Daryl Clark admitted ending Wigan’s stunning run was a driving force behind St Helens’ epic Good Friday success.
They beat the champions 12-4 after coming from behind with late tries from Tommy Makinson and Konrad Hurrell. Wigan had strung together 15 straight Super League victories since last July. Another would have equalled the record set by their fierce derby rivals Saints in 2008.
And England hooker Clark, playing his first derby since joining from Warrington, revealed: “We had a bit of a chat about that [record] in the week. And in the 15 wins they’d beaten everyone but Saints. It got mentioned to add a little bit more spice to us stopping that run.
“Obviously to do what they have done is incredible. They are a quality team so we’re really happy with that. In Costa this week and in town getting my haircut everyone was saying ‘You better beat them!’ It’s different from anything I’ve experienced and I really enjoyed it. It was a really tough game.”
Wigan took a 4-2 lead with Bevan French's brilliant individual try in the 56th minute when the Man of Steel fended off Lewis Dodd, grubbered ahead and arced his run before winning the race to the ball. But prop Liam Byrne was red-carded for a shoulder to Mark Percival's head soon after and Saints eventually got on top.
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Prop Alex Walmsley scattered Wigan defenders with a storming run down the middle to set up position for Dodd to loft a kick right where England winger acrobatically soared to claim and score in the 72nd minute.
Curtis Sironen of St.Helens celebrates (Getty Images)That sent Saints fans delirious and they were ecstatic when Hurrell made sure in the final seconds in front of a capacity 17,980 crowd. Ex-Man of Steel Clark, 31, had been replaced by Moses Mbye with half hour remaining so could only watch on helpless as the dramatic, high-quality game unfolded. He said: "To be fair, when I’m on I’m pretty relaxed. But when I’m off I find it worse watching.
"I'd much rather be out there rather than sat on the sidelines but it was great to see [us win]. In a game that tight and not that high-scoring, you see Bevan French come up with a bit of magic. That’s what you need in tight games with good defence. There weren’t many breaks or points. But Tommy [Makinson] came up with some magic of his own and big Al [Walmsley] is so destructive."
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