Wheelchair lose to Leeds

• Match Report as Wigan Warriors Wheelchair fell to defeat against Leeds Rhinos.
• Nine tries for the Warriors weren’t enough to take home the points.
• FT | Wigan Warriors 52-76 Leeds Rhinos.

The final round of the regular Wheelchair RL season saw Wigan Warriors host Leeds Rhinos at Robin Park Sports Centre on Saturday.

Getting off to an electric start, Tom Halliwell bagged a brace of tries for the Rhinos, before James Simpson made it 16-0 for the Rhinos with just 6 minutes on the clock. This woke up the Home side from their slumber and they bounced back with a try from Phil Roberts under the posts after a quick play the ball by Adam Rigby.

Turning from provider to scorer, Rigby was the next to cross the line with a try in the left corner. A neat passing moving saw Lenny Izzard bend the defensive line and offload to the charging Rigby, and with Declan Roberts converting both tries, Wigan were right back in the contest at 16-12.

Back on the attack, Leeds were in again, this time Ewan Clibbens scoring after a backhanded offload by Nathan Collins. This was followed by Halliwell completing his hat trick within 17 minutes with a waltz through the middle of the Wigan defence. Having missed two of the first four conversions, Collins gave way to Halliwell who converted his own try to extend the lead.

Despite the early set back, the Cherry & Whites were always just within touching distance of their opponents. Having received a wide pass in the corner, Phil Roberts was able to offload inside to the supporting Matt Wooloff who touched down for his first of the afternoon. Declan Roberts again adding the extras to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Coming off the bench for the Rhinos, Josh Butler was immediately into the action with a try in the right corner, this on the back of a show and go from Simpson that caught out the defenders.

Having been lively throughout the half, Collins was next to score for the Away side with a pacy charge down the middle. His speed off the line was enough to beat the slow retreating defenders and give him a clear run to the line. Two more missed conversions meant Leeds were now only 16 points in front with half an hour played.

Another wide pass from Declan Roberts set Izzard away down the left flank, but even though he was caught by the last defender, a quick play the ball helped set up a move for Roberts himself to score under the posts to guarantee an easy conversion.

As is the way in Wheelchair Rugby League, the tries come thick and fast, Collins doubling his tally with an angled run. With success from the tee, he nudged Leeds further in front, but Wigan weren’t done just yet.

With a try right on half time, Wooloff scored his second after a nicely worked moved involving Declan Roberts and Adam Rigby. A wide pass from Roberts was quickly passed back on the inside by Rigby to the agile Wooloff who evaded the tackles to reach the line. The ever-reliable Roberts made it a 6-point try with his 5th conversion of the game so far.

The score was now 40-30 in favour of Leeds, and with a fierce first half complete it was time for both teams to have a well earned breather. Having not made a change so far, Wigan sent on Chris Greenhalgh at half time for Matt Wooloff, with more changes to come as the game progressed.

Leeds were the first to score in the second half through Simpson, but then a tense period followed with both defences coming out on top. Breaking the mini deadlock, Collins was able to increase his side’s advantage with another burst of pace to get around the Wigan defence. Two successful kicks now gave them a 22-point lead.

A couple more interchanges for the Warriors saw a return for Wooloff and a first appearance of the game for Nathan Roberts, replacing Izzard and Phil Roberts respectively. Just like Butler for Leeds in the first half, Nathan Roberts was quick to have an impact in the game. It was Chris Greenhalgh who supplied the killer pass on this occasion as his inside offload gave Roberts just enough room to reach out and score his third try of the season.

Becoming the third player to score a hat-trick in this game, Wooloff was continuing the Wigan comeback. The move started with an interception and up-court sprint from Declan Roberts and then a back up play from his brother Nathan. From here, Leeds were trailing in the wake of the Warriors and Wooloff was able to touch down before he was tackled. A seventh consecutive conversion from Declan Roberts narrowed the gap to just 10 points again.

Having done so brilliantly well to reduce the deficit, the potency of the Leeds attack was just too good. A run of four converted tries was enough to put the game out of reach, two for Butler and one for Simpson, both completing their hat tricks, plus a fourth for Collins.

The final say did go to Wigan, as substitute Mark Williams chipped in with two late tries. The first was a pass from the play the ball by Izzard, having just gone close himself, and the second was Izzard again but as part of a fast flowing passing move as the game finished 76-52 to the Rhinos.

Leeds Rhinos victory confirmed their spot as League Leaders, both sides will now have a weekend off before coming back for the Play-Offs on the 17th & 18th September, with Leeds hosting London Roosters, and Wigan travelling to Halifax Panthers.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach Phil Roberts said: “There were several areas of the game where we underperformed today, but I wouldn’t want to detract from what was an excellent performance by Leeds who were undoubtedly the better team on the day. There were still positives for us to take forward into the play-offs, such as the performances of players who had more exposure than normal due to the absence of key personnel, and that some things we’ve been working on in training were executed very well. We have two weeks now to get some troops back, fix a few things up and hit the play-offs.

Gallery:

Wigan Warriors: Declan Roberts, Adam Rigby, Phil Roberts, Lenny Izzard, Matt Wooloff.

Interchanges: Chris Greenhalgh, Martin Norris, Nathan Roberts, Mark Williams.

Tries: P. Roberts, Rigby, Wooloff (3), D.Roberts, N.Roberts, Williams (2).

Conversions: D.Roberts 7/7, N.Roberts 0/1, Williams 0/1.

Leeds Rhinos: Nathan Collins, James Simpson, Ewan Clibbens, Tom Halliwell, Jodie Boyd-Ward.

Interchanges: Josh Butler, Paul Horrobin, Verity Smith.

Tries: Halliwell (3), Simpson (3), Clibbens, Butler (3), Collins (4).

Conversions: Collins 8/11, Halliwell 1/2, Clibbens 1/1.