There was never a shock result on the cards at the Fibrus Community Stadium when Workington Town hosted St Helens in the third round of the Challenge Cup.
There’s too big a gulf between the Super League elite and those grafting at rugby league’s coalface – League One and now the Championship.
But for two glorious minutes Town actually led the star-studded visitors after Jake Carter kicked a penalty in the 6th minute.
It was a magic moment for most of those in the 4,129 crowd who knew it couldn’t last.
Indeed Saints scored the first of their 17 tries after eight minutes and by half-time they had established a 52-2 lead, with the real prospect of reaching a century of points. In the end they fell short by two points on 98, which was Town’s record defeat.
The Super League side showed their class, particularly in the sharp and slick way they moved the ball in possession – pace and quality which Town could simply not deal with.
Tristan Sailor was the star of the show in the first-half as he helped himself to a hat-trick of tries in a nine-try salvo and also over the Town line were David Klemmer, Deon Cross, Jackson Hastings, Kyle Feldt, Shane Wright and Jack Welsby. Hastings converted all but one.
Saints new coach Paul Rowley had said beforehand why he was picking a strong team.
With a huge Super League opener coming at Warrington seven days later, the cup game would enable the new-look side to continue building their combinations.
But Rowley was also keen to give respect to the proud Championship side and said before the game.
He said: “The season starts this week – it’s a competitive fixture and then we lead into Warrington, which is going to be a blockbuster to be honest.
“So we can’t be undercooked going into that game, that’s for sure.
“Ultimately, what I’ve learned in life is to be respectful and humble when you’re approaching games otherwise you come undone so giving Workington the utmost respect is the overriding factor.
“They’re at this stage of the cup on merit, they’re a proud side with a rich history and there will be vociferous support.
“I think they’ve sold quite a lot of tickets so it will be a bit of cauldron really, so we need to be good.”
It actually took only two minutes of the second-half for Saints to go over again.
This time they moved the ball the width of the field, right to left after a six again was given and Matt Whitley scored an unconverted try in the corner.
It continued to be a procession and 46 points in the second period sent Town crashing to the heaviest defeat in their history – 98-2.
The other tries came from Hastings, Feldt (2), Welsby (2), Alex Walmsley and George Delaney. Hastings finished with 15 conversions.
Town were closest to a consolation score in the last five minutes with a series of attacking sets in the Saints 20 but couldn’t get over.
There will be some sore bodies in the Workington ranks after spending most of the game tackling, but they can now concentrate on more realistic targets, starting with a visit from Widnes in the Championship next weekend.
It was a painful experience for the players and home fans, but the pleasure of hosting a side of St Helens quality and the financial gains from a well-organised and attended game, will put them in good stead for the rest of the season.
