Unanswered Questions And The Giant Risk

Saints will return to Super League action this week after a catastrophic Challenge Cup semi final shellacking by Wigan which demands introspection.

Paul Rowley's side visit Huddersfield on Thursday night (May 14) sitting second in the Super League table after 10 rounds. But given the chasm between Wigan and Saints last week it is hard to avoid wondering whether we are in a false position.

Saints have won eight and lost only two of those first 10 league matches. Those defeats came at Warrington on the opening day and at Hull KR the week before Easter. Suggestions of flat track bullying are tempting, but we have also beaten both Leigh and Wigan at home and won in France twice. 

The difficulty now is that a win over a struggling Giants side won't answer the question about where Saints really sit in the league's hierarchy. Are we a rung below the three sides that have beaten us in league and cup, or is a tilt at the Grand Final still a realistic proposition? Was it ever that in the first year under a new coach and some hopeful recruitment?

On the flip side of that the game still has high stakes. Defeat is unthinkable . Not only because it might trump last week's embarrassment if we were to lose to a side bottom of the pile with only two wins all season, but also because it would serve as further evidence that Saints' class of 2026 aren't up to it. There's little to gain but quite a bit to lose.

The hope to cling on to is that we haven't yet seen the best version of our team. Matty Lees was injured on the first tackle of the game last week and seems certain to miss the rest of the season. That's in keeping with the theme of absenteeism in the early going of this campaign. 

Saints have suffered injury after injury so far. As well as Lees, Rowley is still without Mark Percival, Nene McDonald, Jake Wingfield, Jacob Host, Agnatius Paasi, Jake Burns and Curtis Sironen. Add Noah Stephens to that list this week. Wingfield won't be back this year but the others should all be viable options for Rowley to include in a match day 17.

One man returning from injury to provide a welcome boost is Jack Welsby. The England international has been dogged with injuries over the last two seasons. Perceived wisdom was that he came back too early last year. Initially ruled out for 16 weeks he actually missed only around 10 before featuring in a 52-4 home pasting of this week's opponents in August. 

This year he dislocated a shoulder in the opening night defeat at Warrington and was only reintroduced for the visit of York at the start of May. His most recent absence has coincided with Tristan Sailor's excellent recent form. Slotting in at 6 against Wigan, Welsby should have improved our creativity but the cohesion between him, Sailor and Jackson Hastings just wasn't there. 

Many have framed this as a permanent decline in the effectiveness of the 25 year-old Welsby. Fan whispers suggest a moodiness from going back to when Kristian Woolf left the club over three years ago. That's difficult to be sure of and even more difficult to interpret. What's not in doubt is that we have seen him play better.

But we are also only a year on from fan wisdom suggesting that Sailor couldn't cut it and should be the one to make way for Welsby. Paul Wellens agreed, often shunting Sailor to the wing. And this was before Jackson Hastings arrived when the halfback alternative to George Whitby was Moses Mbye. It would surprise nobody if the narrative shifted back in favour of Welsby soon. His class is permanent.

Of more concern to me than Welsby's form is the balance elsewhere in the squad. When everyone is fit there's a good case that Mark Percival and Nene McDonald would be Rowley's preferred starting centre partnership. Not necessarily mine, but Rowley's. Percival signed a deal to the end of 2027 recently but has only made three appearances this term. The last of those was that trouncing by Hull KR in March. 

McDonald has been similarly unreliable since arriving from Salford with the rest of Rowley's band. He has managed six appearances but they haven't been anything like the impactful displays we saw from him in a Red Devils shirt. All of which has left Harry Robertson to continue at centre. When considering Percival in particular you can't help but be reminded of the recent one year deal given to Konrad Hurrell who then went on loan and made no more appearances for Saints.

The plus side to the loss of Percival and McDonald is that it means one of the league's best young talents in Robertson continues to get game time. His future is in the spine according to most observers but you wouldn't bet much on Rowley inserting him into that already crowded department just at the moment.

The pack also throws up questions. Notwithstanding the loss of Lees so early in the Wigan game the group started to struggle as it wore on. This is arguably a natural consequence of having to play more minutes. But Alex Walmsley's is ageing and needs managing despite signing for another year, while Daryl Clark doesn't have adequate backup at hooker if Bill Leyland is not around. 

