Sione Mata’utia injury blow as Saints boss Paul Wellens provides update

St Helens were dealt a blow when Sione Mata’utia was stretchered from the field in their 14-6 derby defeat to Wigan on Good Friday.

The former Australia and Samoa international left the action with 10 minutes remaining after being knocked out when going in for a tackle in their loss at Wigan.

Mata’utia was down for several minutes before leaving the field on a stretcher to the applause of both sets of supporters.

Speaking after the game, Wellens said: “He is a bit rattled at the moment as you can imagine. He took a pretty hefty blow.

“He is now conscious, I think he lost consciousness for a while there.

“He’s still at this moment in time in the medical room getting some checks so I’ve not really had the chance to go and see him, I’ve only had a small bit of information from the medical staff.”

Wigan coach Matt Peet also wished Mata’utia well in his post-match press conference.

Peet said: “I hope Sione Mata’utia is okay. With everything what is going on with player welfare and looking after lads with concussion, I’m sure he will be well-looked after.”

Mata’utia won’t be available for St Helens’ next game, which is away at Hull KR on Friday.

Paul Wellens: Wigan deserved the win

The Warriors were 8-0 up at the break thanks to a try from Harry Smith as well as two goals from the half-back.

Toby King extended Wigan’s lead in the second half before Jonny Lomax pulled one back for Saints. It was the Warriors who finished 14-6 winners in front of a 24,000-strong crowd.

Wellens said: “I’m disappointed we’ve not come here and won a big game.

“We know how hugely important these games are for supporters of both teams and we’ve just come up that little bit short.

“One thing I’ve got to say about my players is that I can’t fault them on attitude or effort, I think that was there in abundance today from both teams. Ultimately, we just came up short and its disappointing.

“We didn’t take our opportunities when they presented themselves, that was our issue.

“It wasn’t just an issue tonight, we shelved a couple against Wakefield last week. I spoke to the team before the game and big games like this are littered with small moments that you’ve got to win. I thought Wigan won more of those today and a few of those line breaks that we didn’t quite finish are evident of that.

“What I can’t do is take anything away from Wigan and what they’ve achieved today. It was a great result and a great performance from them. I think on the balance of play, even though we have missed a lot of opportunities, they deserved the result.”

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