Wigan Warriors Women began their Super Four campaign with a dominant derby victory over St Helens at The BrewDog Stadium. The Warriors scored eight tries in a commanding performance under coach Denis Betts.
Molly Jones made her first appearance since suffering an injury in the Betfred Challenge Cup Semi-Final against York Valkyrie in early May. Remi Wilton captained the side in the absence of Georgia Wilson.
First Half Display
Wigan opened the scoring inside the first minute when St Helens failed to deal with Rowe's kick. The ball bounced kindly toward Ellise Derbyshire, who collected and grounded in the left corner.
Eva Hunter extended the lead shortly after with a powerful run. Breaking through Liv Leach's tackle, Hunter accelerated to cross. Rowe's conversion made the score 10-0 after five minutes.
A perfectly weighted kick from Rowe saw Anna Davies touch down in the right corner for a 14-0 lead. Derbyshire then doubled her tally when she evaded two tackles following a neat passing move involving M. Jones.
A clever offload from Mia Atherton to Mary Coleman set up Hunter's second try. St Helens responded when set restarts allowed them to work play to the right edge, with Luci McColm scoring under pressure. Gaskin's conversion left the Warriors leading 22-6 at the break.
Second Half Tries
Molly Jones marked her return from injury with a solo try early in the second half after combining with Carys Marsh, Foubister and Grace Banks.
Remi Wilton added another try, showing tidy footwork to weave through the St Helens defence. Rowe added the extras.
Jenna Foubister and Mary Coleman also crossed in the Warriors' commanding performance, which secured a winning start to the Super 4 format.