Curtis Sironen has only made four appearances this term and none since mid-March. The three-year deal handed to Joe Shorrocks just 10 games into his Saints career is arguably unearned. It might be a statement from new CEO Abi Ekoku about getting things done but it still feels like the club tightening its belt. All of which points to a lot of responsibility on Stephens in the long term. His loss this week further impacts Rowley's options. His decision to omit Jake Davies last week in favour of another Salford staple in Shane Wright was distinct lead balloon territory. It was the decision of someone reaching for a safety net over trust in form.

For what feels like the first time since he replaced Wellens, Rowley is facing genuine scrutiny. But we may not get answers to our questions this week. Nevertheless, the risk is palpable.

Challenge Cup Semi Final Review - Saints 0 Wigan Warriors 32 - Bruised But Not Broken?

There's no dressing this one up. It's one thing to lose a Challenge Cup semi-final. Another to lose it to your biggest rivals. Being held scoreless while conceding 32 points is a new realm of humiliation. 

Nobody is pretending that this is the greatest ever Saints team. The 1996 vintage that their shirts pay homage to would make short work of them. But there are still standards which need to be met. This performance fell way short of the level deemed acceptable.

But let me clarify. I don't really think that this catastrophic shit show had anything to do with a lack of effort. I find it wearying when fans claim that they don't mind losing as long as the effort is there. They very much do. This 80-minute showing proved to me that you can put a shift in and still produce something of anger inducing atrocity.

Saints haven't been held scoreless since August 2024. That was also against Wigan. Paul Wellens' side went down 20-0 at the Magic Weekend at Elland Road, Leeds. They have not suffered this indignity in a Challenge Cup semi final. 

The identity of the opponent and the added spotlight of free to a air television coverage add to the trauma of the experience. It scarcely gets any worse than this. Perhaps the 1989 Wembley final when Wigan - again - handed down a 27-0 flogging. But at least we could rationalise it with knowledge that Wigan were the only full time professional club in the UK at that time. There is nowhere to hide now.

There was a sign on the opening play that this might be the sort of day endured by Michael Douglas' D-Fens in Falling Down. Only his day wasn't really his fault. But nor was it Matty Lees' fault that he came out of the opening tackle of the game awkwardly and remained on the ground. After a long examination from the medical staff the skipper was helped from the field and didn't return. It didn't look great. He was making only his fifth appearance of the season after picking up an injury in the cup opener at Workington. He will be fortunate if he makes any more in 2026. 

This left Saints boss Paul Rowley with a headache. He was forced to inject 36 year-old Alex Walmsley into the action only one minute in. Having selected Jonny Lomax on his bench Rowley only had George Delaney and Noah Stephens left to rotate into the pack once Walmsley had entered proceedings. Injuries to Curtis Sironen, Agnatius Paasi and Jake Wingfield would now bite that little bit harder. It all made the decision to leave in form back rower Jake Davies out of the 17 that bit more perplexing. But perhaps that's hindsight genius.

The performance and result was certainly something I didn't see coming. League form had been good coming in. Saints haven't lost in the league since the end of March. That run of four consecutive wins has elevated Saints to second in the table. By contrast Wigan's win over Bradford Bulls before this one ended a run of four straight league defeats. They sit fifth in the standings, four points adrift of Saints. None of which mattered here.

The awful truth is that you can win all the regular season games that come your way and it won't earn you the prestige and respect that comes with winning a Challenge Cup. The Super League weekly rounds are largely just manoeuvring yourself into a position from where you can make a charge for the Grand Final. They lack consequence. This was the biggest game of the season so far and Saints failed the test spectacularly. 

It had looked reasonably promising early. Saints had the better of the possession and territory but the alarm bell sounded with how little they did with it. The Jack Welsby and Jackson Hastings halfback partnership was far less than the sum of its parts as Saints repeatedly looked lost when in striking distance of the Wigan line. Their defence was excellent but what was thrown at them often seemed directionless and uninspired. 

By contrast Wigan were clinical. It seemed like they took every opportunity which came their way before half-time. That started with Jack Farrimond's opening try, the product of a wildly uncharacteristic mazy run from Warriors hooker Brad O'Neill. Four Saints defenders missed him as he almost went all the way himself before finding Farrimond on his inside. Adam Keighran's conversion and his penalty soon after gave Wigan an 8-0 lead. 

