St Helens win over Wigan means a lot, says Justin Holbrook

St Helens coach Justin Holbrook said their win over arch enemy Wigan on Good Friday means a lot to everyone in the town.

The Saints were 12-2 to the good at half time thanks to tries from Ben Barba and Zeb Taia.

Wigan took a 14-12 lead for a small period in the second half though, but St Helens showed good character to come from behind to win 21-18 at the Totally Wicked Stadium.

Speaking after the game, Holbrook said: “It was a fantastic game of rugby league.

“I watched highlights of lots of Good Friday clashes over the years and it delivered again. For us to win, it’s great.

“Some people pointed out to me that we hadn’t won a Good Friday game in eight years, so to win today is great.

“It means a lot to the players, everyone at the club and the town. I am very proud to have watched the boys win today.”

Saints captain James Roby put in a hard-working display and Holbrook was impressed with the England hooker.

He added: “There were loads of players who impressed me.

“You can sometimes overlook Robes (James Roby) at that standard because he is like that every week.

“I speak about him all of the time, it is great having him in the team and he just gets better and better. He was a big difference for us, absolutely.

“I am still taking it all in but it was a great game and I am impressed with everyone.”

Australia coach Mal Meninga was at the Totally Wicked Stadium for the game and received a great reception from both sets of fans.

Meninga spent time at St Helens as a player between 1984 and 1985, scoring 38 tries in 31 games for the club.

Holbrook was made up Meninga turned up, he added: “I just got him over pretty quickly and it was great that Mal could be here.

“Everyone in St Helens still talks about the impact he had when he came here.

“He was only here for a year, but they still talk about it today. To get Mal along to the game was awesome.”