St Helens caretaker coach Mike Rush praised the improving defence of his side after admitting he has never been involved in a game where his team has had to do as much defending.
Saints came away from the KC Stadium with a point after drawing 18-18 in a game in which Hull FC dominated territory and field position throughout but were unable to find a killer punch to put their stubborn opponents away.
Saints had a Tom Makinson penalty in the dying seconds to thank for snatching a draw, but the result could have been different with scrum-half Johnny Lomax originally intent on running the ball and going for the victory.
Rush admits the decision by his full-back Paul Wellens to overrule Lomax's original decision and settle for a draw was the sensible approach given the nature of the game.
"We were tempted to run it but at the end of the day Hull were two points above us in the table and we couldn't afford to let them go further above us by risking running the ball, so I think it was a sensible decision to (kick) the penalty," said Rush.
"I don't think in all the levels I've coached at I've ever had to coach a team that has defended so much and for such a long period of time. I think we only had 12 sets in the second half and when the stats come out it is going to look a very one-sided game.
"We had a good hour and 20 minutes practising our defence and it was a big improvement on what we have done in defence."
While Rush was keen to praise his players after they salvaged a draw which keeps them within touching distance of fifth-placed Hull, Peter Gentle was less than pleased at the result which saw his side miss out on victory late on for the second successive week.
Having witnessed his team dominate possession and force a flurry of repeat sets, Gentle admits Hull panicked near the St Helens try-line.
"We were guilty of panicking at times, lacking composure and trying to score off a lot of plays rather than sometimes sacrificing plays to lay a line for us to play off," said Gentle.
"They defended very well and it suited their defence the way we played at times. They were outstanding in defence and handled what we threw at them, but we still panicked and tried to go round them and not through them.
"We should have been better than that. We didn't really lay a platform to play off and we didn't take what we've done on the training pitch onto the field, and we have to start doing that."
