St Helens demonstrated their world champion class to secure a sixth successive win over their arch rivals to move to move to within two points of engage Super League leaders Leeds.

The 211th League derby between these two famous clubs never reached the heights anticipated by a 24,028 capacity crowd - the second largest ever Super League attendance - at the JJB Stadium but Saints were good value for their victory.

Aiming for their first derby success for two years, Wigan were gifted a dream start with a try on five minutes to winger Pat Richards but the champions hit back with three tries before half-time to seize control.

James Roby and Maurie Fa'asavalu both capped impressive displays with tries after coming off the bench to demonstrate Saints' strength in depth.

Yet the match could hardly have started worse for the visitors when winger Ade Gardner was first to Sean Long's high kick on the last tackle and found centre partner Matt Gidley.

Reluctant to "die" with the ball, Gidley hoped to find a team-mate but his pass was instead snapped up by Wigan scrum-half Thomas Leuluai and his quick thinking released Richards on an unopposed 80-metre run to the line.

Richards converted his own try, taking his points tally in his last three games to 42 and putting his side 6-0 ahead.

Undeterred, the champions struck back on 11 minutes when former Wigan favourite Lee Gilmour produced a hand-off to evade the attempted tackle of Sean O'Loughlin to give winger Francis Meli the space to bamboozle Mark Calderwood on a mazy run to the line.

Saints captain Paul Sculthorpe, starting his first match of 2007, added the goal to level the scores and the visitors went in front on 24 minutes after Wigan had been reduced to 12 men with the sin-binning of Michael Withers for dissent.

A handling error by Wigan second rower Bryan Fletcher then put his side under pressure and St Helens centre Willie Talau marked his 100th appearance with a well-taken try at the corner.

Sculthorpe was wide with the goalkick but was on target eight minutes before half-time when Roby scored a third Saints try directly from a play-the-ball 30 metres out. O'Loughlin fell for his dummy and the Great Britain player had the pace to go round Withers.

Wigan pulled two points back in first-half injury time when Richards kicked a penalty but it took St Helens just three minutes of the second half to increase their lead.

Gidley, determined to make amends for his early blunder, set up the position with a break down the right touchline and, after Sculthorpe had decided to run a penalty rather than kick for goal, their enterprise paid off when Fa'asavalu took Leon Pryce's pass to force his way over the line.

Sculthorpe's third goal made it 22-8 but Wigan briefly brought themselves back into the picture on 55 minutes when Leuluai took a pass from half-back partner Trent Barrett and stretched out for the line.

Richards' third goal cut the gap to eight points and the Warriors ought to have made more of a clean break from David Vaeliki before they had a let-off at the other end.

Talau went through a gaping hole in the Wigan defence for what would have been his second try but St Helens-based video referee Steve Ganson disallowed it for obstruction.

Long, taking over the goalkicking with Sculthorpe taking a breather, missed the conversion but landed a penalty on 71 minutes before second rower Mike Bennett completed the scoring with a late try.