Two more first half scores followed - both from winger Zach Eckersley - but it was Jake Wardle's opportunist effort just on half-time that erased what remained of our belief. Understandably trying to make something happen Joe Shorrocks tried to find Wright on half way. He could only find Wardle who tore unopposed under the Saints sticks. Saints had come out of a 14-point hole in eight minutes when the teams met a month ago. That made a 16-0 deficit feel within the realms, especially with the entire second half to play. But when Wardle's converted score pushed it out to 22-0 the cup dream felt over.

Which it was. The second half felt redundant. Wigan were comfortable. Even more so when Keighran and Farrimond added late scores. Their decision not to even take the conversion of the latter as time expired was a further blow to the collective ego of Rowley's side. For their part, the attack continued down the same blind alleys and never really threatened to alter the big duck egg on the scoreboard.

It's only one game but the magnitude of it should lead us toward some introspection. Which is a fancy way of asking where this leaves us. We have already taken a 52-10 hammering by Hull KR in the league and now we've been nilled by the neighbours we can't seem to get along with. One Easter miracle is all that separates us from the same problems we had against title rivals in the Paul Wellens era.

The buildup to this one saw new contracts or extension handed out, perhaps signalling the future direction of recruitment under new CEO Abi Ekoku. Shorrocks has had good games and not so good games. He's been better than I expected. But was he really worthy of a new three-year deal 10 games into his existing agreement? Does the erratic Lewis Murphy, who produced only rocks and forgot about the diamonds in the semi final, really justify another three years? 

Then there's Alex Walmsley. One of the finest props in Super League and a big reason for Saints' success over the last decade. He has been given a more sensible one year deal but it should be remembered that he will be 37 shortly after the start of next season. He's already playing greatly reduced minutes and, while he has been effective, you worry about a sudden dip in his form as the body starts to wear. You get the sense Noah Stephens is going to become crucial over the next year or two. 

But that's all for the future. Right now most of us will just be feeling a little hollowed out. A bit like I felt this week when I realised that it was possible for Reform and the Faragistas to take control of the town's council. It stings, as it should. But it is not the end of the fight. Feeling sorry for ourselves for too long is not a good option.

There's a Grand Final to play for.

Saints 34 Wigan 24 - The Ballad Of Bill - A Two-Try Temp

Never Write Off The Saints.

It may be fanciful to suggest that miracles are in the DNA of this club but the evidence is mounting. To Bobbie's Bombs, Wide To West, Warrington 2005 and last season's Left To Wright add Good Friday 2026. Fourteen points down with eight minutes left - and with a who's who of rugby league sat in the stands - Paul Rowley's side offered up another out of body experience. 

Not only did Saints win from that hopeless position, they won by 10 points. In the process, on loan hooker Bill Leyland etched himself into Saints folklore. It's far from certain that he'll ever play again for the club. But if he goes back to Hull KR and never returns he will not be forgotten.

All of this would be remarkable enough without the fact that it happened in the midst of an injury crisis. Saints were without 12 players, all with recent Super League experience. The full list - Jack Welsby, Kyle Feldt (suspended), Nene McDonald, Mark Percival, Jonny Lomax, George Whitby, Alex Walmsley, Jake Burns, Matty Lees, Curtis Sironen, George Delaney, Jacob Host. 

It was this predicament that led Rowley to move for a loan deal for Leyland along with his Hull KR teammate Jordan Dezaria. Both went straight into the 17 on the bench. Ex-Wigan halfback Jackson Hastings was fit to take his place in the starting 13 despite the rumour fanciers speculating that he may not be. However, he left the goal-kicking to Tristan Sailor which is possibly indicative of a medical issue but not one significant enough to keep him out. 

Within five minutes the situation got worse for Rowley and Saints. Agnatius Paasi's one year deal was met largely with hastily tweeted derision. The Tongan's popularity has tanked in line with his productivity since the serious knee injury inflicted on him by John Asiata in 2023. If everyone is fit he doesn't play and we're scratching our heads about why he's been retained. But he's featured in the last four and was desperately needed here for his experience. That is until his hamstring gave way and he left the scene for the day. And probably longer.

