Saints remain unbeaten

8 Mar 2019

Saints remain unbeaten

St Helens 26-0 London Broncos

St Helens maintained their unbeaten start to the season as they eased to a comfortable 26-0 victory over London Broncos to return to the top of the Betfred Super League table.

Saints claimed five tries through Dom Peyroux, Theo Fages, Regan Grace, Kevin Naiqama and Lachlan Coote, who also kicked three goals.

London made the worst possible start when the opening kick failed to go 10 metres and Saints needed no second invitation to take full advantage as Fages sent Peyroux over for the first try in the opening minute of the game.

Saints broke through the London resistance again on 23 minutes when Coote’s long pass allowed Grace to race over in the corner.

And seven minutes before half-time, Saints claimed their third try when a powerful burst and clever offload by Zeb Taia allowed Fages to touch down and, with Coote kicking two first-half conversions, the home side led 16-0 at the break.

London kept their line intact in the second half until the hour mark when Saints finally found a way through thanks to a midfield break by Fages who sent Coote racing clear under the posts. He also converted to stretch the lead to 22-0.

And St Helens completed the win when Naiqama crossed three minutes from time.

St Helens coach Justin Holbrook said: "I thought it was a really good game and obviously I’m really pleased with the result.

“I thought we controlled the game and had to play with a lot of patience as there was a lot of slowing the game down and a lot of penalties but we kept calm and I thought it was a great performance."

London coach Danny Ward said: "I’m really proud of the players. They gave it a real crack and defended like their lives depended on it at times, which was pleasing.

“But we weren’t great with the ball, certainly in their half, and didn’t put them under any pressure and we didn’t kick well which was disappointing."