RUGBY LEAGUE
WIGAN coach Shaun Wane admitted he wanted to punch winger Joe Burgess after the Warriors almost threw away a Challenge Cup semi-final place in a remarkable finale.
Wane’s side had led for the majority of an exciting, if scrappy, contest when home half- back Kurt Gidley touched down to close the gap to a point with two minutes remaining.
Burgess – who had scored two tries – then booted the kick-off out on the full to gift the Wolves a penalty on halfway.
Stefan Ratchford stepped up despite the fact that Declan Patton had kicked five from five – but pulled his attempt wide.
Even then the drama was not overo er as Patton dragged a lastlast second drop goal attempt agonisingly close.
Asked what he felt like when Burgess overhit his kick- off, Wane responded: “Running on to the pitch and punching him.
“You can’t do that at this level. It was a frustrating one at the end, but I think we deserved to win the game. Credit to Warrington, they’re pretty busted and low on confidence but they really pushed us.
Blame
“We just wanted to win and sing the song – we’d forgotten the words it’d been that long.”
The Warriors have not won in seven Super League contests while fellow big guns Warrington are languishing in 10th after a shocking campaign.
Wolves coach Tony Smith refused to put any blame on Patton or Ratchford, and explained why the latter took the crucial penalty attempt. Smith said:id “Stef“St f hash got t theth biggerbi kickki k and he’s the one that practises from there.
“We were out there swinging and swinging right to the end, and with an ounce of luck we could have got that one.”
In many ways the frantic finish typified the whole game – mixing mistakes with excitement. Much of it was punctuated by errors from both sides, but the close scoring meant it was rarely anything but captivating.
The biggest gap between the two was 12 points early on, as Burgess provided two smart finishes back in his preferred left-wing position.
But the Wolves responded with two replicas of their own – Ryan Atkins scoring from kicks.
Wigan edged ahead again when Liam Marshall somehow escaped the clutches of Atkins and Ratchford, but Warrington hit back again through sub Andre Savelio.
Patton’s penalty drew the teams level, before the impressive John Bateman charged over and a Sam Tomkins drop goal made the gap seven.
But when Gidley darted over from close range and Patton added his fifth successful kick, the late drama unfolded.