CONNOR Wrench admits the mental side of the game has perhaps held him back in a Warrington Wolves shirt of late.

After scoring a crucial try in the Challenge Cup quarter-final win at St Helens, however, he credited head coach Sam Burgess with helping to change that.

The homegrown youngster has been preferred at right centre of late to the likes of club captain Stefan Ratchford and Papua New Guinea international Rodrick Tai and on Sunday, Burgess’ faith in him was rewarded with a lively display.

That was capped by an important try on the hour mark as he was in the right place at the right time to touch George Williams’ kick down in front of the jubilant travelling fans and take The Wire into a two-score lead.

Saints would never recover and Warrington stretched away to record a memorable 31-8 victory.

“Over the past couple of years, my own self-confidence is probably what’s held me back,” Wrench told the Guardian post-match.

“Sam has come in and put a lot of trust in me, which has given me a lot of confidence and I know now that I’ve got to repay him for that on the pitch.

“We’ve got quality centres here that are pushing me and as a team, we’re all pushing each other.

“When that happens, you get performances like Sunday because if you don’t perform, you’re out.”

On his try, he added: “A big thing we talk about as a group is pushing on those big moments.

“George kicked it over and you just have to push up and be there because you know he’ll put it in the right place.

“The ball could bounce anywhere but luckily, it’s gone right into my hands and I’ve touched it down

“If you don’t put yourself in those positions on every play, you miss out.

“It’ll be the first semi-final I’ll have been involved with so we’ll look forward to that but overall, to come here and put 30 points on Saints is brilliant.

“They only concede around eight points a game on average so that’s something we’re very happy with.

“I’ve scored a few good tries that are up there, but it doesn’t get much more special than the Challenge Cup.”

Warrington Guardian: Wrench celebrates his second-half tryWrench celebrates his second-half try (Image: PA Wire)

Warrington can now look forward to a semi-final date with Huddersfield Giants next month but first, there are four important Super League fixtures to take care of starting with Leigh Leopards’ visit to The Halliwell Jones Stadium on Saturday.

And Wrench echoed his head coach’s message that there is still plenty Wire will be looking to improve moving forward.

“Playing with a bit of freedom has been the main message Sam has tried to bring,” he said.

“We’re a team that wants to back ourselves while doing all of the gritty stuff, because we’ve got the players who can do the more flashy things really well.

“It’s about working hard to earn the right to do that stuff. The performances have been there but we’re still looking to build.”