Bevan French hat-trick helps Wigan ease past Salford

Wigan Warriors ran riot in the second half as three tries in five minutes saw Matt Peet’s side return from the AJ Bell Stadium deserved victors.

The first half lacked quality as both sides looked to play fairly safe in the first 40 minutes. Harry Smith, who has had an excellent couple of weeks, managed to get the first try of the evening after great work from Liam Marshall allowed Smith with the easiest of finishes.

Smith went on to convert his own try, an aspect of his game which has superbly improved over the past few months since transforming his own game and forcing his way back into the Warriors’ side.

Liam Farrell had an opportunity late in the first half as he looked to be clean through, but full-back Ryan Brierley caught him brilliantly to prevent the Warriors from extending their lead.

Salford did have the large majority of the ball in the first period but struggled to sustain any real pressure as the Wigan defence appeared comfortable in the first 40 minutes.

The second half began with a much better pace as both sides began to open up their respective defences.

There was early controversy as Oliver Partington had a coming together with Sam Luckley and was potentially lucky to avoid any punishment as he looked to attempt to throw a punch at the Salford man.

But moments after no further action was taken, Wigan extended their lead after Liam Marshall showed great athleticism on the left-hand side to reach the ball before diving over.

Minutes later and Wigan were even further ahead with one hell of a try from Bevan French. The Warriors’ number one picked the ball up on his own try line and spun away from one defender before slipping through another couple of challenges to be away down the right.

After a quick exchange with Jai Field, the ball was back with French who drove into the corner and put the Warriors firmly in control.

Salford did still look to cause a threat and looked to be in to reduce the deficit but they failed to take advantage of a two-on-one situation which Field defended brilliantly.

But after the missed chance, it was Wigan who were the side next to add to the scoreboard as they took full advantage of a poor Salford knock-on, and French got the ball on the right and drove into the corner for his second of the evening and put Wigan 0-20 to the good.

Minutes later it was Marshall’s turn to get his second of the game as French drove in-between two defenders with ease before picking out Isa who set up Marshall for his second of the evening.

The visiting fans were enjoying their evening out in Salford, singing in full voice and the players were responding on the pitch as French picked up his hat-trick after getting on the end of a Marshall kick, a partnership which caused havoc for the entirety of the second half.

After three tries in five minutes, there was finally a spell in the game without Wigan tearing the Salford defence to pieces, yet the Devils still struggled to trouble the Warriors in any sort of attacking sense.

But with four minutes left on the clock, Salford finally got a consolation try as Deon Cross managed to touch the ball down after an inch-perfect kick from Brierley. The hosts got their second try of the evening with a minute left on the clock as Kallum Watkins touched down to reduce the deficit to 18.

But that was the last action at the AJ Bell as Wigan ran riot in the second half leading to a 12-30 victory putting them second in the Betfred Super League table.

On the whole, Wigan looked confident and comfortable for the large majority of the game despite seeming sluggish in the first period in an attacking sense but remaining solid in defence. But a fluid and exciting attacking display in the second half put them out of sight despite the late joy for Salford.

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