Leeds Rhinos 'not where we needed to be' in Challenge Cup loss to St Helens: coach's reaction

For the second successive Friday, Rhinos were beaten at home by Saints after being outscored by three tries to one. It is the fourth year in a row they have fallen at the first hurdle on the road to Wembley and Smith conceded: “The better team clearly won today, whereas last week I wasn’t so sure.”

Assessing the game, the coach said: “We didn’t have enough intent with our defence early on and we were on the back foot. System-wise we held together really well and didn’t allow many try scoring opportunities. At half-time I thought the scoreboard wasn’t a concern and it was more about improving in certain areas. We had more intent in the first 15-20 minutes, I felt. We carried the ball well and generated more opportunities on the edges on the back of that.

“In the end, a couple of deflections and a shocking miss on a barge-over have cost us the game. There’s plenty to take out of it as far as hanging in there and keeping connected, but I thought we weren’t where we needed to be.”

Smith felt Leeds were better in the second period. He reflected: “After half-time I thought we tackled better, so that helped out attack. The two go together. It is very much a game of complementary facets, rugby league. The better you tackle, usually the better you attack as well. I think we saw parts of that.”