ANOTHER look into the archives as we build up to Saints' clash with Wigan on Tuesday...This time we look at 2005 and that record breaking 75-0 win over Wigan in the Challenge Cup.

IAN Millward was proved right on Sunday. Ahead of this Powergen Challenge Cup quarter-final he declared Saints were tougher opponents than the Leeds side that had just planted 70 points on Wigan without reply.

Whether that was an attempt to transfer the pressure onto Saints, a bid to lower expectations and soften the ground for another crash landing or simply a frank assessment of his former side's strengths is open to debate.

But Saints managed to vindicate Millward's judgement, surpassing Leeds' total by five points and inflicting the heaviest defeat in Wigan's 110-year history.

It was too easy for Saints, who rattled in 13 tries against an utterly shambolic and dispirited Wigan outfit.

Despite the talk of the Warriors' side being much depleted - it was remarkably similar to the team that managed to beat Millward's Saints on Good Friday.

Sunday's main absentees from that day were full back Kris Radlinski and Sean O'Loughlin.

Elsewhere, swap the injured Danny Orr and David Vaealiki for Dennis Moran and Brian Carney respectively and you come up with a side that was capable, on paper, of serving up a competitive cup clash for the packed to the rafters 17,467 crowd.

Wigan played like a side that had had their heart ripped out of them with even the normally fired-up Terry Newton a pale shadow of his usual self.

Saints, made fools of so many times by supposedly weaker Wigan sides, were in no mood to show any mercy. The big men in the home pack made light of the sweltering conditions to pummel the Cherry and Whites into an early submission.

And at the centre of it all was Keiron Cunningham, who has been playing out of his skin this season, and again started the ball rolling on Sunday.

After an 11-minute testing out period it was Cunningham's inside ball that sent Lee Gilmour powering home.

There were plenty more to follow, although his opposite number Newton provided the next scoring pass, with Vinnie Anderson snapping it up to race home at the quarter mark.

It was obvious that Saints were winning the arm-wrestle on the sun-baked pitch as the Warriors defence became flakier by the minute.

And when Paul Wellens rampaged through to set up a perfect platform for prop Nick Fozzard to rumble over for the first of his two tries, you could see the white flag being raised.

Jason Hooper, Willie Talau and Wellens added first half tries and then skipper Paul Sculthorpe rubbed Wigan's nose in it with a drop goal just before the break to give Saints a 35 point cushion.

Many a side would have eased off in the heat, with no points for and against at stake. But Saints were relentless - at both ends of the field.

They defended their line as if it were a three-point margin, epitomised by Jamie Lyon and Darren Albert successfully stopping Brett Dallas from grounding Danny Tickle's high kick by the thickness of a fingernail.

It became a cakewalk with strong running and support play from fleet-footed prop Mark Edmondson earning him a hat-trick of tries.

Moran presented Lyon with another 40 metre interception and then Ade Gardner decided that the forwards were hogging too much of the ball and rustled up a try from nothing, collecting his neat chip down the tight left hand side to storm over.

Saints' closing try was again a product of good work from the lower profile lads in the side with James Roby and Mike Bennett combining to set up the position for converted scrum half Jon Wilkin to send James Graham sailing over in the corner.

It was all too easy - not that you would get any Saints fans, particularly those scarred by the years 1985-1995, complaining.

The supporters filed out with the tune from Record Breakers blasting out from the speakers - with some already singing their own lyrics to tie in with Wigan's proximity to the relegation zone.

Saints: Wellens; Albert, Lyon, Talau, Gardner; Hooper, Wilkin; Fozzard, Cunningham, P. Anderson, Gilmour, V. Anderson, Sculthorpe. Subs: Roby, Edmondson, Bennett, Graham.

Wigan: Gleeson; Dallas, Aspinwall, Wild, Carney; Brown, Moran; Seu Seu, Newton, D. Sculthorpe, Allen, Tickle, Beswick. Subs: Hansen, Godwin, Guisset, Hargreaves.

Star Man: Keiron Cunningham

Att: 17,467