Super League: Wigan Warriors 60-0 Wakefield Trinity - hosts cruise to first win of season
- Published
Bevan French scored 31 Super League tries for Wigan last season and got off the mark in 2023 with two first-half tries against Wakefield
Betfred Super League |
|---|
Wigan (34) 60 |
Tries: French 2, Marshall 4, Farrell, Field, Powell, Smith, Cust Goals: Smith 8 |
Wakefield (0) 0 |
Winger Liam Marshall scored four tries for Wigan as the Warriors cruised to a convincing first Super League win of the season against Wakefield.
Wigan, beaten by Hull KR last time out, scored six of their 11 tries before the break and led 34-0 at half-time.
Bevan French crossed twice, while Liam Farrell, Jai Field, Sam Powell, Harry Smith and Cade Cust also touched down.
Wakefield, among the favourites for relegation from Super League, have started the campaign with two defeats.
They had no answer to an early barrage of Wigan pressure as wingers French and Marshall scored two tries apiece in the first 22 minutes.
French was the division's leading try-scorer in 2022 with 31 and he got off the mark for the new campaign with his early double.
From then on, the Warriors were in full control and cruised to their widest margin of victory over Wakefield in a Super League match, surpassing the 56-6 scoreline from a meeting in 2000.
Half-back Smith converted eight of the 11 tries for a personal haul of 20 points.
Wigan head coach Matt Peet told BBC Radio Manchester:
"It's important that we got a response. The lads were disappointed with what they served up last week and they did the only thing they could tonight, which was a better performance.
"We can't control the fixture list, whoever we would have played it would have been important that we played to our level and our standards.
"We're always confident that if we do that, we're in with a good chance and we can trouble teams. What was important tonight was we played to Wigan standards and I'm happy that we did."
Wakefield head coach Mark Applegarth told BBC Radio Leeds:
"It's a tough one. In the first half, I thought our lack of bite in defence and how Wigan clinically punished us summed it up. 34-0 at half-time is just unacceptable from us as a team.
"I thought it was a mixture of Wigan being outstanding and us just not having that bite about us. Our defensive application was a mile off and it's something that I'll get to the bottom of.
"It's just not acceptable for a team at this level and one that I'm head coach of, so I'll take full responsibility for that, but we've got a lot of work to do."
Wigan: Field; French, King, Wardle, Marshall; Cust, Smith; Singleton, Powell, Cooper, Isa, Farrell, Smithies.
Interchanges: Havard, Ellis, Mago, O'Neill.
Wakefield: Gaskell; Lineham, Hall, Taufua, Murphy; Langi, Lino; Whitbread, Smith, Butler, Pitts, Ashurst, Proctor.
Interchanges: Kay, Battye, Atoni, Tanginoa.
Referee: Aaron Moore.
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