Wigan Warriors v Wakefield Wildcats - U20s Valvoline Cup Play Off Qualifier.
Saturday 10th September 2011. Kick Off 2:00pm at Co-Operative Stadium, Orrell.

Match Report

Wigan had finished 9 points ahead of Wakefield, and so were strong favourites to win, but for the first thirty minutes they were pretty poor I felt. They did take the lead with an unconverted try from Matt Crow in the 3rd Minute but after that - shocking stuff!

In fairness Wakefield were playing very enthusiastically with half backs Liam Kay and Danny Ansell, along with hooker Tom Henderson, causing us all sorts of problems.

But their was no excuse for some of the pathetic defending that Wigan were conceding on their own try line. They were just standing off making the effort and when they did halt Wakefield players, they were letting them spin out and score.

During this spell Wakefield scored three tries with hooker Henderson scoring two of them, either side of a try for Kyle Trout. Danny Ansell converted two of them to give Wakefield a deserved 16-4 lead in just 20 minutes.

It continued to be all Wakefield with Wigan coughing up possession more often than not. Had the visitors claimed the next score it could have been a long afternoon, but thankfully it was Wigan that got it with Ryan King scoring in the right corner on the half hour. Jack Murphy missed a second conversion but at 16-8 down, we at least had something to build on.

The nearer half time was approaching, the more desperate Wakefield began to look for the break. They'd put so much effort in, you could see them physically tiring and Wigan took advantage to score two tries in the final three minutes of the half, which amazingly gave them a half time lead.

First Scott Leatherbarrow then Jack Hughes scored and with Murphy converting both, Wigan were now 20-16 ahead. Totally undeserved in my opinion. Wakefield had dominated the opening half hour.

Second half was much better by Wigan but it was still a long slog to victory. Next try was always going to be crucial and we got it on 55 minutes with a try from Sam Powell. Then on the hour Stefan Marsh scored and with Murphy converting the first of those two tries, the score was now 30-16 to Wigan.

It was looking like this game was now won but I felt Wigan switched off, and this gave Wakefield a sniff in the last 15 minutes. That switch off perhaps contributed to a Wildcats try for Andy Tate, scored on 67 minutes, and although the conversion was missed, they had big hope with a 30-20 score line.

The visitors really had a dig in the last ten minutes and were probably worth at least one more score for me but Wigan hung on to win 30-20 and earn a week off.

So, the Under 20s are now just one match away from a fourth Grand Final in a row at this level. They'll be back at Orrell on the weekend of 23rd/24th September and will get to choose which opponent they want to play between the winners of this weekends contests - Hull v Castleford and Wakefield v Leeds. Elsewhere in the top half of the play off draw, second placed Warrington also earned a week off.

Team Sheets

*Denotes Over Aged Player. Three Over Age 20 Players Allowed Per Team

Score Sheet

Scoring and Incident Pattern

Referee

Joe Cobb