Two tries from Pat Richards helped Wigan Warriors earn a deserved 28-16 victory over St Helens at the DW Stadium this afternoon.
Richards opened the scoring for Wigan with a try in the corner inside the first 10 minutes, and he added two more points with a conversion.
The Warriors extended their lead when a breakaway was rounded off by Sam Tomkins, who touched the ball down under the posts.
St Helens began to improve as the half wore on, but they were caught when Wigan's Josh Charnley ran the length of the pitch to score his team's third try.
The visitors finally got on the board when Paul Clough squeezed the ball down just to the right of the posts.
However, the hosts regained their 18-point advantage just before the hour mark when a free-flowing move was finished off by Dominic Crosby.
It only took two minutes for the Saints to hit back through Francis Meli, after a mix-up from Wigan invited pressure from the St Helens attack.
St Helens continued to look threatening on the break, and they reduced the deficit to eight points when Meli set up Tommy Makinson to ease over the line.
The Warriors appeared to be struggling, but they looked to have sealed the victory with seven minutes remaining when Richards scored his second try in the corner.
The visitors continued to look for a way back into the game, but it was Wigan who comfortably hung on to win the match.
Darren Plant
