Keiron Cunningham says the St Helens defensive effort against Warrington came up trumps
Last Updated: 01/06/15 12:54pm
St Helens coach Keiron Cunningham said he was proud of his side’s defensive effort after they came back from 16-8 down at half-time to beat Warrington 20-16 on Magic Weekend.
Saints were second best before the interval and Warrington scored three tries to power into a handy lead.
But St Helens responded after the break and, having gone into the lead following a 58th-minute try from captain Jon Wilkin, they defended brilliantly in the closing stages to hang onto their advantage.
Cunningham said: “It was definitely a game of two halves.
"We started with lots of vigour and then, after 10 minutes, we just dropped away and did our best to lose the game.
"We couldn't complete a set but we had a good chat at half-time and they came out fighting.
“They were very spirited, you can't fault their resilience to defend. That's two weeks in a row we've backed our defence to seal the victory for us and we've come up trumps.
"I keep saying to the players you can't fabricate stuff like that. Togetherness is something that happens over a period of time.
"I'm proud of them, they were determined today. Warrington are a great side and they threw a lot at us."
Cunningham was particularly pleased with wing Tom Makinson, who made some key tackles.
"I thought Tommy was one of the best players on the field," said Cunningham.
"He was great both sides of the ball. He carried it great and defensively he's turned into a real complete player, as are all our outside backs.
"Jamal Lolesi works individually with all these kids and they've come a very long way. It's good to see."
Warrington coach Tony Smith was very disappointed by his team’s second-half effort.
“In the first half I thought we were really good and we handled most of what Saints threw at us,” he said.
"In the second half we were rubbish. Rubbish with the ball, turning it over way too many times, and really soft defensively.
"But Saints showed their spirit. They came out and deserved to win that second half."