A hat-trick from Liam Marshall helped Wigan Warriors to a 46-0 victory over Hull KR on an emotional night for the club.
The Warriors remembered legend Sir Billy Boston, who died earlier this week. Boston is one of Wigan’s greatest ever players, and they certainly did him proud with a convincing result.
As well as Marshall’s three, Zach Eckersley scored two, whilst Jai Field, Jake Wardle and Adam Keighran added scores.
The result sees Hull KR nilled for the first time in the Willie Peters era, with his under-strength side suffering a long night at the office against a rampant Warriors side.
Wigan extended their club record of Super League wins in a row to 13, having gone undefeated since their Challenge Cup Final win over the Robins.
Wigan Warriors v Hull KR talking points
Warriors go top as pressure put on Rhinos:
A comfortable victory was expected for Wigan pre-game, and that is exactly what happened. The result now puts the Warriors at the top of Super League, two points above Leeds Rhinos.
Brad Arthur’s side travel to St Helens tomorrow, a place where they are known to underperform, and a defeat there would give Wigan the advantage going into next week’s meeting between the top two.
Senior players fail to step up:
On a night where Hull KR had a number of inexperienced players sidelined, the ones that were playing needing to show what they were about, but that simply didn’t happen.
Arthur Mourgue and Jack Broadbent failed to create anything, but they weren’t helped by some of the forwards’ poor efforts, encapsulated by the fact that Sauaso Sue was pushed back 15 metres by youngsters Shea O’Connor and Taylor Kerr.
The fatigue factor remains, with the likes of Rhyse Martin and Tom Amone playing big minutes in the past fortnight, but they needed to take some ownership tonight, and they were unable to.
Superb Smith pulls the strings:
It was an incredible effort from Harry Smith, who was at his attacking best against the Robins. Creating the first two tries from pinpoint kicks, he almost got himself on the scoresheet, picking up a loose ball before racing away however he was deemed to have knocked on.
A 40/20 created the chance for Zach Eckersley to score his first, before his effort to beat multiple KR defenders to the ball allowed the winger’s second try to be scored, whilst in the second half he had less of a say, but was still directly involved in some nice Wigan tries.
Many believe that Smith is competing with Leeds star Jake Connor for a spot in the 17 at this year’s World Cup, but it is performances at this part of the season that will get the most recognition, and one thing is for sure – next week’s battle between those two will be entertaining to say the least.
Wet, Wet, Wet:
It was almost biblical scenes at the Brick Community Stadium, with torrential rain falling heavily for most of the first half.
“I’ve never seen rain like it,” were the words of Sky commentator Mark Wilson, with the conditions making for unforced errors from both sides.
With puddles starting to appear on the ground, and visibility hampered, it was made for a battle of the middles, but Wigan didn’t think like that, and continued to play an expansive style of rugby.
French says no:
Superstar Bevan French get the plaudits for all of this attacking flair, with his tries and assists making him one of the most exciting players to watch in the competition.
However, his defensive work is equally as sublime, with his try-saving effort on Frankie Dearlove keeping Hull KR to nil. Getting his hand underneath the ball, the half-back produced one of his biggest effort plays of the year to do just enough to keep the ball up.
Sir Billy remembered:
Whilst the game itself was important, the 80 minutes of action was rightly overshadowed by the heartfelt tribute to Sir Billy Boston, who died earlier this week at the age of 92.
Boston goes down as one of Wigan’s, and rugby league’s greatest ever players, having ended his career as the second-highest try-scorer in the game’s history.
A World Cup winner in 1960, Sir Billy was the first black player to play for Great Britain, and has statues honouring him in Cardiff, Wigan and Wembley.
CEO Kris Radlinski led the tributes, with the Warriors putting on a tremendous tribute to remember one of their own.
