Departing Michael Maguire says he is proud of Wigan Warriors - Rugby
The Wigan Warriors could not have sent off their coach, Michael Maguire, on a happier note than their victory over St.Helens in the semi-final of the Carnegie Challenge Cup 2011, on Saturday, August 6, at Warrington's Halliwell Jones Stadium.
With the win, they will now fly to Wembley to meet Leeds in the final showdown of the Challenge Cup.
Wigans had exhibited a very strong defence which ruled out every opportunity that could have been converted into points by Saints. Saturday’s clash was all about the wall of defence offered by Wigans’ Sam Tomkins.
Until the 64th minute in the game, Wigans was leading by 18-2, with pretty much no serious come-back from the Saints’ end. However, this silence from the Saints was broken when Francis Meli created a try for James Foster and the same scenario
was replicated by them only five minutes later.
Despite this delayed response by the Saints, they were unable to clinch the semi-final victory from the jaws of defeat.
While commenting on the splendid win by his outfit, Maguire added, “I'm very proud of the players. At half-time, I commended them for their hard work. They just fought for each other to make sure they didn't get across the line.”
Sean O'Loughlin, who captains the Wigans, was very happy of his team’s performance. According to him it was not easy as he acknowledged that they have earned it the hard way. He also agreed that it felt great to win the semi-final and tread into the finals
at Wembley, on August 27.
It was later disclosed by the Royce Simmons, the head coach of Saints that James Roby and James Graham were on pain relieving doses because of the hand and neck injuries. It was further acknowledged by the coach that despite being unwell their participation
in the big game spoke a lot about them as players with huge commitment.
Simon had acknowledged that during the initial half of the game, his outfit had not played as well as was expected but it was nonetheless pointed out that the contribution by his injured players on board.
While speaking about Graham, Saints’ coach added, “There was an stage early on in the week when he could hardly walk and I thought there was no chance could play in the game. It says so much about him as a character and a person. He made a sacrifice for
us today and he's not the only guy. We had a few put their hands up and played through the pain barrier.”
It was added by the Saints’ coach that his outfit was brilliant with the possession of the ball against the strong Wigans’ defence but it would have been much better if they had managed to score at least a try during the initial half of the game.
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