With Paasi off early and so many other front rowers unavailable Wigan were territorially dominant almost throughout. Saints were constantly battling for decent field position that they didn't often get. Play-the-balls in Wigan's half of the field were vanishingly rare. Even if Saints were helped by the kicking of honkingly overrated Wigan halfback Harry Smith. He kicked the ball dead to offer Saints 7-tackle sets on four occasions. But he also opened the try scoring when he faked left, danced around Noah Stephens and waltzed over as Shane Wright took on a spectator's role.

But if we feared a domino effect in which a depleted Saints ambled towards an inevitable defeat, it didn't quite play out that way. It wasn't until Zach Eckersley crossed in the north west corner, converted by Adam Keighran, that Matty Peet's side looked safe. Matt Whitley and Daryl Clark had responded to further efforts by Jacob Farrimond and Jai Field to keep things close on the scoreboard. Fans who insist they don't mind losing as long as there is effort could have had no complaints. Saints had given it a really good dig until Eckersley's score appeared to seal their fate.

Among those who thought so was Sky commentator Dave Woods. Having watched the broadcast back over the weekend I was more shocked than I should have been to hear this experienced broadcaster announcing that Eckersley 'wins it for Wigan'. Woods should have known better to write off the Saints. Even if most of us in the stadium had written ourselves off. 

Saints wouldn't have been in a position to mount any kind of comeback had it not been for some heroic defensive efforts earlier in the piece. Jake Wingfield - a man much maligned on these pages in the past - came up with two outstanding try saving interventions. First he managed to hold up Kade Ellis when the loose forward crashed over from close range. Then he helped deny Sam Walters in similar fashion. It was exactly the kind of determination and attitude that was going to be needed on this day. 

It was an eventful afternoon for Wingfield. He had earlier made an allegation to referee Jack Smith that he had been spat at by Brad O'Neill. The hooker is one of Wigan's leading grubs but the only footage I have seen seems inconclusive. You can see a mouth movement that would be consistent with spitting but you can't see any unwanted, unseemly projectiles. This probably isn't Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Voller in 1990 but there will be further investigation. 

Lewis Murphy - who had what could most kindly be referred to as a mixed afternoon - also got the memo about the importance of defence. Keighran looked certain to score but for the winger's intervention. It made up for a number of handling errors and poor decisions during the 80 minutes. Keeping the ball in play while wrongly believing he was headed for touch is one that stands out. As does his failure to jump for the high ball which Eckersley batted into the path of Farrimond for his try.  But then the former Wakefield man did break down the left to create the chaos for Hastings' try which got the comeback under way. Six-seven, as the youth apparently say.

But perhaps the most important defensive effort - not least for its degree of difficulty - belonged to Harry Robertson. Field made a rare break down the Wigan left only to be run down and felled by the Saints man. Questions will be asked about how fit Field is following his return from injury for this one, but let it take nothing away from a monumental play by Robertson. If Field gets away there it's probably time to shut the gate. 

Keighran is developing a reputation as a bit of a penalty machine. Well, he's in the right place to nurture that ability after all. He conceded three in this one, the last of which set up Sailor's try which brought Saints to within two points. The former Brisbane man took Hastings' pass and twisted away from Farrimond and Field to touch down. He converted it himself and suddenly the impossible looked not only possible but as likely as not. Wigan looked frazzled at this point, the realisation dawning that there was more to do before they could relax. 

Which is where Bill comes in. But before we get to Leyland's moments of immortality it's only right and proper to give Robertson another literary pat on the back. His skilful kick and chase forced the goal-line dropout from which Saints were able to build another attack. Hastings was held up short but at the following play-the-ball Leyland deftly slid through a fairly apologetic tackle attempt by Field to ensure his place in derby history. 

But Leyland wasn't finished there. There was still hope for Wigan. Regather possession from a short restart and there was time on the clock to score another try of their own. But in the end they were thwarted by a bad bounce and Leyland's opportunism. As the ball hit the deck it ballooned up over the head of the increasingly hapless Field. Which just left Leyland, scooping up and scuttling away to score again in front of a traumatised travelling support. 

If the atmosphere was frenzied after his first try it went up another notch after his second. The mix of joy and - frankly - disbelief was palpable. It's incredibly difficult to think of a moment quite like it in the stadium's 14-year history. It was one for the ages, brought to us in large part by a bloke who plays for a direct rival. It was classic, unscripted Saintsiness. The identity of the opposition was just the juiciest of cherries on top of the big, fat cake. 

