SAINTS’ stingy defence limited Leeds Rhinos to just one try – a long-range interception – to secure their passage through to Monday night’s Challenge Cup quarter final draw.
They had clearly learned some lessons from last week’s frantic start when Leeds bossed the show for a long period of the first half.
This team Saints suffocated the Rhinos, and were always on top and in control despite trailing at one point due to the Harry Newman interception.
Coach Paul Wellens was pleased with how his side defended and kept the Rhinos at arm’s length.
Wellens said: “Different teams have different defensive systems or structures, whatever you want to call them.
“But ultimately, defence is about an attitude and wanting to defend and I’m very fortunate as a coach of this team that I have got a group of players who value that more than anything else.
“For as talented as a lot of the players are in the group, what they value is people putting the body on the line for each other, people turning up when there’s no right to turn up.
“And we saw a number of examples of that tonight, Jon Bennison being one of them.
So when you’re defending that way, you give yourselves a chance of winning most games, even when your attack doesn’t quite click or like tonight, when the conditions are like they are, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of points in the game.
“I’m pleased with the way we’re going there, but each week you’re challenged in a different way.
“So the challenge is to not fall in love with yourself because you defending but understand the reasons why you’re defending well and go out and try and replicate it week on week.”
Leeds rattled Saints with a cyclone at the start of last week’s Super League game – and bringing their own intensity at the beginning of the cup tie.
Wellens said: “What I am really pleased about the group is that there are a number of areas from last week which we focused on in terms of improving.
“One of them was quite obviously the start of the game. And I think that reflected tonight in terms of the way that we started with more intent, we matched their intent, we won the territorial battle and that was a bit more like us in terms of how we want to start the game.
“So to find those improvement areas is one thing but to go out there and deliver on them is another. So in in that respect. I’m really pleased.”