Match Report – Leigh 6 – 34 Wigan

Jai Field and Abbas Miski score two tries each to help Wigan Warriors claim a resounding win in the ‘Battle of the Borough’ with rivals Leigh Leopards; Bevan French, Jake Wardle – who was sin-binned in the first half – and Toby King also go over for the visitors at Leigh Sports Village

Jai Field and Abbas Miski’s two tries apiece helped Wigan Warriors claim the bragging rights as they triumphed 34-6 in an all-action ‘Battle of the Borough’ with Leigh Leopards in the Betfred Super League on Thursday.

The Leopards seized the initiative early on at Leigh Sports Village as Tom Briscoe gave the home side the lead with his 200th career try, although they also lost Gareth O’Brien to a head injury following a late hit by Jake Wardle which resulted in the Wigan centre being sin-binned.

Bevan French got the Warriors on the board when they were temporarily down to 12 men, though, and the visitors led 10-6 at the break thanks to a try from Field and the conversion from Harry Smith.

However, Field’s second try of the night, one each from centre duo Wardle and Toby King, and Lebanon international Miski’s double on his first start of the season after the break sent the majority of Leigh’s Super League record-attendance crowd of 9,189 home disappointed.

Story of the game

Just eight miles separate the two clubs but talismanic Warriors duo Field and player of the match French proved a class apart as they revelled in a reshuffled line-up to earn their side’s third straight Super League win.

Switched to half-back in place of the injured Cade Cust, the fleet-footed Field had a hand in two other tries along with the ones he scored, but the Australian was forced off in the second half and is unlikely to feature in the Good Friday Derby at home to bitter rivals St Helens next week.

Once again the newly-promoted hosts played their part in a glittering occasion with pre-match pyrotechnics and a performance by local band The Lottery Winners, and it threatened to get better for the Leopards when they sprang into a seventh-minute lead.

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Leigh Leopards’ Tom Briscoe scores his 200th career try to give his side the lead against Wigan Warriors

A swift series of passes out to the right, instigated by the impressive Ben Reynolds, ended in Briscoe dipping over in the corner, before Reynolds extended his side’s lead with the conversion.

But Leigh’s early endeavours came at a price as full-back O’Brien failed a head injury assessment after he was flattened in the build-up to the try by Wardle, in an incident that earned him a yellow card.

The hosts, however, failed to press their advantage during the power-play, and instead a re-set deep in Leopards territory gave French the chance to slice cleverly through the home defence and reduce the deficit.

Halfway through the first period, Field burrowed over for Wigan’s second off a high kick from Smith, and the latter converted to lift the visitors into a 10-6 half-time lead.

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Jai Field steps his way through the Leigh defence to score another try for Wigan Warriors

There were more signs of the added potency of Wigan’s new line-up five minutes into the second half when French embarked on one of his trademark runs down the flank in a move that led to his side’s third try.

French ended his run with a kick that was knocked on by Wardle who duly pounced to stretch his side’s lead, but a second failure with the boot from Smith kept the hosts just about in touch at 14-6.

The Australian was the instigator again 10 minutes later when he flashed a pass into the arms of Miski who squeezed over in the corner for his side’s fourth.

Field jinked through a static Leigh defence four minutes later to all but seal victory, and late tries from King and a second for Miski, the first converted by Smith, put a one-sided seal on Wigan’s win.

What they said

Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet

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Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet says he was proud of the team’s performance after beating Leigh Leopards, but thinks Jai Field will miss their next match against St Helens with a hamstring injury

“We were close to our best, but there is still a lot more in us. It was a positive step, particularly with the ball, but I thought the effort in defence was the difference.

“We’re a decent team, we work hard, and we’re on a journey together. We where we’ve been in recent weeks and we know where we’ve got areas to improve.”

Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam

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Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam reflects on a disappointing result against Wigan Warriors

“We just ran out of gas. There was plenty of energy and effort put into the performance, but I just don’t think we built enough pressure at the other end of the field.

“There were a few critical errors, and we had an opportunity to post points and we didn’t, so it hurts.”

Player of the match Bevan French

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Player of the match, Bevan French praises his Wigan Warriors team-mates for dealing with the atmosphere and pressure in their win at Leigh Leopards

“We knew that, given the venue and the history of Leigh versus Wigan, it was going to be a high-intensity start. We had to dig deep and going down a man we had to do the same.

“There are a still a few things we have to work on; we scored plenty of points, but what impressed me the most was the character of everyone in the squad.”

What’s next?

Rivals Round is up next, live on Sky Sports, and Leigh welcome Salford Red Devils to Leigh Sports Village on Saturday, April 8 (2.30pm). Meanwhile, Wigan host St Helens at the DW Stadium in the traditional Good Friday derby where over 20,000 fans are expected to be in attendance (3pm).