Warrington Wolves head coach Sam Burgess has spoken on one young star’s injury and another’s performance after an impressive win over Wigan Warriors.
The 23-6 victory at the Halliwell Jones Stadium marked Wire’s sixth win in eight Super League matches this season and it was yet another where the club had to overcome adversity, with full-back Cai Taylor-Wray leaving the field injured just after half-time.
Taylor-Wray had only returned for this game but picked up his knock in the 22nd minute, battling on before eventually needed to be replaced and that saw a number of reshuffles to a spine that was already missing George Williams, who could well be out for the season.
Speaking post-match on Sky Sports, Sam Burgess reflected: “It was a really tough game. Obviously, Wigan are missing some really key players as well as we are.
“The first half looked gritty. We lacked a bit of composure earlier, but we found it in the second half.
“I was really pleased for the team, especially with losing Cai again, so we had to shuffle around again, but we’re handling it well, getting used to it.”
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Warrington Wolves boss hails Ewan Irwin but challenges him for more
Taylor-Wray’s injury saw Josh Thewlis go to full-back and Albert Hopoate move to the wing with both men grabbing two tries, whilst it was James Bentley who shifted to centre.
As for Taylor-Wray, Burgess offered an update, stating: “Looking at him sometimes, you think he’s on his last breath, but he’s okay. He’s a tough kid and he’s learning that at this level, it’s really physical and week-in week-out is very hard.
“We’ll reassess, we’ll see how he is over the next couple of days.”
Another player who stood up was Ewan Irwin, the 18-year-old half who is set for a big role this season after news of George Williams’ injury. Despite a strong showing, Sam Burgess called for more from the teen which highlights the expectations that Irwin is already commanding.
On Irwin, Burgess said: “I thought he could have asserted himself on the game a bit more. I think there’s parts of his game where he’s just feeling it but there’s no bigger test for him.
“He’s a wonderful player, he’s only 18 and we’ve got some good players with him, but we can see the bits of class that he has.
“He takes his moments well. I’m asking him to have a few more and get on the ball a little bit more, but his confidence now will grow over the next few months.
“I thought defensively he was very good against Junior Nsemba who’s a hard guy to tackle.”
What a win for @WarringtonRLFC 😍#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/aGwyBcvyks
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) April 24, 2026