The loss was the second in a row for Wigan. Previously unbeaten through the first five rounds of Super League they were humbled at home by bottom club Huddersfield last week. This was a second successive humiliation for That Nice Matty Peet. It's not often that he has been questioned in a successful coaching tenure so far but if his side go out of the Challenge Cup at Wakefield next week the noise will be dialled up. The Evil Empire does not tolerate failure for very long. 

As for Saints, Leyland is ineligible for the cup quarter-final visit from Catalans Dragons on Friday night (October 10). He played in the competition for Rovers against Lock Lane. But Rowley will welcome Kyle Feldt back from suspension and will hope that maybe Percival and Delaney at least will be back on board. A result like this, achieved in this manner is a real momentum shifter after the nightmare of Hull KR. And a home draw against a team Rowley's men have already beaten convincingly this season represents a real opportunity to head back to Wembley for the first time in five years. 

And it could happen. Never Write Off The Saints.

Hull KR 52 Saints 10 - Tesco Bag Defence

It was hard not to cringe as Saints suffered a humiliating, reality-checking 52-10 shellacking at Hull KR on Friday night (March 27).

Despite an injury list longer than Joey Barton's charge sheet, Paul Rowley's side had been on a good run of form. They'd won five games in a row in all competitions since losing their opening Super League game at Warrington in mid-February. But that all came crashing down as the champions clicked into top gear following a sluggish start to their league campaign. Saints had no answers. It was ugly.

George Delaney's handling error on the first play of the game undeniably set the tone. It shouldn't have. There were only seconds on the clock. But things seemed to get worse from there. Like a rot had already set in. Saints - admittedly depleted through injuries and the suspension of Kyle Feldt - never really recovered.

Joe Shorrocks and Daryl Clark returned but boss Paul Rowley was still without several key men. Shorrocks was available again after a two-game suspension while Clark had sat out last week's 30-16 win at Toulouse due to concussion protocols. But joining Feldt on the absentee list were Jack Welsby, Nene McDonald, Jonny Lomax, Alex Walmsley, Matty Lees, Curtis Sironen, Jacob Host, George Whitby and Jake Burns. 

Still, there was enough quality in the Saints 17 to be competitive. It feels naive now but many of us were further encouraged by Rovers' Super League form in the early part of 2026. The champions had won only one league game out of four prior to this - a 32-6 win at bottom of the table Huddersfield Giants. This should have been a contest.

Although Clark was available, Rowley took the decision to keep Jake Wingfield in the starting nine role. Hindsight genius alert - but we're in the midst of an injury crisis. If you get your international hooker back you should probably get him on the field sooner rather than later. Wingfield covers most pack positions - in a fashion - and is therefore a bench option more than he is a starter. It could just have been a case of trying to manage Clark's minutes. But if there was any doubt around the ex-Warrington man's health or fitness he shouldn't have been there at all. 

The manner in which Saints were dominated is what is truly alarming. Consider some of these stats. David Klemmer - two carries for seven metres; Shorrocks - seven carries for 14 metres; Delaney - six carries for 24 metres; Agnatius Paasi - five carries for 30 metres. 

There are more of these abject tales of woe. On the face of it they look like pathetic, unacceptable efforts. And they are. But they are also partly explained by the fact that Saints had very little possession throughout. And that's defensive. It stems from an almost total inability to get the ball back from the opponent.

Rowley lamented his side's defensive problems in his post match interview. He acknowledged that Saints were beaten in the contact more often than not. That allows opponents - particularly those good enough to currently hold all three domestic trophies and the World Club Challenge - to roll down the field too easily.

But it may have helped if - during the rare occasions when Saints held possession - they had stood a little deeper to counter the Robins' line speed. The attack always looked flat even if there are those who will insist that this was down to Rovers standing offside at the play-the-ball. Without getting the tape measure out the referee wasn't calling it even if it was offside. In that situation you need to make an adjustment.  With all this it is no surprise that Saints had to wait 14 minutes for their first play-the-ball in Rovers territory. 

The pressure on the defence led to some bewildering decision making. Deon Cross and Tristan Sailor gave up tries through trying to stop what they thought might happen rather than what was actually happening. Sailor's decision to stand off Joe Burgess as the winger tore down the sideline was particularly perplexing. 

