Rugby League: Saints close on inaugural title
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Your support makes all the difference.Paris St-Germain 12 St Helens 32
St Helens have only to prove themselves as sure-footed in their two remaining home matches as they have been away to become the inaugural winners of the Stones Super League, writes Dave Hadfield.
They were not at their best as an attacking force at a rain-lashed Charlety Stadium on Saturday night, but they have won four successive matches during a month on the road and remain poised to usurp Wigan as champions. "It was never a night where moving the ball was going to be easy," Shaun McRae, their coach, said, "but I was pleased with the way we went about it, especially our defence."
The key for Saints this season is that they have sometimes narrowly won matches that they would have lost in the past.
They were never under serious pressure in this match, although Paris's coach John Kear - a crucial mid-season loan from rugby league headquarters, was right to claim that his side had been a long way from being disgraced.
The other major factor for Saints was the turn-out of their supporters and the atmosphere they generated in what would otherwise have been a depressingly empty stadium.
The club sold almost 2,000 tickets, but a fair number obviously made their way to Paris independently. "They were fantastic," Bobbie Goulding, Saints' captain, said. "When we came out and heard the noise they were making the hairs on the back of my neck stood up."
Paris St-Germain: Lucchese; Bomati, Chamorin, Vergniol, Wilson; Bird, Entat; Bloomfield, Wulf, Sands, Pech, Bryant, Smith. Substitutes used: Banquet, Cabestany, Griffiths, Parry.
St Helens: Prescott; Hayes, Hunte, Haigh, Sullivan; Martyn, Goulding; Perelini, Cunningham, Fogerty, McVey, Morley, Hammond. Substitutes used: Pickavance, Arnold, Busby. Substitute not used: Newlove.
Referee: R Connoll (Wigan).
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