2014 Super League Grand Final

Last updated

2014 (2014) Super League Grand Final  ()
St Helens RLFC Wigan Warriors
146
12Total
STH Saintscolours.svg 21214
WIG Wigancolours.svg 606
Date11 October 2014
Stadium Old Trafford
Location Flag of England.svg Manchester
Harry Sunderland Trophy Flag of England.svg James Roby ( Saintscolours.svg St Helens)
Headliners James
Referee Phil Bentham
Attendance70,102
Broadcast partners
Broadcasters
Commentators
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The 2014 Super League Grand Final was the 17th official Grand Final and conclusive and deciding match of Super League XIX. It was held on Saturday 11 October 2014, [1] at Old Trafford, Manchester with a 6pm kick-off time. The game was played between the top two teams from the regular season, St Helens RLFC and Wigan Warriors. [2]

Contents

Background

The 2014 Super League season (known as the First Utility Super League XIX due to sponsorship by First Utility) [3] was the 19th season of rugby league football since the Super League format was introduced in 1996. Fourteen teams competed for the League Leaders' Shield over 27 rounds (including the Magic Weekend in Manchester), after which the highest finishing teams will enter the play-offs to compete for a place in the Grand Final and a chance to win the championship and the Super League Trophy.

PosTeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts
1 Saintscolours.svg St. Helens 271908796563+23338 [4]
2 Wigancolours.svg Wigan Warriors 271818834429+40537

Route to the Final

St Helens

St Helens
RoundOppositionScore
Qualifying Play-Off Castleford colours.svg Castleford Tigers (H)41-0
Semi-Final Catalanscolours.svg Catalans Dragons (H)30-12
Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue.

Wigan

Wigan
RoundOppositionScore
Qualifying Play-Off Giantscolours.svg Huddersfield Giants (H)57-4
Semi-Final Wolvescolours.svg Warrington Wolves (A)16-12
Key: (H) = Home venue; (A) = Away venue.

Match details

12 October 2014
18:00 BST
St. Helens Saintscolours.svg 14–6 Wigancolours.svg Wigan Warriors
Tries: Soliola Ru ball.svg 54'
Makinson Ru ball.svg 69'
Goals: Percival 3/3 30', 54', 69'		 (Report)
Tries: Burgess Ru ball.svg 40'
Goals: Smith 1/3 17'
Flower Red card.svg 3'
Old Trafford, Manchester
Attendance: 70,102
Referee: Phil Bentham
Player of the Match: James Roby
St Helens Position Wigan Warriors
17 Flag of England.svg Paul Wellens (c) Fullback 1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matthew Bowen
2 Flag of England.svg Tommy Makinson Wing 2 Flag of England.svg Josh Charnley
22 Flag of England.svg Mark Percival Centre 5 Flag of the Cook Islands.svg Anthony Gelling
4 Flag of England.svg Josh Jones Centre 23 Flag of England.svg Dan Sarginson
5 Flag of England.svg Adam Swift Wing 32 Flag of England.svg Joe Burgess
15 Flag of England.svg Mark Flanagan Stand-off 6 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Blake Green
6 Flag of New Zealand.svg Lance Hohaia Scrum-half 7 Flag of England.svg Matty Smith
16 Flag of Ireland.svg Kyle Amor Prop 10 Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Ben Flower
9 Flag of England.svg James Roby Hooker 19 Flag of England.svg Sam Powell
8 Flag of Samoa.svg Mose Masoe Prop 17 Flag of England.svg Dom Crosby
10 Flag of Ireland.svg Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook Second-row 11 Flag of England.svg Joel Tomkins
11 Flag of New Zealand.svg Iosia Soliola Second-row 12 Flag of England.svg Liam Farrell
3 Flag of England.svg Jordan Turner Loose forward 13 Flag of England.svg Sean O'Loughlin (c)
13 Flag of Tonga.svg Willie Manu Interchange22 Flag of the United States.svg Eddy Pettybourne
18 Flag of England.svg Alex Walmsley Interchange24 Flag of England.svg Tony Clubb
27 Flag of England.svg Greg Richards Interchange25 Flag of England.svg John Bateman
28 Flag of England.svg Luke Thompson Interchange27 Flag of England.svg George Williams
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Nathan Brown Coach Flag of England.svg Shaun Wane

Following a fiery opening that started with the kind of big tackles that this derby game has become known for, the game suffered a dramatic twist in only the second minute of the game when Wigan Prop, Ben Flower, became the first and only player to be sent off in a grand final by referee Phil Bentham after he punched Lance Hohaia in the face, thus knocking him out, then as he lay defenceless on the floor, he punched him in the face again. [5]

This forced Wigan to play 78 minutes with 12-men, causing a switch in the Wigan approach to one of smash-and-grab. A valiant first-half performance by Wigan's 12-men meant they entered the break with a 6–2 lead. [6]

Despite further strong defensive displays by the Wigan outfit in the ensuing second-half, Iosia Soliola forced himself over the Wigan try-line in his final appearance in the Red-Vee to put St. Helens ahead, and in control of the game. An admirable, yet desperate display by Wigan, to get themselves back into contention was halted, when Tommy Makinson crashed over for Saints, 12 minutes from time to make the score 14–6, after a precise kick over-the-top of the Wigan defence from Saints stalwart, Paul Wellens. Despite a late Wigan flurry, Makinson's try proved to be the one that sealed the game and the championship for St. Helens, meaning that the Saints claimed their first championship title since 2006, and their sixth overall in the Super League era (St Helens are now equal with Leeds Rhinos for titles since 1996, both have 6 titles). [7] [8]

World Club Series

By winning this match the Saints had qualified for the World Club Series Final, to be played early in the 2015 season against the winners of the 2014 NRL Grand final, the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "2014 Super League fixtures announced". Super League. Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "Super League Grand Final 2014: Wigan favourites but St Helens have momentum ahead of Old Trafford showdown". Daily Telegraph. 4 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "First Utility powers title sponsorship of Super League". Super League. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "League Table". Super League. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  5. ↑ "St Helens 14 Wigan Warriors 6: Moment of madness from Wales international Ben Flower costs Wigan dear". Daily Telegraph. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "St Helens 14-6 Wigan Warriors". BBC Sport.
  7. ↑ "St Helens win Grand Final after Wigan's Ben Flower is sent off". Guardian. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "St Helens 14–6 Wigan Warriors". BBC Sport. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
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