Liam Marshall double edges Wigan past St Helens and into Challenge Cup final

Liam Marshall’s late try ensured Wigan Warriors qualified for the Challenge Cup final at the expense of their great rivals, St Helens, whose magnificent second-half fightback was ultimately in vain. Trailing 14-0 at half-time and with several of their key men visibly struggling with injuries, it seemed a formality that the Saints’ defence of the cup would end in routine fashion here in Leeds.

However, three tries in 15 minutes turned a thrilling semi-final on its head and moved Kristian Woolf’s side into a four-point lead with ten minutes remaining. But as the Saints went in search of the try that would seal victory, Jonny Lomax’s stray pass was collected by Marshall, who raced the length of the field to give Harry Smith a simple conversion and book Wigan’s place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium later this month.

The Warriors’ victory means that Matty Peet will lead his hometown club out in the biggest game of the year in his first season as a head coach, and his side were ultimately deserved winners here. They were much the better of the two sides in the first half, taking an early lead when Marshall broke the deadlock after being freed by Jake Bibby.

Wigan then doubled that lead when Cade Cust dummied his way across the line before Liam Farrell exploited a mistake from Lomax to go in under the posts, with Harry Smith converting for the first time to make it 14-0 at the interval. St Helens had to score first after half-time to stand any chance but even when they did that courtesy of Konrad Hurrell, they were still eight points behind.

However, they then clawed the deficit back further when Lomax crossed on the following set, before James Roby moved the Saints in front for the first time with a remarkable try and