French on Leigh victory

• Bevan French shared his delight in winning the League Leaders’ Shield following a hard-fought victory over Leigh Leopards.
• French: “We’re very happy at the moment having finished top of the league as it was one of the things that we wanted to tick off.”
• FT | Leigh Leopards 6-10 Wigan Warriors.

Bevan French shared his delight in winning the League Leaders’ Shield following a 10-6 victory over Leigh Leopards at Leigh Sports Village.

On winning the League Leaders’ Shield, French said: “We’re very happy at the moment having finished top of the league as it was one of the things that we wanted to tick off. Tonight’s battle was what we needed heading into the semi-final so it’s important that we celebrate this achievement before we shift our focus to the bigger picture.”

Reflecting on the game, French said: “We knew the intensity was going to lift with it being a packed out stadium and Leigh had a lot at stake as well. Each time we play Leigh we expect a fast start and their energy levels from the get go were good, but we certainly expected that from them as we knew it would be tough.”

Harry Smith played his 100th game for the Warriors in the victory, and speaking on transitioning into the halves alongside Smith, French said: “100 games at such a young age is a big milestone and I’m pretty sure he’s going to be around for a long time. It’s awesome playing alongside Harry as he’s made the transition into the halves a lot easier with the way he controls everything. I’m still learning in the role but I’m enjoying the process.”

💯 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗪𝗜𝗚𝗔𝗡 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘𝗦

👏 Congratulations to @harrytsmith7 who makes his 100th appearance for the Club this evening! 💥#WWRL pic.twitter.com/ComWXfgMNZ

— Wigan Warriors 🍒⚪️ (@WiganWarriorsRL) September 22, 2023

On the importance of securing a home semi-final, French said: “It’s massive as you saw the atmosphere Leigh had tonight with a full stadium which kept them in the game – they didn’t give up. On top of that we love playing at home which makes it even more important the semi-final is in front of our fans.”

Speaking on the week ahead, French said: “A lot of people in the past have made the mistake of having it as a rest week but we still need to have a dig at training. It’s definitely not a week off as we’ll take the lessons we need to learn from this game and fix those in the week.”

Tickets for our play-off semi-final clash are on general sale now and can be purchased HERE. Season ticket holders can claim a £5 discount on tickets when buying HERE.

Watch full post-match reaction with Matt Peet, Harry Smith and Toby King on Wigan TV HERE.