Challenge Cup: Alex Walmsley and St Helens ready for Leigh semi-final 'bell-ringer'

Reputation will count for nothing when St Helens meet Leigh in Saturday's Challenge Cup semi-final.

Saints may have won four Grand Finals in a row and be the reigning world champions, but prop Alex Walmsley says none of that will matter for 80 minutes against one of the form sides of this year's Super League.

"If we're not at our very best then we're not going to come up with the spoils," Walmsley told the 5 Live Rugby League podcast. "Nothing is ever given, nothing is ever certain.

"And, we're coming up against a side who have been phenomenal."

History means nothing, says Walmsley

By phenomenal, Walmsley points to a Leigh side who in their first season back in Super League have won 13 league games from 19, sit second in the table and are also 80 minutes from Wembley.

Saints are hoping to take a giant stride towards winning a 14th Challenge Cup final and still have a rare treble of cup, league and world title in their sights.

They lifted the world crown with a dramatic win over Australian NRL champions Penrith in Sydney at the start of the season.

By comparison, Leigh have only won one Wembley final, and that was back in 1971. But they have been creating a stir with their form this season with eight rounds remaining.

England international Walmsley knows his Saints side have a battle on their hands, whatever they have achieved in recent years.

"It's all well and good talking about the Penrith game, and it was pretty special and it's something we'll rightly hang our hat on and talk about for a long time, but that was five months ago now," Walmsley added.

Saints expended energy, emotion and physical endeavour to win in Australia, and form has suffered with it

"Where we are sitting now is completely different. We'll take those kind of experiences with us into this weekend, but at the same time, if we're not reaching what we need to be hitting in terms of our performance, just because we're St Helens doesn't give us the right to win these games.

"I don't think we've ever walked on [to a field] thinking we're unbeatable. I think we've always known that if we are at our very best, we've got a very good chance of winning.

"We've got a respect for other teams in Super League. At no point do we think that just because of the successes we've had, that we've got the right to turn up on a rugby field and automatically have that right to get the result.

"That's not the case, and it never will be the case."

Patchy Saints 'turned a corner'

Leigh warmed up for this weekend's semi-final with a 24-22 win at Salford - their 12th win from their past 13 matches in all competitions.

On the flipside, St Helens lost 14-12 at home to league leaders Catalans, a match Walmsley believes has set up the Red Vee perfectly for Saturday's test.

"That had a semi-final or Grand Final feel about it, that game. That sort of intensity about it," he said of the clash with the Dragons.

"There were 12 minutes without a stoppage in play at the start of the match. Generally, that's unheard of. We came up short, we didn't get the result we wanted, but in terms of our preparation for this week coming up, we got taught a lot about what's expected of us.

John Asiata has been one of Leigh's stand-outs, linking attack with an old-fashioned ball-playing loose-forward role

"Going set-for-set, the physical demand, the intensity that we're going to have to rise up to, to be our very best, if we're to beat the other in-form side.

"The two teams that have been the best this year are Catalans and Leigh, which is why they're sitting first and second."

By their own high standards, St Helens' league form has been patchy this campaign. But ominously they sit fourth in the table, only six points off top spot and with a game in hand. Their giant prop believes they are now getting back to where they want to be.

"We haven't had the sort of form that we've had in recent years, but I'd to like to think we've turned a corner from where we were," said Walmsley.

"What we've hit this year is what teams in any sport go through at times. You go through sticky bits of form and rough patches. It's only normal you can have a downer.

"For us as a team right now it's getting back to that mindset of delivering week on week.

"We've shown in patches this year the side we're capable of being and getting those performances and wins in."

And now, Walmsley says, he and his team-mates are ready to channel their adrenaline and intensity into Saturday's big game.

"I don't think it's any more important this year than last year or the year before. It's a semi-final, we're one game away from Wembley and we'll be treating it as we've treated every semi-final for the last four years," he added.

"It all boils down this weekend to being excited. We come up against a side who have been exciting, who've come into Super League and who are a team who are not just pushing for the play-offs but for titles.

"This weekend they are pushing for a Challenge Cup final, we're playing against a very dangerous side. We have to be ready and prepared for what's going to be a real bell-ringer."