Bevan French stars on return as Wigan Warriors sweep aside St Helens in derby

The Australian marked his return from injury with a try and four assists as Matt Peet’s side produced a six-try display to complete a deserved victory over their fierce rivals.

St Helens made the brighter start and opened the scoring after just five minutes when Jack Welsby sold a dummy to cross following a high tackle penalty against Taylor Kerr. Jackson Hastings added the extras for a 6-0 lead.

Wigan responded almost immediately through the returning French. Zach Eckersley burst clear before Adam Keighran found the supporting French, who raced over on his comeback appearance. Keighran converted to level the score.

The visitors regained the advantage when former Warrior Jacob Douglas finished out wide, with Hastings converting to make it 12-6.

However, Wigan soon took control. French’s cut-out pass sent Eckersley over in the corner before another moment of brilliance from the stand-off saw him chip over the defence for Eckersley to grab his second try of the night. Keighran converted both scores to hand the Warriors an 18-12 half-time lead.

French thought he had scored again shortly after the restart but was denied for a double movement by the video referee.

It mattered little as the Warriors continued to dominate. French claimed his third assist of the evening with a flat pass for Ollie Partington to score before Hastings was sent to the sin-bin for pulling French back off the ball.

Keighran added a penalty goal to extend the lead to 26-12 before French showed his defensive qualities with a huge tackle on George Delaney.

Partington grabbed his second try after racing onto a clever Harry Smith chip before French’s fourth assist came courtesy of another perfectly weighted kick, with Keighran collecting to score before converting his own try.

Lewis Murphy crossed late on for St Helens after a cut-out pass from Welsby, but it proved only a consolation as Wigan sealed a convincing 38-16 victory in front of a jubilant home crowd.

Wigan: Jai Field; Zach Eckersley, Adam Keighran, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall; Bevan French, Harry Smith; Ethan Havard, Brad O’Neill, Luke Thompson, Ollie Partington, Kaide Ellis, Taylor Kerr. Subs: Sam Walters, Patrick Mago, Noah Hodkinson, Shea O’Connor. 18th man: George O’Loughlin.

Tries: French, Eckersley (2), Partington (2), Keighran | Goals: Keighran 7/8

St Helens: Jack Welsby; Lewis Murphy, Tristan Sailor, Jake Davies, Jacob Douglas; Harry Robertson, Jackson Hastings; Jacob Host, Jake Burns, Daniel Suluka-Fifita, Jed Cartwright, Shane Wright, Joe Shorrocks. Subs: George Delaney, Alfie Sinclair, Tom Humphreys, Matty Evans. 18th man: Jack Campbell.

Tries: Welsby, Douglas, Murphy | Goals: Hastings 2/3

Referee: Liam Moore | Attendance: 18,906