Wigan defence against Hull KR impressed Shaun Wane

Drew Darbyshire

Wigan coach Shaun Wane said he was impressed with his sides defence in their win over Hull Kingston Rovers.

The Warriors were in control from the start and led 26-0 at the break thanks to tries from Sam Tomkins, Liam Farrell (2), George Williams and Liam Marshall.

Wigan scored further three tries through Marshall in the second half to seal 44-6 demolition of Hull KR.

Speaking after the game, Wane said: “Our defence was the one thing that really impressed me.

“They had six plays on our line and normally, you have around 25 plays. We came out of yardage good and our detail was good as well.

“Easter Monday is always a difficult one because the players are still sore from Friday, but our attitude was outstanding and we looked composed with our attack. Woodsy (Josh Woods) and George (Williams) looked good and Gans (Josh Ganson) was good when he came off the bench.

“I told the players to be composed with their attack before the game and they were so I’m pleased. We were 100% set completion in the second quarter, and 86% in the first quarter. We dropped off a bit in the second half due to a couple of errors but overall, I’m very happy.”

Australian forward Gabe Hamlin made his debut for Wigan while France international Romain Navarrete also came into the side.

And Wane picked the front-row duo out for praise.

He added: “There were some really good performances.

“I’m really pleased with what I saw today, I liked what Gabe and Romain gave me.

“Gabe was very good, apart from going down like he was dead! There was nothing wrong with him, so he needs to understand what we do here. He was really good though, he carried the ball strong and he was composed. It didn’t look like his first game.

“Romain is confident. He offloaded the ball in his first carry and I just told him to carry the ball strong. He is a good kid, he ran strong and his defence was good.”

Wane revealed Morgan Escaré, Tony Clubb, Sam Powell, Joe Burgess, Sean O’Loughlin and Taulima Tautai will all be available for Saturday’s trip to Perpignan as they face Catalans Dragons.