Wigan thrash Hull KR on night of tributes for Boston

Betfred Super League

Wigan (28) 46

Tries: Marshall 3, Field, Eckersley 2, Keighran, Wardle Goals: Keighran 7

Hull KR (0) 0

Wigan Warriors moved top of Super League as they thrashed Hull KR on an emotional evening as the Cherry and Whites paid tribute to the late Sir Billy Boston.

The rugby league great, who scored a remarkable 478 tries in 488 games for Wigan and helped them win three Challenge Cups and the Championship during his time with the club, died this week at the age of 92.

Liam Marshall scored a hat-trick of tries as Jai Field, Zach Eckersley, Adam Keighran and Jake Wardle all got on the scoresheet in a decent night’s work for the hosts.

It was a difficult evening for the visitors who, other than Frankie Dearlove having a second-half try chalked off, offered little in trying conditions with torrential rain making an impact on the playing surface for the second half.

Victory for Wigan means they move two points clear of Leeds Rhinos, while Hull KR remain in sixth and head into their final two games of the regular season two points clear of St Helens in pursuit of the final play-off spot.

A Great Britain international and World Cup winner, Boston was the first black British player to play in Australia and New Zealand when he joined the Great Britain side which toured there in 1954.

Last year, Boston became the first player in rugby league’s 130-year history to receive a knighthood.

Wreaths were laid and a rendition of Jerusalem was sung in the lead-up to kick-off in tribute to Boston as both sides paid their respects.

Wigan, who wore “Billy” on the front of their shirts thanks to an agreement with their primary sponsor, did not take long to get going against Hull KR.

Marshall got Wigan going after nine minutes when he collected Harry Smith’s high kick to the corner and another Smith kick soon after sent Field away to score his 100th career try.

Eckersley went in shortly after as Wigan gained ground courtesy of Smith’s pinpoint 40/20 kick and he scored his second try just before the half-hour mark after a frantic period in which the hosts somehow kept their attack alive and worked it wide for him to run in at the corner.

Before the first half was out, Marshall put in an acrobatic dive to dot down and Keighran got the second half going.

The Robins fielded a depleted side, with only eight of the 17 from last week’s loss to Toulouse featuring in the trip to the Brick Community Stadium, with Jez Litten, Tom Davies and Peta Hiku rested, while Mikey Lewis and Tevita Pangai Jr were still suspended.

It was a shift from earlier this season when Wigan named a heavily rotated and youthful side in a 62-4 defeat in a Super League game, before the two sides met again at Wembley in the Challenge Cup final nine days later.

Dearlove thought he had scored on his KR debut when he slid to the line on a pitch still holding water after an earlier downpour, but his try was chalked off after Bevan French put in an incredible defensive effort to hold the ball up before the young centre could ground it.

Marshall then brought up his hat-trick with relative ease as the game closed out and Wardle put the gloss on a win which means that Leeds, with their vastly superior points difference, will have to beat St Helens on Friday to regain top spot.

Tributes were paid to Sir Billy Boston before kick-off in Wigan’s Super League fixture against Hull KR [SWPix]

Wigan Warriors boss Matt Peet told BBC Radio Manchester:

“It was a fitting occasion for Billy with everything the club did and the atmosphere in the ground.

“I thought the performance was befitting.

“The fans and the people in the crowd who’ve had a sad week, we have a responsibility.”

Hull KR head coach Willie Peters told BBC Radio Humberside:

“I’m really proud of the performance. We had a young side tonight and we didn’t stop fighting until the end. We played against a good team, who were extremely disciplined and give you nothing.

“The inexperience we had in this team tonight, the main thing is that we said we need to fight for everything. We gave them a few things but they did the badge proud.

“I’ve always said players have to earn the jersey, it’s not given to them. It was different circumstances tonight and there were probably three players who could have played but they’ve played a lot of rugby league.”

Wigan: Field; Eckersley, Keighran, Wardle, Marshall; French, Smith; Havard, O’Neill, Thompson, McDermott, Partington, Ellis.

Interchanges: Walters, Mago, Kerr, O’Connor.

Hull KR: Broadbent; Horne, Gorman, Booth, Kershaw; Mourgue, Charles; Sue, Leyland, Luckley, Martin, Dearlove, Lawton.

Interchanges: Amone, Fishwick, Murphy, Woods.

Referee: Aaron Moore.

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