It was second placed Wigan Warriors, against bottom of the table Toulouse Olympique XIII, as the Cherry and Whites boarded the plane to France for their first ever Super League game against the new opposition who were promoted at the end of the 2021 season.

The home side made four changes from the team which lost to Warrington last time out, while Warriors coach Matty Peet gave a debut to promising young winger Abbas Miski in a mostly unchanged side, as they looked for a fourth consecutive victory at the start of the campaign and in the knowledge that a win by more than fifty-six points would see them above arch-rivals Saints in the league table.

Our pre-match Twitter poll suggested that 86% expected a Warriors victory and the bookies agreed giving the home side a twenty-four point start on the coupon.

As storm Eunice continued to wreak havoc across the kingdom a hoard of hardy souls braved the gales and occasional snowstorm and descended on the DW Stadium to see the Wigan Warriors take on a Leeds Rhinos side who had battled the elements to cross the Pennines in search of their first win of the campaign.

The visitors were forced into five changes from last weeks side who suffered late defeat at the hands of Warrington with Bentley, Myler, Fusitu´a, Dwyer and Martin all missing from a side which included Blake Austin, Liam Tindall and Morgan Gannon.

The only change for Matt Peet´s Warriors side was the replacement of the injured Iain Thornley as they looked for two on the bounce at the start of the 2022 season.

Two weeks into the new year and the Betfred Challenge Cup competition for 2022 was already well underway as two towns synonymous with Rugby League Rochdale and Wigan, saw lower league sides Rochdale Mayfield and Wigan St Patricks set out on the long path to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and this year’s Cup Final.

Rochdale ply their trade in the top flight of the National Conference League while St Patricks are a division below but it was the visitors who went into the game coached by a man with a massive Challenge Cup pedigree, Andy Gregory.

If the fat lady wasn’t already singing for the Airlie Birds, she was certainly warming up and going through the scales as Hull FC  went into their game against a Wigan Warriors side who are already guaranteed the play-offs and who are now simply sparring for their position in the top six.

FC were without Swift, Bowden and Houghton who were all injured and would start Jordan Johnstone at hooker and Jordan Lane was also in the squad while the Warriors had Oliver Gildart back in their starting line-up.

Both sides lost last time out and both have only won one match in their last five outings, the bookies making the Warriors the favourites on the basis of their league position and despite them losing by 10-6 last week against the Warrington Wolves.

There was plenty to play for at The Jungle as a Wigan Warriors side seemingly in free-fall after a good start to the season came up against a Castleford Tigers side who are scrapping hard for a place in the play-offs.

A win for the home side would lift them above their visitors and into fourth position in Super League with just three games left until the end of the regular season, but an away win would almost guarantee Wigan a play-off spot.

The Tigers were the favourites with the bookies to continue the Wigan misery with the Warrior having lost their last three matches and not having crossed the whitewash for two-hundred-and-four painful minutes.

The original, and some would argue, the best derby in the game was the Rivals round meeting between the fourth placed Wigan Warriors and a St Helens side sitting pretty in second spot but knowing a win would leave them trailing the Dragons at the top of the table, while a loss would see them open the door to third placed Warrington.

Despite both sides coming into tonight on the back of defeats, Saints were the favourites with the bookies, and the pundits, with Wigan having been given a six-point start on the handicap coupon in what for them had been an indifferent season, their fans hoping that they’ve saved their best for the play-offs.

It was Saints who won the meeting between the two sides back at the start of July by 24-6, but a great crowd at the DW Stadium were hoping that it would be much closer this time out.

Still without a win in Super League 2021 the Leigh Centurions travelled to the DW Stadium to take on a Wigan Warriors side who are also not having everything their own way after a great start to the year has recently headed downhill.

John Bateman was back for the home side, and would start off the bench for a Wigan side who could not improve their league position, but for whom a victory would give them some breathing space in fourth.

A first win for Leigh would give them a glimmer of hope of avoiding the drop, out of Super League, in a couple of months’ time but without several first teamers, and the bookies giving them a twenty-two point start on the coupon, it seemed unlikely.

The competitions two form teams met in Perpignan as the Catalans Dragons took on the league leading Wigan Warriors in the Saturday evening fixture.

Wigan had top spot to lose and the Dragons looked to make it three teams at the top all level on points percentage.

Wigan were the favourites for the win but you can never underestimate Catalans on their home turf and in front of their own vociferous supporters.

It was an impressive and strong looking starting line-up for the Salford Red Devils as they welcomed the Wigan Warriors to the AJ Bell Stadium as they looked for their second win of the season against a side so far unbeaten in 2021.

The way things stand in the table, and with this seasons win percentage calculations, neither side could improve their league position as a result of today’s game as the teams kicked off a weekend of six fixtures over Saturday and Sunday, almost unheard of in Super League outside Magic Weekend.

Wigan were nailed on favourites with the bookies, Salford getting a twelve-point start on the handicap coupon.

With the Warrington Wolves and St Helens already into the semi-finals of the 2021 Betfred Challenge Cup, all eyes were on the BBC coverage of the double-header from Emerald Headingley starting with an intriguing fixture between Hull FC and the Wigan Warriors.

The two sides met just nine days ago when the Warriors triumphed by just a two-point margin at 16-14 thanks to a fifty-sixth minute Zak Hardaker penalty goal.

What we witnessed was another decent scrap between two teams from the business end of the Super League table.

Two of the remaining three unbeaten sides in Super League 2021 met at the DW Stadium in the opening game of round five as Hull FC visited the Wigan Warriors in arguably the tie of the round.

