— Betfred Challenge Cup (@TheChallengeCup) April 6, 2025
