Wheelchair take win over Roosters

• Match Report as Wigan Warriors Wheelchair take the win over London Roosters on Saturday afternoon.
• Declan Roberts crossed for five tries, with Martin Norris also getting a hat-trick as Wigan hit London for fifteen scores.
• FT | Wigan Warriors Wheelchair 86-32 London Roosters Wheelchair.

After being on the road last weekend, Wigan Warriors were back on home soil on Saturday as they hosted London Roosters at Robin Park Sports Centre.

Report

The Cherry & Whites were disappointed with their performance in the defeat to Leeds Rhinos last time out, therefore, they were keen to put on a good showing in this fixture and hitting the ground running, Martin Norris crossed for a brace of tries to kick start the scoring. Gliding through a gap between the last two defenders was enough to open the scoring, before a sprint down the left flank after a pass by Declan Roberts extended the lead.

Going one step further, Declan Roberts scored three back-to-back tries to put Wigan well ahead. He used his speed to score the first, strength for the second, and then skill with a show and go for the third, Roberts slotted over his fifth conversion to make it 30-0 with just 15 minutes on the clock.

Having gone close only moments earlier, Nathan Roberts was the next on the score sheet. After playing the ball, Nathan received the ball back from his brother Declan and waltzed in for his fourth try of the season.

On the back of a 20 minutes blitz, London Roosters finally got their hands on the ball for a sustained period, but they were unable to break through a solid Wigan defence, allowing the Home side to regain possession and go down the other end for try number seven.

With strong ball carries gaining yards up court, Adam Rigby raced through the defensive line and looked all set to score in the corner, but an audacious ‘out the back’ pass put Norris in for his third. A round of applause from the onlooking supporters was thoroughly deserved for such silky skills.

Just before the half hour mark, the Roosters were able to cross for the first time. After a right to left passing move, Jack Linden was able to touch down in the corner ahead of the covering defence. Lewis King was successful from the kicking tee to narrow the gap slightly.

Disappointed to have conceded a try, Wigan were quickly back on the attack and looking to threaten the scoreboard. Keeping up his try per game ratio, Lenny Izzard showed excellent chair skills to avoid some would-be tacklers and score his third of the season.

This was followed by two further tries before the half time break. Adam Rigby racing down the left flank after being released by Jack Heggie, before Rigby turned provider to put Chris Greenhalgh in under the posts. Having scored one and made one, Rigby also converted both tries to make it 56-6 at the turnaround.

Early in the second half, having scored his teams only try so far, Linden was over again after a switch play caught out the Wigan defence, King was unable to add the extras this time.

Quick to hit back, Shaun Gash, who came off the bench at the break, was put in at the left corner when Declan Roberts threw a pass over the top of the Roosters Winger. Roberts was also on hand to slot over the conversion.

Everything seemed to be sticking for Wigan and when Rigby put Declan Roberts through a gap it gave him the chance to show his speed as he left the defence for dead from the halfway line. Heggie crossed for his first try on 55 minutes after some slick handling in centre court, he then made it two in two minutes when Rigby supplied him with a neat inside pass.

It looked like another try for Wigan when Greenhalgh put Gash in at the left corner, however, the referee pulled this back for a forward pass. Despite this set back, it wasn’t long before another 4 pointer was chalked up. Rigby and Roberts combining again to score their sides fifteenth try of the game. With yet more success from the tee, the score was now 86-10 in the Warriors favour.

With such an emphatic lead, Phil Roberts used this opportunity to try some new combinations and give all his players some game time. Lewis King chipped in with a brace, also converting both, to give the travelling side a boost before Linden, having already scored two, was able to double his tally with two touchdowns in the right corner in the final few minutes of the game. King was able to add the extras for one of the tries and bring the game to a close at 86-32.

Wigan Warriors: Martin Norris, Nathan Roberts, Declan Roberts, Adam Rigby, Phil Roberts

Interchanges: Chris Greenhalgh, Reece Duddle, Jack Heggie, Lenny Izzard, Shaun Gash

Tries: Norris (3), D. Roberts (5), N. Roberts, Izzard, Rigby, Greenhalgh, Gash, Heggie (2)

Goals: D.Roberts 11/12, Heggie 0/1, Rigby 2/2

London Roosters: Dan Edwards (1), Lewis King (5), Jack Linden (7), Tom Coyd (8), Freya Levy (12)

Tries: Linden (4), King (2)

Goals: King 4/6

Coaches quotes

At the full time whistle, Head Coach Phil Roberts said: “After last week’s below-par second half it was very pleasing today to see us execute some of the things we had worked on during the week. While far from polished, we dominated for long periods and earned the luxury to be more equitable in our rotation, while still ensuring we secured the two points. A solid afternoon’s work from the whole squad”.

Wigan now have a three-week break before we visit Halifax Panthers on Sunday 21st August.