Wigan maintained their winning start to the Betfred Super League season with a ruthless 54-0 derby demolition of Leigh at the Brick Community Stadium.
The Warriors let their rugby do the talking after Leigh chairman Derek Beaumont reignited last season’s ticketing row with a strongly worded statement shortly before kick-off. Wigan raced into a 24-0 lead inside the opening half hour, effectively putting the result beyond doubt with tries from Adam Keighran, Bevan French, Jai Field and Harry Smith.
Keighran opened the scoring on the right from a French pass after Liam Marshall had been stopped short on the opposite side. Marshall thought he had scored again soon after only for the try to be ruled out for a forward pass. French then barged through two tackles to score, and Field crashed over from close range when Smith’s kick was knocked back by Junior Nsemba. Field later weaved through the defence to put Smith over under the posts.
After the break Field added a fifth try following good work from Patrick Mago and Smith. Leigh lost Matt Davis to injury early in the second half and contributed further to their own downfall when a penalty for a heavy shot on Luke Thompson allowed Wigan to march downfield and create an opening for Zach Eckersley in the corner. Junior Nsemba scored from a clever Smith kick, Smith added another after a quick break, and Tom Forber burrowed over under the posts in the closing minutes. Keighran finished with nine goals from nine attempts.
Leigh coach Adrian Lam, who took charge in 2022, was scathing about his side’s showing. “That’s probably our worst performance of my time as coach at the club,” he said. “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.” He added that he would hold the squad accountable and that there had been “a lot of softness about us.”
Beaumont had confirmed the club had returned 3,550 of their allocated 5,000 tickets and, in a note published around 40 minutes before the game, cited unresolved matters relating to October’s play-off semi-final for the low take-up. The Leigh supporters who did attend were quickly subdued as Wigan dominated across the park.
Wigan’s comprehensive victory keeps them unbeaten early in the campaign, while Leigh face a period of reflection and work to recover after a heavy derby defeat.