Watkins savours his milestone moment as Leeds stun Wigan

Leeds coach Brian McDermott says he would happily pay to watch England centre Kallum Watkins in the form he showed on his 200th appearance for the club.

Watkins celebrated his landmark occasion with the all-important try that helped the Rhinos to a victory over Wigan that keeps them on the heels on Betfred Super League pacesetters Castleford.

Leeds were clinging to a tenuous 16-12 lead when Watkins latched onto Danny McGuire’s long pass on halfway to race clear and held off a posse of chasing defenders to touch down.

“It’s just a joy to watch when he’s like that,” McDermott said. “To watch him in fifth gear is worth the money on its own, I’d pay. He backed himself. Wigan have got some speedsters and he said, ‘catch me if you can’.”

Watkins also laid on a try for Ryan Hall while Joel Moon and Carl Ablett scored Leeds’ other tries and Ashton Golding kicked five goals from six attempts as the Rhinos made it four wins in a row since their 66-10 defeat by Castleford.

Meanwhile, Luke Gale brought up a century of tries with a secondhalf hat-trick as Castleford strengthened their grip on top spot in Super League with a 52-16 demolition of struggling Huddersfield.

The England half-back has been integral to the Tigers’ impressive start to the season and he continued his fine form with a 24-point haul on his 250th career appearance.