Wigan coach Matty Peet says victory over St Helens in the Challenge Cup semi-final has given his side a taste of success and shown they can beat the best.

Wigan won 20-18 after a Liam Marshall double helped secure the win at the home of Leeds United.

“We’ve got such an exciting group there,” Peet said.

“People forget how young they are sometimes. Saints are still the best team, but we’ve shown that we can do it.

“They were a bit off today. But we take confidence from it, but we don’t get ahead of ourselves.”

Peet insisted Super League champions St Helens are still the benchmark of the competition, but at the same time said the Warriors will enjoy this result.

We had two gatecrashers at the post-match press conference earlier! 😂

Matt Peet’s daughters paid a visit! ❤️#WWRL #ChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/xn90CyYyM4

— Wigan Warriors 🍒⚪️ (@WiganWarriorsRL) May 7, 2022

They will now face Huddersfield in the final.

“Credit to the resilience of the group, the trust they have in each other,” he said.

“Liam Marshall is a brilliant player. Saints are still the benchmark, it’s going to take years to change that.

“This game doesn’t change that, they’re still the best team. But, credit to our endeavour. We’ll go and enjoy it.

“History won’t tell if we get to a final and get turned over. So it’s game on again. But I am going to enjoy this.

“Getting to a final was a big goal for me personally. It’s a great occasion.”

 
Peet is in his first season as Wigan head coach, after taking over from Adrian Lam at the end of 2021, and has rejuvenated the Warriors.

“It’s the first chance we’ve had of getting to a final, and we took it,” he said.

“I want us to get addicted to it, getting to finals. We can only do it one game at a time.

“It’s important we enjoy it, we celebrate, but it’s only a step. We’ll be judged on how perform in the final. We have to keep going. We can’t take ourselves too seriously.”

Peet was born and raised in Wigan, and has served in many different coaching roles at the club.

He said the reaction of the Warriors’ fans at the end of the game was “unbelievable”.

“All the emotion for me and all the pride is all about the fact that I know so many people who’ve come today,” he admitted. “Families from Wigan that we get to give them something to look forward to, we get to inspire people.

“I wish I could have stayed out there longer. We’ll be preparing to be put our best foot forward in the coming weeks.”