St Helens were without double figures of their first team due to injuries and suspension but had brought in Bill Leyland and Jordan Dezaria from Hull KR on a one-week loan to bolster their side on the bench in the week.
They say form goes out of the window in a derby game and that it did. Indeed, it was reminiscent of when, back in 2003, a depleted Wigan side beat St Helens.
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Remarkably, Leyland, who has been on loan at St Helens for just a few days, proved the hero as he scored twice with three minutes remaining to wrap up a classic victory for Saints as they lived up to the tagline of ‘Never write off the Saints’.
Wigan had a huge boost with the return of Jai Field for the first time since recovering from appendicitis but could not hold on to secure their first Good Friday win on Saints turf in 10 years.
In front of a sold-out crowd at BrewDog Stadium, Wigan Warriors had a narrow 12-10 half-time lead thanks to converted tries from Harry Smith and Jack Farrimond, Adam Keighran converting both.
St Helens had hit back through Matt Whitley and Daryl Clark, Tristan Sailor converting the second.
Wigan thought they had wrapped up the victory when Jai Field and Zack Eckersley had scored but as Jackson Hastings, Tristan Sailor, and Leyland went over with less than a quarter left on the clock, the Saints faithful went into pandemonium.
More to follow…
2026 Super League – key dates and what to look out for
- Rivals Round: April 3-April 5
- Super League in Paris: Sat Jun 6: Catalans Dragons v Wigan Warriors (Paris), 6:30 UK (Sky Sports)
- Magic Weekend: July 4-July 5
- Rivals Round reversed: July 23-July 26
- Elimination Play-offs: September 19-September 20
- Play-off semi-finals: September 26-September 27
- Grand Final: October 3, Old Trafford.
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week shown on Sky Sports+
