Wane ecstatic after derby triumph

Wigan coach Shaun Wane has described himself as the "happiest man in the North West" after watching his side claim the derby spoils at St Helens.

The Warriors overcame the absence of five first choice forwards to run in five tries to two in a 28-10 victory at Langtree Park.

"I'm made up, I'm the happiest man in the North West," he said. "It was a great effort with the injuries we had and we had people there who wouldn't have played if everybody was fit."

Wane revealed that full-back Sam Tomkins had been unable to train all week because of tonsillitis and only played because it was the derby.

"Sam has been really sick but there is no way he would ever have missed this," he said.

Storming displays from Wigan duo Gareth Hock and Jeff Lima helped make up for the absence of Sean O'Loughlin, Epalahame Lauaki, Lee Mossop, Ben Flower and Liam Farrell and it was fitting that they scored the late tries that secured victory.

"The toughness we showed was absolutely outstanding. It was a convincing win against a really talented Saints team," Wane added.

"We had to dig in and defend, which showed the character and team spirit."

Saints were on a high after back-to-back triumphs over Leeds and Warrington but they never recovered from the shock of losing scrum-half Jonny Lomax with a badly broken finger after just 16 minutes.

Caretaker coach Mike Rush said: "Losing a key player part way through a game is difficult. Jonny has a finger injury and Jon [Wilkin] has ice on his shoulder. We need to get them both assessed."