What Wigan Warriors’ Matt Peet said at half-time amid honest Bevan French verdict

Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet could be forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief after the full-time whistle on Saturday night.

The Warriors were made to work for the two points they collected in the south of France against Catalans Dragons, as they edged out the home side 26-18.

The result sees the Cherry and Whites move back level with league leaders Hull KR on points, with the two sides going head to head next week in something a League Leaders’ Shield showdown. Wigan took the lead relatively early into the contest as Jai Field touched down but that was before Catalans bagged two tries to give themselves the advantage.

Tom Forber hit back just before the break and the Warriors flexed their muscles in the minutes that followed Peet’s half-time team talk, with Junior Nsemba and Adam Keighran going over in quick succession to assert their dominance.

Asked about what was said at half-time, Peet told Sky Sports: “It was very basic, we thought the main threats were the contact area and the kick chase game that proved to be a threat at the end.

“These are the type of games that can bring a team together and get you on a bit of run, that you enjoy. It was a bit of that from me.”

Peet had the luxury of being able to name Bevan French in his starting line-up for the first time in almost a couple of months with the Australian lining up in the halves. However, it was something of a mixed night for the reigning Man of Steel.

“I thought he built his way into the game,” Peet added. “Obviously he made a few errors and he was trying a little bit too hard. What I did admire was I thought his defence was strong and his effort areas and we all know the other stuff will come off the back of that.”

The win sets up Friday night’s clash at the Brick Community Stadium perfectly with Wigan set to welcome the rampant Robins, who will be looking for their ninth successive win in Super League. Peet is hoping to see improvements made in the days that follow their journey back to the north west of England, though.

“I think the way we defended kicks will have to improve whoever we play and there’s some things in the contact, I think we can be tidier,” the Wigan Warriors boss said in reference to the clash with KR. “We came up against some strong ball carriers today and Hull KR will bring similar threats. It will be fundamental things, nothing too complicated.”