Super League Round 5: Thursday – Castleford Tigers 14-8 Leeds Rhinos; Friday – St Helens 20-12 Hull FC, Huddersfield Giants 12-14 Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves 38-20 Leigh Leopards; Saturday – Catalans Dragons vs Hull KR (5:00 p.m.); Sunday – Salford Red Devils vs Wakefield Trinity (3pm)
Bevan French scored twice at Huddersfield as Wigan avoided a second successive Super League defeat
Wigan Warriors picked up a tight Super League win over Huddersfield Giants, while Warrington Wolves maintained their 100 per cent record…
Huddersfield Giants 12-14 Wigan Warriors
Two tries from Bevan French were enough to ensure Wigan would avoid back-to-back defeats in the Betfred Super League as they cruised to a 14-12 win over Huddersfield at John Smith’s Stadium.
Mistakes on both sides scattered a completely disjointed affair, but Matt Peet’s men proved a bit more clinical at the business end as they bounced back from last week’s upset home defeat to the Catalans.
The Giants spent most of the first hour camped out in Wigan territory without creating a single chance to score a try, and had to thank a rare mistake by Liam Marshall for their lone score through Kevin Naiqama shortly after the interval.
For all the strength of his pack, characterized by a terrific season from Seb Ikahihifo off the bench, that lack of incisiveness will be a concern for Giants head coach Ian Watson, whose team has now lost two of its first four games of the season.
Warrington Wolves 38-20 Leigh Leopards
Matty Ashton claimed a nine-minute hat-trick as Warrington kept up his 100 per cent start to the season with a 38-20 win over Leigh at Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Ashton’s three-try burst came early in the second half as Wolves took a commanding 38-8 lead en route to their fifth successive win, with newly promoted Leigh coming back to earth with a bang after his win over champions St. Helena.
Wolves captain Stefan Ratchford had a career tally of 14 points on one try and five goals, with other tries from Matt Dufty, Paul Vaughan and Josh Drinkwater.
Leigh, who trashed Edwin Ipape in the second half from a late strike, claimed tries through former Wolves winger Josh Charnley while Tom Briscoe scored the 199th try of his career and the final scores of consolation from Tom Amone and Zak Hardaker, who also punted. two goals
