Zach Eckersley’s Wigan career may only be eight games old but the 20-year-old has a CV many players from rugby league’s most famous club could only dream of.
The latest star off the Wigan production line has, in a matter of months, endeared himself to the fans in a fashion he could have barely believed. A solitary appearance on debut in 2022 before failing to play a game last year left you wondering if the utility back would break through in such a star-studded squad.
However, he has written some story already. In the space of a month, Eckersley has not only appeared in a Challenge Cup final, he has won one, scoring a try in Wigan’s 18-8 victory at Wembley against Warrington in the process. With the Warriors’ two marquee players, Jai Field and Bevan French, unavailable for the derby against St Helens, you wondered who would step up.
The answer? Eckersley. He has played wing and centre so far in his burgeoning career but excelled at full-back here, adding a match-winning try in Super League’s biggest game of all to his record. It was his try, a wonderful solo finish from close range with 12 minutes to go, that settled an engrossing derby.
Nobody gave St Helens a chance here, predominantly because they made the eight-mile trip over Billinge Hill to face their great rivals without nine frontline players, many of them forwards. Yes, Wigan had no Field or French, but they had their world-class pack and you assumed they would roll over Saints with ease.
But that never happened, and the fact it took a wonderful Eckersley try to settle the game taught us two things. One is that the world champions usually find a way to win. The other is that Saints showed the effort and desire in the face of adversity to suggest they will be in the mix for Old Trafford when their stars return.
There was no doubting who the story was here, though. “He’s not practised at all at full-back,” Wigan’s coach, Matt Peet, said of Eckersley. “Bevan pulled up in the last five minutes of our last session so it’s credit to Zach for being level-headed. It was a big night for him and he stood up.”
It was a typically bruising derby from the start, epitomised by Matty Lees being sent to the sin-bin inside 60 seconds for Saints. However, they rode a spell of early Wigan pressure commendably and opened the scoring when 18-year-old full-back Harry Robertson marked his debut with a wonderful assist for Jack Welsby.
Three minutes later, Wigan were level at 6-6 when Eckersley broke through and supplied the crucial pass for Jake Wardle. There were then near-misses for both sides, but neither could find the decisive play in a derby that seemed increasingly to be going the distance.
The fact St Helens took it that far was to their credit. “There’s a lot of us, myself included, in recent weeks who’ve been questioned and that was the perfect answer,” their head coach, Paul Wellens, said.
And as the game entered the final quarter, the Saints struck again when Waqa Blake finished well in the corner, with Mark Percival converting from the touchline. But four minutes later, Wigan again levelled when Adam Keighran touched down, with Harry Smith’s goal making it 12-12.
The derby needed a hero. Tyler Dupree’s magnificent charge-down of a Welsby kick sprung Wigan into attacking position once again and they did not waste their chance, with Eckersley cutting through to settle it. He has a long, exciting career ahead of him, but this will rank as one of his most memorable moments.
Wigan Eckersley; Miski, Keighran, Wardle, Marshall; Farrimond, Smith; Havard, Thompson, Dupree, Nsemba, Farrell, Ellis. Interchange Byrne, Mago, Hill, Walters. St Helens Robertson; Ritson, Percival, Davies, Blake; Welsby, Lomax; Delaney, Clark, Lees, Sironen, Bell, Paasi. Interchange Royle, Burns, Vaughan, Stephens. Referee L Moore.
