Shaun Wane delighted with Wigan’s second half display against Widnes
Wigan coach Shaun Wane said he was happy with what he saw from his side as they produced a great comeback to beat Widnes.
The Warriors didn’t have the best of starts, with the Vikings leading 16-0 up to the 39th minute thanks to tries from Matt Whitley and Stefan Marsh.
But Wigan put in an impressive second half display as they scored 32 unanswered points to seal a 32-16 victory at a freezing cold DW Stadium on Friday night.
Speaking after the game, Wane said: “Widnes started fast and we did a lot of defending in the early part of the game and we then went 16-0 down so for the players to come out of that hole was really impressive.
“The message at half time seemed to sink in and they turned it around. The message was simple at half time and they went back out in the second half and did what we have practised and fixed it and performed really well.
“I was very pleased with how we responded in the second half. Widnes are flying at the minute and have been playing really well so being 16-0 down to them put us in hole and the fact that we got out of it and posted some points made me happy.
“We were a bit more ruthless, got to the end of our sets and had a bit more composure in the final third and put them under pressure when we were defending. I was happy with how we did in that second half.”
Wane made one change for the clash, with England international Joe Burgess coming in for Liam Marshall.
On his decision to bring Burgess back, he added: “Marshy (Marshall) rolled his ankle so he didn’t train in the early part of this week and I had Budgie (Burgess) fit and ready to go so I decided to make the change.
“I’m happy with Marshy, he’s a good lad, but Budgie has done enough to stay in now.
“Both of our wingers were very good. The take that Budgie did when Widnes kicked for touch was outstanding and him and Tom Davies did some good things. I thought Tom was really good.”
Wane also confirmed that Morgan Escaré had rolled his ankle in the game but thinks he should be fine to face Wakefield next week.