It was possible - likely even - that he would have passed to Owen Gildart on his inside if Sailor had confronted him. But surely you make him make that pass? The man with the ball is the biggest threat. Particularly if he's the fastest player on the field. Cross took a similar decision which allowed Tyrone May to slice through and create a score for Jez Litten. 

Saints' inability to stop runners was a theme all night. Wearing their retro 1996 blue and white striped shirts they looked like Tesco carrier bags and defended with a similar resilience. Yet they didn't need to be defending to take a firearm to their own hooves. The game was over by the time Matt Whitley's wild pass from dummy half could only be parried by Jackson Hastings. 

But as James Batchelor picked up the scraps and ambled in for another try it summed up the entire slapstick farce. As did the reaction of one Saints fan, captured by the Sky Sports cameras looking very glum. His only nod to acknowledging his screen time was lewd gestures. It wasn't a good moment to be on TV.

Not wishing to go overboard and declare a full blown crisis but the performance does raise questions about squad depth. Any pack would be weakened by the absence of Walmsley and Lees while any side would also miss Welsby. Recent revisionist assessments of the fullback on social media don't change the fact that he's one of the best players in the competition. 

Feldt splits opinion in terms of his work rate but is a prolific try scorer. He has 30 in 24 Saints appearances. His prowess under the high ball suggests he may have prevented Burgess' first try from a cross-field kick. Which if nothing else might have calmed the troops after the fraught start provided by Delaney's error. 

Jacob Host and Curtis Sironen have great experience and are reliable if not always spectacular. Saints also lost Mark Percival who was spared having to re-emerge for the second half with the game already gone. I haven't even considered the impact of the absences of Lomax, McDonald or Lees. There were a lot of very useful performers unavailable to Rowley. 

But are the back-ups good enough? In Cross, McDonald, Hastings, Shorrocks and Wright we have recruited a lot of players with Salford Red Devils on their CV. Hastings probably gets a pass because he moved on to prove himself elsewhere, and his time at the AJ Bell was under the leadership of Ian Watson rather than Rowley. But there's an air of Rowley having got the band back together with the others. On this night the band was absolutely honking. I'm not sure we have as much depth as we thought if this evidence is anything to go by.

If we're looking at positives to take it's what General Melchett would have called a barren, featureless desert. Perhaps the only one is the brief impact made by Noah Stephens. He showed his promise when he crashed through Mikey Lewis before aiming a perfect pass for Dagnall to score one of Saints' two tries on the night. The other was scored by Wright, who like Feldt doesn't look like a world beater but has an impressive early try scoring record. He has managed five tries in just 11 appearances, three of those this term.

Beyond any of this, what is there? Well, we didn't concede 60. On a serious note there's a good case that this kind of defensive meltdown wouldn't have happened under Wellens. They were a hard watch but defence kept them in most contests. And it's not as if Rowley's more open style led to the breaking of the dam. 

It was that lack of physicality and poor defensive decision making which helped Rovers past the half century. And it hasn't done Saints any favours in the points difference column. We have seen before how playoff places can rest on such things. 

And it wouldn't kill us to give KR some credit for their performance. They have won all the trophies available to them in the last 12 months for a reason. This was a return to form for them. They played fast, smart open rugby league but also dominated defensively. If head coach Willie Peters' impending departure at the end of the year doesn't prove too much of a distraction they will challenge for all the major honours again in 2026. 

There's no let up as we enter the Easter weekend. Our traditional Good Friday meeting with Wigan is the next assignment. They were unbeaten until they somehow managed to lose at home to previously unbeaten Huddersfield Giants last time out. That result offers us a modicum of hope but we thought that about Rovers' form coming into this week. The reality is that a repeat of the flaws which infested this performance will translate to another defeat.

Feldt will not be back as he serves the final game of his ban, but Whitby and Burns have a chance to be available again following concussion protocols. Saints may sweat on the availability of Percival but the other absentees aren't coming back in time. A similar 17 will be relied upon to get the job done. 

Sitting fifth after the most recent fixtures. Both Leeds and Wakefield leapfrogged Saints thanks to wins over York and Warrington respectively. But it is hardly time to panic. There are 21 regular season games left. That starts with the local rivals. A tough matchup on the back of a thrashing. But that may prove to be an aberration by the end of the campaign. 

A little less cringe is the first request...