Wigan put FC to the sword on the three occasions that they met last season with 26-12, 36-4 and 29-2 victories and it is over two years since Hull were last victors over the Cherry and Whites.

FC were without Bureta Faraimo who picked up a two-week suspension after a ‘reckless’ tackle in last weekends win over Wakefield Trinity, he was replaced on the wing by Mahe Fonua.

Wigan were without an injured Tommy Leuluai and Zak Hardaker retained his full back selection.

After not kicking a ball in 2020 the Women’s Super League was back in 2021 with a twelve-team league consisting several new sides as the protagonists looked to emulate the Leeds Rhinos who beat Castleford Tigers in the 2019 Grand Final.

Two venues were in use for the opening four fixtures played on Sunday afternoon with the feature game being between the Wigan Warriors and new side for 2021, the Warrington Wolves at Victoria Park in Warrington, the first game of a double header which would later see Bradford Bulls take on St Helens.

In any normal season the York City Knights would have been delighted with a third round Challenge Cup tie against the Cup Kings, Wigan Warriors, but with no crowds allowed inside their shiny new stadium you couldn’t help but be disappointed for them.

The home side were given a massive twenty-eight point start on the coupon against a Wigan side who have comfortably won their opening two Super League games and you could get 20/1 on a York win while Wigan were 1/33.

No-one gave the hope side a ‘snowball in hells’ chance of the win.

It was the first meeting between the two sides in thirty-five years.

The Totally Wicked Stadium in St Helens was the venue for Round Two of Super League 2021 as the Mose Masoe round got underway with an Easter Thursday fixture between the Wigan Warriors and Wakefield Trinity.

Wigan had a narrow, and unconvincing win over the new boys from Leigh Centurions last weekend while Wakefield Trinity counted themselves unlucky to lose out narrowly to local rivals, the Leeds Rhinos.

Wigan were without superstar close season signing Jai Field who was ruled out for at least six weeks and potentially up to five months with a hamstring injury suffered within twenty minutes of making his Wigan debut last weekend.

Wakefield were given a ten-point start on the coupon with Wigan the strong favourites to get their second win of the season, and their fourth consecutive win over Trinity, and an eighteen-point win would demote Wakefield to the bottom of the table.

Super League’s new boys, the Leigh Centurions, had a baptism of fire as they took on the Wigan Warriors in their opening fixture as the second part of the 2021 opening night double header.

It was the league’s youngest coach in charge of a hastily assembled side after gaining promotion in 2020 to replace the now defunct Toronto Wolfpack.

Leigh had a twelve-point start on the coupon with Wigan massive favourites for the win but there would have some pre-game concern amongst Adrian Lam’s side that they were facing the unknown in their opening fixture.

Leigh had nine debuts in their seventeen against a Warriors side without a handful of regular first teamers who miss the season start but they were buoyed by the return of John Bateman who’d spent the last two seasons plying his trade down under.

After their surprise victory over the Warrington Wolves in last weeks’ opening play-off game, Hull FC were looking to take the scalp of the minor premiers, Wigan Warriors, to secure a trip to their own stadium for next Friday’s Grand Final.

Wigan came into the game after a week off but in great form after overtaking St Helens to finish top of the league while FC had the luxury of naming the same seventeen which did the business last time out.

The bookies had the home side as firm favourites, but coach Adrian Lam would have been emphasising the importance of a good start, and a top-drawer performance, during training this week.

It was ‘do or die’ for both sides.

The maths were simple for the Wigan Warriors.

A win would seal the minor premiership and send them into play-offs in pole position, an unthinkable loss would gift the minor premiership to arch-rivals St Helens and push Wigan into third spot and a play-off game against Hull FC next week.

The Wigan starting thirteen was the same as the one which beat St Helens to go top of the league last weekend the only change in the seventeen being George Burgess in for the suspended Joe Greenwood.

The bookies and pundits favoured a Wigan win but with nothing else to play for the neutrals were hoping that the Giants would give everything to spoil the Warriors’ party.

Super League 2020’s top two sides came together in the original derby as second placed Wigan Warriors took on the league leaders and defending champions St Helens in a round nineteen clash at the Totally Wicked Stadium.

A win for Wigan would lift them to the top of the pile but a victory for St Helens would render them almost unstoppable in their charge for the minor premiership.

Saints were big favourites for the win, but Wigan had just a six point start on the handicap coupon.

It was the local derby though, anything could happen.

Both Warrington and Wigan were still smarting from last weeks Challenge Cup semi-final exits as they met in the final game of round fifteen at Headingley Stadium in Leeds.

The winner knew that they would end the round in second spot but with the Catalans Dragons beating Hull KR, the loser knew that they would drop below the Leeds Rhinos and out of the top four.

Warrington had Ashton on the bench, Stefan Ratchford preferred at full back while Wigan gave a debut for new signing Brad Singleton and welcomed back Morgan Smithies after a six-week suspension.

The Wolves were slight favourites with the bookies, Wigan receiving an eight-point start on the handicap coupon.

A twenty-six, or more, point win for the Warrington Wolves would put them back to the top of the table, giving Warrington just a couple of hours in the top berth after their win over the Dragons.

A loss by more than two points would return Wakefield Trinity to the foot of the table.

Trinity were on a hiding to nothing having lost eight players during the week to self-isolation after a coronavirus scare but they did welcome back free scoring winger Tom Johnstone after six weeks out.

The Wigan side was a strong one but coach Lam knew that they were going into the first of three games in nine days.