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Saints suffer defeat to Warrington

Club, First Team, League, Match

Saints were beaten 32-18 by Warrington Wolves at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Thursday evening...

First Half

Warrington had the first real opening. From a scrum in midfield, the hosts opted to kick directly from it through Marc Sneyd but Tristan Sailor beat Matty Ashton to the loose ball and conceded a dropout.

The hosts did take the lead soon after though. Following a Saints error deep in our own half, Warrington went left from the scrum, Sneyd finding Toby King who beat a tackle and scored in the corner. Sneyd couldn’t convert, 4-0 Saints trailed.

A second try followed. Sneyd kicked a 40/20, Warrington used up a few tackles before shifting it through the hands from right to left and King found Matty Ashton who finished under pressure in the corner. Sneyd added the conversion this time, 10-0.

This time, Saints responded. Tristan Sailor’s kick off bounced out of play, gifting Saints the ball ten metres out. The Red V used up a few tackles before moving the ball through the hands from left to right, Dayon Sambou supplying the final pass to Jon Bennison who dove over to score in the corner. George Whitby couldn’t convert, 10-4.

Soon after, we had a trip to the video referee. Warrington moved the ball left, the final pass going to ground but Ashton picked it up and raced away down the wing to score his second try of the evening. Sneyd converted, 16-4.

Saints responded again. A Warrington error early in their set gave Saints the ball back in good field position. Again the Red V moved it through the hands from left to right, this time Mark Percival spotted a gap and made the most of it to break through and score. Whitby narrowly missed the kick, 16-8.

Just before the break, we had another trip upstairs. Saints again moved forward, this time Percival looked to power his way over from close range and after a lengthy review, the four-pointer was awarded. Whitby converted, 16-14 Saints trailed.

The visitors could have been ahead at the break. Welsby threw a cut-out pass down the right edge, Bennison broke and looked to throw the ball back inside on the last tackle but the referee ruled forward pass. 16-14 Saints trailed at half-time.

Second Half

Warrington grabbed the first points of the second half, despite a quick video referee review. They opted to run it on the last tackle, Ashton diving over in the corner to grab his hat-trick. Josh Thewlis took over kicking duties with Sneyd off the field, but he was unable to convert, 20-14.

Saints again tried to wrestle a way back into the game. On the last tackle, Saints moved the ball through the hands and then tried shifting the ball back inside, Agnatius Paasi was unable to keep hold of the ball though and Warrington survived. Another chance followed. Whitby kicked high to the Saints right edge, Bennison collected it but was unable to ground the ball and it was turned over on the Wolves line.

Then we had a trip to the video referee. Saints forced a Warrington error deep inside their own half, the ball went right and Sailor kicked early with Percival winning the race to it and grounding the ball. After a lengthy check, the on field call of try was reversed, with Percival deemed to be in touch.

Warrington then had a prime opportunity to gain a two-score lead. A high kick was claimed by Lewis Murphy, but the referee ruled that a Saints player had blocked a Warrington chaser. The hosts opted for two but Thewlis missed the kick. From the restart, Warrington did take the lead. Thewlis broke down the right wing and found Rodrick Tai in support and he slid over from close range. Thewlis converted, 26-14.

The hosts grabbed their sixth try of the evening with ten minutes to go. The ball was moved right, Dufty broke a tackle and stumbled his way over to increase the lead. Thewlis converted, 32-14.

Saints grabbed one back late on. The visitors recovered the kick off and earned a penalty for offside. The ball was moved through the hands down the right edge, Percival finding Bennison to score in the corner. Whitby couldn’t convert, 32-18.

With two minutes to go, we had another trip to the video referee. This time Paul Vaughan tried to crash over from close range, but some good last-ditch defending from Saints kept him out.

It was defeat for Saints at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, as Warrington walked away with a 32-18 victory.

Match Summary

Warrington Wolves Team: Matt Dufty, Josh Thewlis, Toby King, Rodrick Tai, Matty Ashton, Danny Walker, Marc Sneyd, Luke Yates, Sam Powell, Paul Vaughan, Dan Russell, Lachlan Fitzgibbon, Ben Currie.

Interchanges: James Harrison, Joe Philbin, Zane Musgrove, Jordy Crowther.

18th Man: Ewan Irwin.

Tries: Toby King (15), Matty Ashton (22, 28, 45), Rodrick Tai (64), Matt Dufty (70)

Conversions: Marc Sneyd (2 from 3), Josh Thewlis (2 from 3)

Penalties: Josh Thewlis (0 from 1)

Saints Team: Tristan Sailor, Jon Bennison, Dayon Sambou, Mark Percival, Lewis Murphy, Jack Welsby, George Whitby, Alex Walmsley, Daryl Clark, Matty Lees, Matt Whitley, Curtis Sironen, Morgan Knowles.

Interchanges: Moses Mbye, Agnatius Paasi, George Delaney, Noah Stephens.

18th Man: Jonny Lomax.

Tries: Jon Bennison (25, 73), Mark Percival (32, 37)

Conversions: George Whitby (1 from 4)

HT: 16-14

FT: 32-18

Attendance: 10,240

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