ST HELENS’ joint-coach Craig Richards hailed their 10-6 win over York Valkyrie as one of their best ever.
Saints booked their Wembley place having ground down a spirited York side which swallowed huge swathes of pressure to come back in the second half but ultimately fall short.
The narrow victory sets up a derby final against a young Wigan Warriors side which has gone from strength to strength under coach Denis Betts.
“That has got to be right up there in terms of performances,” said Richards, who is sharing coaching duties this season with Derek Hardman.
“It was never going to be pretty because it was two really good sides that weren’t going to give anything away and the girls really battled hard.”
Hardman revealed considerable work went into ruck control ahead of the game, something which he feels helped Saints to win.
“We went away and watched the Grand Final loss (to York last year) over and over, and tried to implement something a little different,” explained Hardman.
“We identified we needed to control the ruck and the territory better… and it really gave us the impetus to make sure we were on the front foot.”
Defeated head coach Lindsay Anfield felt her Valkyrie side put in an uncharacteristic performance, with them failing to execute the basics well.
“We had to defend for 40 minutes in the first half, it was dumb rugby,” she said.
“We have a process that we stick to, the girls know that, and they didn’t stick to it. If you don’t do what we have been doing in training over and again, this is what happens if you go away from that.
“There are a lot of tears and frustration in there, with players beating themselves up. So as long as they go away to reflect on it and say, ‘I will be better for that’, I think we will be better for it.”
