Saturday 27 July 2013

Rugby League - Wigan hammer Broncos 70-0 in embarrassing semi-final

Winger Pat Richards, who will make a second Wembley appearance before returning to Australia at the end of the year, also scored 30 points with 11 goals and two tries to break Frano Botica’s records set in 1992.


The Warriors had 10 different tryscorers as they broke their own record for the biggest margin of semi-final victory, eclipsing their 71-10 win in that match against Bradford 21 years ago.


The try feast was lapped up by the Wigan fans who made up the bulk of the 6,274 crowd at Leigh Sports Village but as a contest this was a non-event which did little to enhance the credibility of the game.


Jamie Soward, brought 12,000 miles by the Londoners in futile attempt to pull off the impossible, must have wondered what he had let himself in for, especially when the Wigan fans taunted him with chants of “taxi for Soward” as he lined up behind the London posts for the ninth time midway through second half.


Wigan had racked up 112 points in two league meetings with the Broncos this year and there nothing to suggest this would be anything other than another rout once makeshift stand-off Jamie O’Callaghan knocked on on his own 20-metre line inside the first set of tackles.


Second rower Shane Rodney, one of the Londoners’ unlikely-looking NRL Grand-Final winners, was brought down inches from the Wigan after seven minutes but that was as good as it got for the Broncos.


Within two minutes centre Darrell Goulding provided the first embarrassment for the London defence, wrongfooting Dan Sarginson from acting half-back and easily rounding full-back Luke Dorn for the opening try.


The Warriors showed some respect to the opposition when opting to kick for goal from one of a series of penalties conceded by the indisciplined Broncos but Richards was wide of the target but it hardly mattered.


The only surprise was that it took Wigan until the 21st minute to score their second try but, once England prop Lee Mossop took Blake Green’s pass to go under the crossbar, the floodgates opened.


Sam Tomkins, one of three players wrapped in cotton wool ahead of the game, stepped inside Dorn for an individual score and Green dived onto the grubber kick of his half-back partner Matty Smith to touch down.


Richards had a walk-in after the Broncos defence was stretched out of position and hugely impressive captain Sean O’Loughlin’s storming break down the middle set up Charnley on the other wing.


Richards kicked five of his seven attempts at goal to make it 34-0 at the break and the interval provided the Londoners with only a brief respite.


Replacement prop Scott Taylor crashed through some flimsy tackling within seven minutes of the restart and Smith took O’Loughlin’s pass to jink his way to become Wigan’s eighth different tryscorer.


Richards brought up the half-century when he took O’Loughlin’s flick pass to score his second try before sending second rower Liam Farrell over for his side’s 10th try on 62 minutes.


Tomkins provided the spark for Farrell’s try and he created one for centre Ian Thornley before Charnley completed the rout with his second try, the 100th of his Wigan career, seven minutes from the end.




Rugby League - Wigan hammer Broncos 70-0 in embarrassing semi-final

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