Warriors down the Dragons in R12
- Match Report as Wigan Warriors win convincingly away to Catalans Dragons at Stade Gilbert Brutus.
- The Warriors crossed for eight unanswered tries in the South of France.
- FT | Catalans Dragons 0-48 Wigan Warriors.
Match Report as Wigan Warriors win against Catalans Dragons in R12 of Betfred Super League at Stade Gilbert Brutus.
Wigan crossed for three converted tries and a penalty goal to build-up a 20-point unanswered lead in the opening half. Scores came from Jai Field, Sam Walters and Liam Marshall whilst Wigan also welcomed the return of Ethan Havard for the first time in 2025.
A quickfire converted double from Kruise Leeming and Junior Nsemba got Wigan flying at 32-0 going into the final half hour. Bevan French sent Liam Marshall over for his second score just after the hour before the half-back scored himself after a break from Keighran. Harry Smith rounded off proceedings with Wigan’s eighth of the day as the Warriors ran out 48-0 winners in Round 12.
Report
Wigan took the early lead through Jai Field who crossed after just 3 minutes. The Warriors gained possession through an error from Tariq Sims and from the scrum Jai Field carved open some space to race clear and open the scoring at Stade Gilbert Brutus. Adam Keighran knocked over the extras for 6-0.
Catalans kicked out on the full from the restart but Wigan couldn’t back up the advantage, coming up with a handling error to hand possession back to the Dragons. Reimis Smith went closest for the home side from back-to-back penalties as the Centre chased a grubber kick through but the effort had a bit too much on it and Wigan had the 20m restart.
Catalans opted for a Captains Challenge as Luke Thompson lost the ball in the tackle, with the tackle unsuccessful for a ball steal – Adam Keighran shouted for the tee to knock Wigan a further two-points ahead.
The Warriors extended their lead further as Jake Wardle sent Liam Marshall away down the left edge, with Sam Walters on his inside to finish off the move. Adam Keighran added another two points as Wigan made it 14-0.
A crunching tackle from Adam Keighran on Reimis Smith who was juggling a ball going into the tackle saw the Catalans man shown a green card for the extended stoppage, the Centre sent to the sidelines for two minutes.
With the Dragons asking all the questions of the Wigan defence, it took a special moment from Liam Marshall to get Wigan out of their tough patch as he flew onto a stray Theo Fages pass to intercept and race the length for Wigan’s third. Keighran knocked over the conversion and it was 20-0.
Approaching the half hour Ethan Havard was introduced into the action for his first minutes of the season after recovering from a hamstring injury as Wigan continued to deny Catalans, including a late threat from winger Clement Martin but he was dragged into touch by Bevan French to see out the half with Wigan leading 20-0.
It was a quiet opening to the second half before a fantastic try from Wigan saw them extend their lead by another six points. Zach Eckersley collected a stray pass, navigating the line before sending Jake Wardle through a gap and weaving his way to the line before feeding Kruise Leeming to dot the ball down. Keighran converted to make it 26-0.
Wigan then added a fifth try of the evening as Junior Nsemba bulldozed onto a pass from Harry Smith, seeing off Cesar Rouge to slam the ball down over the line. Keighran made it a sixth successful kick from the tee and it was 32-0.
Matt Peet’s men were relentless as Liam Marshall added his second and Wigan’s sixth of the evening just after the hour. Bevan French the provider, flinging a 25m pass out to the left edge for the winger to ease over. From the touchline, Keighran missed his first attempt of the evening but the Warriors were looking confident with the 36-0 lead.
Bevan French was the next name on the scoresheet, Leeming sent Keighran racing down the right edge and a cheeky pass out of the back allowed French to score the try unharmed for Wigan to hit 40, with Keighran converting the score for 42-0.
Immediately afterwards, Wigan were in again as Liam Marshall raced away before feeding Harry Smith for Wigan’s eighth try as the Warriors confirmed a commanding 48-0 victory over Catalans to take home the two points.
Gallery:
Catalans Dragons: Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet, Clement Martin, Matthieu Laguerre, Reimis Smith, Fouad Yaha, Luke Keary, Theo Fages, Chris Satae, Alrix Da Costa, Romain Navarrete, Tariq Sims, Elliott Whitehead, Oliver Partington.
Interchange: Cesar Rouge, Paul Seguier, Jordan Dezaria, Franck Maria.
18th Player: Giovanni Descalzi.
Wigan Warriors: Jai Field, Zach Eckersley, Adam Keighran, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall, Bevan French, Harry Smith, Liam Byrne, Brad O’Neill, Luke Thompson, Junior Nsemba, Liam Farrell, Kaide Ellis.
Interchange: Ethan Havard, Patrick Mago, Kruise Leeming, Sam Walters.
18th Player: Tyler Dupree.
Tries: Field (3′), Walters (18′), Marshall (26′, 61′), Leeming (49′), Nsemba (52′), French (71′), Smith (74′)
Goals: Keighran 8/9
Referee: Jack Smith.
