Challenge Cup: St Helens 8-31 Warrington - Wire score five tries to reach semis

Warrington wing Matty Ashton produced the finish of a lifetime as his side scored five tries to stun St Helens and book a Challenge Cup semi-final with Huddersfield Giants.

Holding a 7-6 interval lead, Warrington hit Saints with two early second-half tries, the first of them Ashton's brilliant score in the left corner.

Wire ran amok as Connor Wrench, James Harrison and George Williams crossed.

Josh Thewlis landed five kicks to add to his first-half try.

• Challenge Cup semi-final draw

Williams also came up with a first-half drop-goal that gave Warrington their edge at the break.

Saints' first-half points came from a Konrad Hurrell try, improved by Jon Bennison, who scored the home side's only points after the break with a penalty.

It was the visitors' start to the second period that won them the game - and a chance of a first return to Wembley since winning the cup in 2019 - as Saints were wrecked by two quick-fire tries.

The first was a stunning one-hand finish in the left corner from Ashton, one of the great tries by any winger.

With almost the whole of his body the wrong side of the touchline, he snaked out his looping left arm yet somehow kept control of the ball to touch it down with his fingertips.

Then came Wire's third try from Wrench, also converted by Thewlis, before front-row forward Harrison crashed over to make it safe and Matt Dufty jinked through to set up man of the match Williams for the final score.

It was a second successive defeat for Saints, who failed to bounce back from last week's Super League defeat by leaders Catalans Dragons and boss Paul Wellens warned that he will consider making major changes for this Friday's clash with managerless strugglers Hull FC.

St Helens coach Paul Wellens:

"We're in a Challenge Cup quarter-final and for a team that usually rises to the challenge in big games, we got the opposite of that.

"We didn't learn any lessons at all from last week. It's extremely disappointing and quite sobering. I expected us to respond and we didn't. We've got to do a bit of soul-searching.

"I'm going to have to look at what options are available. The onus is on the people with the shirts to keep them, but they need to understand that being at this club there is a standard you need when you pull on the jersey.

"I want them to sting over the next couple of days, and to be hurt by it. If you're not hurt by it, then you're at the wrong club."

Warrington head coach Sam Burgess:

"That was some try from Matty Ashton. But he practises really hard at that.

"It's not just a fluke. He was out there on Saturday doing 50 or 60 of them. He puts a mat out and practises. For any young kid watching, it just shows that practice works."

"We were good, but we've still got a bit left. Overall, it a was a great team performance, but I'm pretty relaxed about it. It really counts for nothing now.

"Coming here and winning is not an easy thing to do, but some of the players are disappointed about the moments we didn't take. We're not getting carried away, we're playing good in patches but we can improve."

St Helens: Welsby; Makinson, Hurrell, Blake, Bennison; Lomax, Dodd; Walmsley, Clark, Delaney, Sironen, Batchelor, Knowles.

Interchanges: Mata'utia, Mbye, Bell, Whitley.

Warrington: Dufty; J Thewlis, King, Wrench, Ashton; Williams, Hayes; Harrison, Walker, Philbin, Nicholson, Fitzgibbon, Crowther.

Interchanges: Bullock, Holroyd, Powell, Wood.

Referee: Jack Smith.