Sport

Wigan Warriors dominate St Helens for third consecutive time, Eckersley reaches 30 tries

Herz — Sport Desk · 24 July 2026 at 22:13 · 30s summary · 3 min read

The essentials

On July 24, 2026, Wigan Warriors defeated St Helens in Super League — British rugby league's top division — for the third consecutive derby win this season, according to BBC and Yahoo Sports. The Warriors scored six tries to St Helens' three. Winger Zach Eckersley reached 30 tries for the season. St Helens' crisis deepens: head coach Paul Rowley had stepped down the previous Thursday, with Eamon O'Carroll taking interim charge. The club had lost seven of its last eleven matches. Wigan joins Leeds Rhinos on 30 points in the standings but remains third.

Wigan defeats St Helens on July 24: third consecutive derby win this season
Six tries for Wigan against three for St Helens in Super League clash
Zach Eckersley reaches 30 tries for the season during this match
Paul Rowley stepped down as St Helens head coach the previous Thursday
Wigan joins Leeds Rhinos on 30 points but remains third in standings

Illustration image — Jack86mkII, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

What we know

On July 24, 2026, Wigan Warriors defeated St Helens in Super League — the elite competition of European rugby league clubs — for the third consecutive derby win this season, according to BBC and Yahoo Sports.

The Warriors scored six tries: Bevan French, Zach Eckersley (double), Matt Partington (double) and Keighran, who also kicked seven goals.

St Helens replied with tries from Welsby, Douglas and Murphy, along with two goals from Jackson Hastings.

Tries scored in the derby on July 24, 2026

Wigan Warriors6

St Helens3

Source ↗

During his second try of the evening — scored from a Bevan French kick towards the corner — Zach Eckersley reached the milestone of 30 tries for the season.

With this result, Wigan joins Leeds Rhinos on 30 points in the Super League standings but remains third: Wakefield recorded a major victory over Castleford on the same day.

Context

Wigan Warriors and St Helens share one of the greatest rivalries in British rugby league. This season, St Helens opened their derbies with a memorable Easter victory, before Wigan won the three subsequent meetings.

St Helens' deep crisis

Paul Rowley stepped down as head coach of St Helens the Thursday before this match, after less than a year in charge and amid persistent poor form.

Eamon O'Carroll took interim charge at St Helens for this derby, with no permanent head coach in place.

St Helens had lost seven of their last eleven matches across all competitions before this fixture.

Match incidents

A try by Harry Robertson (St Helens), awarded on field by referee Liam Moore, was overturned by video referee Jack Smith: footage did not conclusively show the ball had been grounded.

Jackson Hastings was sin-binned — a disciplinary sanction that temporarily removes a player from the field for ten minutes for deliberate foul play — for holding back Bevan French as the winger was about to score.