Rugby: Depleted Wolfpack beaten by Wigan in third straight Super League loss
WIGAN, ENGLAND— The depleted Toronto Wolfpack suffered their third straight Super League loss, beaten 32-10 by the Wigan Warriors on Thursday.
For the third consecutive week, the transatlantic rugby league team scored first but found itself trailing at halftime. Wigan (2-1-0) bent but did not break in the face of Toronto pressure and then turned the screw as the contest wore on.
The Wolfpack showed off some free-flowing attacks fuelled by offloads but could not take the upper hand. And Wigan came on strong, reeling off 22 straight points with Toronto (0-3-0) running out of resources.
“It’s a funny one really to assess because I’m watching us play and I like how we play,” Toronto coach Brian McDermott said. “I like what we do, I like our attitude and a couple of moments there there’s a whole host of momentum against us, yet we seem to be able to get back in the game through a number of things. One of them being about playing for each other and showing up for each other. A bit of toughness and all that.
“We ended up ultimately losing the game, which just came down to one or two moments there,” he added.
Tied 10-10, the game turned in the 58th minute after a kick by Toronto captain Josh McCrone went too long into the goal area. Australian Bevan French’s quick restart set Jackson Hastings free and the Wigan playmaker found Joe Burgess, who raced the length of the field for a 16-10 lead with the conversion.
French’s second try of the night in the 63rd minute and Liam Farrell’s brace in the 75th and 78th minutes padded the Wigan lead.
Matty Russell and Bodene Thompson scored tries for Toronto. Blake Wallace booted a conversion.
Harry Smith also scored a try for Wigan. Zak Hardaker added three conversions and Farrell one.
It’s been a tough start with the Wolfpack facing teams that finished second, third and fifth last season in the top tier.
“We’re improving week in, week out,” Toronto fullback Gareth O’Brien said. “We showed glimpses of what we can do in that game, we were in it for a large part of it. We’ll come in on Monday and look at what we need to get better at and just work hard.”
The Wolfpack were missing star signing Sonny Bill Williams, who is back in New Zealand for the birth of his fourth child. Toronto was also without the injured Darcy Lussick (hernia) and Joe Mellor (hand). New Zealand international Chase Stanley is still working on visa issues while Greg Worthington is on loan to Featherstone.
Adding to the Wolfpack woes, Cunningham headed to the locker-room early in the first half with a hamstring issue. Toronto lost another man when Samoan international Willie Isa left forward Gadwin Springer reeling with a bone-jarring hit in the 48th minute. Springer failed a head injury assessment and did not return.
Toronto, which lost its opening two Super League matches to Castleford (28-10) and Salford (24-16), plays next game Feb. 21 at Warrington.