By Steffan Thomas

Copyright walesonline

It took 20 passes and 38 seconds for Shane Wright to score one of the greatest tries in Super League history which fired St Helens into the semi-finals. There were just two seconds left on the clock with Leeds Rhinos leading 14-12 as St Helens’ season hung in the balance. As Jonny Lomax started with the ball the hooter sounded before the ball went through the hands of Jack Welsby, Tristan Sailor and back to Welsby. St Helens were creeping closer to the try line before it went through the hands of Lomax, Wright, Welsby, Matt Whitley, James Bell and Welsby who put Wright over to send the crowd wild. Paul Wellens, the St Helens head coach, believes it was fated for the Saints to come out on top. “It’s quite ironic that I was at the press event Monday and that was brought up to me a few times around its 25-year anniversary (of Wide to West),” he told Sky Sports. “Some people believe in fate, some don’t but it’s pretty peculiar that the game is won in a very similar fashion to what it was 25 years ago. “I spoke to the team about that numerous times throughout the course of the year, saying you are never done till you are done and keep going at the game.” This brought back memories of a similarly outrageous try 25 years ago when they beat Bradford Bulls with the now famous “wide to west” score. It is recognised as one of the greatest moments in Super League history and Wright’s try last night will also go down in St Helens folklore. The words of Sky Sports rugby league commentator Eddie Hemmings are still remembered to this day. “This is the last play. Long kicks it wide to Iro. Iro to Hall, Hall is trapped. “Back it goes to Hoppe, over the shoulder to Hall, there is Jonkers. “Here is Long and Long fancies it, Long fancies it. It’s wide to West, it’s wide to West, Dwayne West, inside to Joynt, Joynt, Joynt, Joynt! “Oh! Oh! Fantastic! They have won it. They have won it. Chris Joynt has won it. It is unbelievable here. It is frankly unbelievable. “Chris Joynt has won the match for St Helens. What a final passage of play. What a run. What a try. What a match. What drama.” Last night, Wellens went from being a player back in 2000 to celebrating as head coach of St Helens. Last night’s Sky Sports commentator Dave Woods’ words will also go down in legend. “Leeds desperate to put hands on bodies to stop things from happening,” he began. “Whitley, Sailor, it is with Robertson. He cuts back on the inside with so many bodies ahead of him. “Robertson on the outside, ducks underneath tackles, Robertson plays it back and a flick back to the middle. “Whitley, Lomax… Oh! They are going to score, they are going to score. “It is going to be a dive for the line for Shane Wright. “Have you ever seen anything like that? That is utterly, utterly extraordinary.” Wellens was ecstatic as Wright touched down for the winning try but believes you have to live in the moment. “I don’t know whether I’m going to be regretting that in time to come or not but I think the game’s about emotion isn’t it and passion and you know I’m not going to apologise for that,” he told Sky Sports. “I mean it’s just at the time I was obviously ecstatic for my team and the players and the staff who worked so hard so yeah I reacted in the way I did and I looked behind the sticks and saw the fans who supported us home and away all year and had tough moments, had good moments. “It is important that you celebrate moments like that I think it’s key.” Of course one team’s ecstasy is another’s despair and Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur admitted his players were left shattered by the moment. “Yeah, it’s shattering, mate. Not for me, like I’m disappointed and shattered, but just shattered for the players,” Arthur told Sky Sports. “They worked their backsides off all year, put a heap of effort into that, invested so much into that performance. “Shattered for our fans who have invested so much into the team. It’s a cruel game sometimes. “I don’t think we deserve for it to end like that, but it did and we have to deal with it. “It’s going to be a tough pill to swallow for a while, but it’s going to have to make us better.” St Helens will now face Hull KR in the semi-finals next Saturday while Wigan Warriors take on Leigh Leopards. The final will be contested at Old Trafford on Saturday, October 11.