Peet hails band of travelling Warriors
WIGAN WARRIORS coach Matt Peet paid tribute to the small band of Wigan supporters who “got us over the line” in this dramatic last-gasp victory.
“When we had to dig deep, they were there for us today and it’s down to them that we got the two points,” Peet said.
“We are over here to play two French teams and we’re going to have be a whole lot better next week against Catalans. But all credit to Toulouse, they took us to the limits.”
Wigan had to battle all the way to win the first game of their mini Tour De
France, coming behind from 18-10 to scrape to victory by a last-minute
Harry Smith drop goal.
Peet’s 10-day trip almost got off to a horror start as bottom club
Toulouse raced to a shock half-time lead, but a latelate recovery by the
Warriors with tries from Liam Marshall and Jai Field and Smith’s late strike saw the tourists salvage the points.
Field was first to score, skipping too easily through the Toulouse defence from 40 metres out and strolling under the posts in the fourth minute. Five minutes later the ball was spun left to Zak
Hardaker who crossed in the corner. Toulouse lost scrum-half Lucas Albert to a head injury, allowing Warrington loanee Ellis Robson to make his debut from the bench and the Olympians went close when winger Paul Marcon was bundled into touch in the right corner.
But the Wigan line broke when Tony Gigot launched a bomb into the same corner and Guy Armitage mopped up the loose ball to score.
Chaos
Then another Gigot kick caused chaos in the same corner, Hardaker palming the ball into Maxime Stefani’s hand and he forced his way over the line, Chris Hankinson converting to level the scores at 10-10.
Albert returned from his head injury assessment to kick behind the sticks for Gigot to collect and score to put Toulouse ahead. Then Gigot and Albert each cheekily slotted drop-goals just before half-time to make it 18-10 at the break.
Wigan piled on the pressure early in the second half and stand-off Cade Cust dribbled over from short range, Hardaker adding the conversion to make it 18-16. But back came Toulouse with a sweeping passing movement to the left where Matty Russell finished in the corner, too wide for Hankinson to convert. A Gigot 40 /20
kick then created the field position for Guy Armitage to crash over, Hankinson’s conversion pushing the lead to 28-16. Wigan weren’t done and winger Liam Marshall scraped in at the right corner for a try on his 100th appearance for the Warriors. Then Field stuck in the opposite corner and Hardaker levelled the scores with a touchline conversion with just seven minutes left. Toulouse thought they had won it when Paul Marcon was bundled into touch at the corner flag
moments later, then Wigan knocked on in front of their posts and Tony Gigot went for the drop goal.
It was charged down by Joe Shorrocks and he raced to the other end of the pitch where Hardaker missed his attempt at afield goal but Harry Smith was on target.
TOULOUSE: Tries: Armitage (2), Stefani, Gigot, Russell. Cons: Hankinson (3).
Drop goals: Gigot, Pelissier.
WIGAN: Tries: Field (2), Hardaker, Cust, Marshall. Cons: Hardaker (4). D goal: Smith.