Wheelchair Reserves beat Sheffield

• Match Report as Wigan Warriors Wheelchair Reserves beat Sheffield Eagles.
• The win sees Wigan confirm a second place finish in the Wheelchair Championship.
• FT | Wigan Warriors Wheelchair Reserves 64-46 Sheffield Eagles Wheelchair.

Match Report as Wigan Warriors Wheelchair Reserves beat Sheffield Eagles to confirm a second placed finish in the Wheelchair Championship and book a play-off spot.

It was the Eagles who took an early lead when Chris Haynes attacked the blindside and put Ben Simpson in to score. Simpson added the extras.

After a slow start, the Wigan side came into their own with a try for Tom Welch close to the sticks. Registering his first try for the club, Welch was exuberant in his celebrations.

Adding to this, Phil Roberts was next across the line with a neat wraparound play. Scoring his second, Welch pounced on a Sheffield error to extend the lead. Roberts converted all three tries for an 18-6 advantage.

Looking to turn the tide, Haynes was able to reach out close to the line and touch down for the visitors, but the Cherry and Whites had other ideas. Immediately cancelling out the try, Roberts was able to barge his way over and extend the gap to 14 points.

Having seen his teammate score his first try, Daniel Dutson wasn’t going to be outdone. Some slick handling from Wigan saw Roberts pass the ball on to Reece Duddle who then released Dutson down the left flank and set him away for his account opener.

From supplier to scorer, Duddle was next on the scoresheet when Welch took the ball to the line before supplying the final pass. Two successful conversions from Roberts made the score 34-10 with 25 minutes played.

Sheffield were far from out of the game, in fact, two quick fire tries soon got them right back in it. Firstly, Joe Wink-Simmonds was the beneficiary after some good handling, then Haynes was able to capitalise on a Wigan error and race away from deep inside his own half.

The final try of the half was from the Home team, Mark Williams scoring in the right corner after another Duddle assist. With the kick missing the target, the half time score remained 38-20.

Just as in the first, the Eagles started the second half brightly and were soon over the line. Scoring right between the sticks was Vice Brooks, this also making it an easy conversion for Simpson from bang in front.

Back to back tries followed for the Warriors, which saw Welch completing his hat trick after collecting a Roberts kick. Williams doubled his tally soon after with Welch again the provider. Extending the lead, the score was now 48-26.

Continuing to show their desire to stay in the game, the Away side kept plugging away. A try by Will Brooks in the right corner was a good start, but Haynes added his third to narrow the gap further. Also getting in on the act, Stephen Reilly was put through a gap to score, this was helping to keep things interesting.

Two further tries from Williams took his personally tally to 16 points, and with 10 minutes left to play, he put the game out of reach at 58-42.

Another try for each side ended the game, Dutson getting too much space out wide before evading tackles on the way to the line. This was followed by Reilly barging over to finalise the score at 64-46 to Wigan.

It was a good team performance overall, but worthy mentions must go to Tom Welch and Daniel Dutson for putting on a masterclass. Both players were eager to have their hands on the ball at every opportunity, but also willing to do the hard work in defence when necessary.

The victory means Wigan Warriors Reserves finish second in the table, setting up another fixture vs Sheffield Eagles in the play-offs.

Wigan Warriors: Phil Roberts, Wes Thomasson, Leila Hamrang, Daniel Dutson, Tom Welch

Interchanges: Reece Duddle, Mark Williams, Stuart Ord, Jordan Burns, Heather Robinson

Tries: Welch (3), P. Roberts (2), Dutson (2), Duddle, Williams (4)

Goals: P. Roberts (8/12)

Sheffield Eagles: Chris Haynes, Vicky Brooks, Ben Simpson, April Brooks, Will Brooks

Interchanges: Jack Johnson, Joe Wink-Simmonds, Emma Pearson, Stacey Roulson, Stephen Reilly

Tries: Simpson, Haynes (3), Wink-Simmonds, V. Brooks, W. Brooks, Reilly (2)

Goals: Simpson (4/7), Wink-Simmonds (0/1), Reilly (1/1)