French returned from a long-term hamstring injury as a substitute in today’s 40-10 Challenge Cup final thrashing of Hull KR.
He scored a try within minutes of getting on the field at the start of the final quarter and came through unscathed, despite returning six weeks earlier than expected.
But the player he replaced, 20-year-old Jack Farrimond, had already scored two tries and set up another in a Lance Todd Trophy-winning man of the match performance.
“Jack is the incumbent,” Peet insisted. “He got us here and we have every confidence in him. Bevan’s a very good player to be able to carry on the bench.
“With 20 minutes left Bevan said ‘I’m 100 per cent ready to go’ and I’m glad I got him on so the fans got to see him and he scored a nice try.
“Jack killed it and gets the Lance Todd and we managed to get some minutes into Bevan, so happy days. We’re going to need both of them moving forward.”
Whilst Farrimond’s two-try performance and French’s return helped to put a shine on an already brilliant day, the late sending off of Sam Walters was a blot on the copy book for Wigan. The forward put Bill Leyland into a dangerous position and when Junior Nsemba joined the tackle, control was lost with Leyland driven head first into the floor.
When asked if it had taken the gloss of the day, Peet responded: “I’d rather it didn’t happen. I know Sam was disappointed after the game.”
Number 22 🏆 #WWRL #ChallengeCup pic.twitter.com/A31HNk21Jh
— Wigan Warriors 🍒⚪️ (@WiganWarriorsRL) May 30, 2026
