Wigan routs Leigh as Warriors Vs Leopards derby ends 54-0
Wigan’s 54-0 win over Leigh turned the warriors vs leopards derby into a one-sided contest, extending Wigan’s perfect start to the Betfred Super League season and leaving Leigh searching for answers after a heavy defeat at the Brick Community Stadium.
Warriors Vs Leopards: early flurry put the game beyond doubt
Wigan raced into a 24-0 lead with four tries inside the opening 30 minutes, with early touchdowns from Adam Keighran, Bevan French, Jai Field and Harry Smith effectively settling the result in the first half. Keighran opened the scoring on the right from a French pass after Liam Marshall had been stopped short on the opposite side moments earlier.
How the scoring unfolded at Brick Community Stadium
Marshall thought he had scored again soon after only for play to be pulled back for a forward pass, but Leigh's brief relief was short-lived. French barged through two tackles to touch down, and Field crashed over from close range after Smith’s kick was knocked back by Junior Nsemba. After the break, Field, Zach Eckersley, Junior Nsemba, Smith and Tom Forber added further tries as Wigan continued to dominate the ledger.
Keighran’s perfect kicking and a rout completed
Adam Keighran finished the one-sided contest with nine goals from as many attempts, closing out a 54-0 scoreline that underlined Wigan’s clinical finishing across the park.
Ticket row and crowd reaction before kick-off
Shortly before kick-off, Leigh chairman Derek Beaumont published a strongly worded note 40 minutes ahead of the game, citing unresolved matters relating to October's play-off semi-final as the reason for a low take-up. Beaumont confirmed that the club had returned 3, 550 of their allocated 5, 000 tickets. Leigh initially brought what seemed a vocal following, but those fans were quickly subdued as Wigan took control on the field.
Post-match reaction from Leigh’s coach
Leigh coach Adrian Lam, who took charge in 2022, described the night in stark terms: "That's probably our worst performance of my time as coach at the club. I just want to go home, wake up and start next week as soon as possible, really. We were very poor and they were very, very good. That's the bottom line. It was just a nightmare, really, the way it unfolded tonight. "
The result keeps Wigan’s perfect start intact in the Betfred Super League and hands them a dominant derby victory over Leigh, while Leigh must regroup after a heavy loss that featured multiple errors and a failure to contain Wigan’s ball carriers and finishers.
Next on the calendar, Hull KR take on Leeds Rhinos in Las Vegas on Saturday February 28 from 11pm, a fixture scheduled to follow this round of Super League action.
