Leigh go third in Super League with fightback to beat Wigan

Betfred Super League

Leigh (0) 18

Tries: Niu, Ipape, Trout Goals: O’Brien 3

Wigan (8) 8

Leigh Leopards scored three unanswered second-half tries to fight back and beat high-flying neighbours Wigan Warriors to move up to third in the Super League table.

A well-worked early try from Jake Wardle and an Adam Keighran penalty just before the break put the visitors 8-0 up midway through the third ‘Battle of the Borough’ of the season.

Tesi Niu grabbed Leigh’s hard-earned response early in the second half before Edwin Ipape finished an audacious team move in greasy conditions to put the hosts ahead for the first time.

While the Leopards can be overtaken in third if Leeds Rhinos upstage leaders Hull KR on Sunday, this win has them within three points of defending champions Wigan.

The night had started with a major blow for Leigh, as head coach Adrian Lam confirmed full-back David Armstrong would be ruled out for nine months with a knee injury.

The Australian had been included in the 21-man squad for the game against Wigan despite struggling with the injury in their defeat by Leeds a week earlier.

Wardle pierced the Leopards’ resistance after just five minutes, taking a short cut-out pass from Jai Field to dot down for the first time since grabbing a try in Wigan’s last win against Leigh in May.

The score from the decorated centre came in a week that he was called up for an England squad get-together that has had national team boss Shaun Wane calling for greater intensity from Super League’s biggest names as they prepare to take on Australia in the autumn Test series.

The clash of regional rivals delivered on Wane’s demand for a “low-scoring” game which has “teams going at it”.

While Leigh were kept scoreless in the first half, they went close through Frankie Halton, who failed to ground his finish after racing onto a grubber kick from Ipape, while Charnley should have done better to link up with Hodgson when in a promising position after breaking clear.

Leigh finally got their chance to respond thanks to Harry Smith’s attempted 40-20 kick that went long and out on the full.

The hosts made the most getting the ball back inside Wigan’s half, with Tonga international Niu weaving his way over from close range following clever work from Ipape and Lachlan Lam.

Ipape then went over himself at the end of a free-flowing move, with the ball passing through multiple hands before Umyla Hanley sent him clear to touch down under the posts.

Leigh Leopards head coach Adrian Lam told BBC Radio Manchester:

“It was awesome and great to be a part of as usual. Being in Wigan borough it’s important that we got that win tonight.

“We needed to have a really strong performance here tonight and I thought we were really good in patches.

“Wigan made a few errors [in the second half] and we were able to capitalise on that, but I thought the way we created some tries and some opportunities off the back of our skill is everything we want to be as a club. “

On Armstrong’s injury: “I’m broken-hearted for him, the club, for the fans and players – he is loved by all the boys. He didn’t really get into his groove and there is so much more of him to show and that is what we can look forward to.

Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet told BBC Radio Manchester:

“It was an intense game and Leigh were worthy winners.

“Second half they built pressure through their kicking game, their chase was very committed, and in these conditions it is a massive weapon. And we didn’t find out flow in the same area.

“We started well physically and committed to the game plan, but it was just that spell when the game swung in Leigh’s favour that I expected us to be more resilient.

“I certainly got a few things wrong tonight and I will learn from that and hopefully be better next week.

Leigh: Hodgson; Brand, Niu, Hanley, Charnley; O’Brien, Lam; Ofahengaue, Ipape, Trout, Halton, O’Neill, Liu.

Interchanges: Hughes, Tuitavake, Davis, McNamara.

Wigan: Field; Miski, Keighran, Wardle, Marshall; Farrimond, Smith; Dupree, O’Neill, Thompson, Nsemba, Farrell, Ellis.

Interchanges: Harvard, Mago, Byrne, Leeming.