Wigan 14 Hull FC 12
Champions Wigan overcame an eight-point deficit and the dismissal of England forward Joel Tomkins to snatch a dramatic victory in their opening home match of the Engage Super League season and maintain their unbeaten record. The Warriors were reduced to 12 men on 68 minutes when Tomkins was sent off for use of the elbow and they were staring at a first defeat of the season until winger Josh Charnley hauled them back into the game with two second-half tries.
The scores were locked at 12-12 when Sam Tomkins, who took over the goalkicking from the injured Paul Deacon, edged the home side in front with a penalty four minutes from the end but the drama continued right to the final whistle.
Former Wigan forward Danny Tickle had the chance to tie the scores with a 40m penalty but his effort went narrowly wide, much to the relief of the home fans among the 15,346 crowd at the DW Stadium.
Hull gave a debut to former Wigan full-back Cameron Phelps, who made the worst possible start when he was outjumped by Wigan second rower Ryan Hoffman, who collected Deacon’s towering kick to score the game’s first try after just three minutes.
Hull’s former Wakefield half-back Sam Obst was a constant thorn in Wigan’s side with his elusive running and it was his break that set up the position for second rower Joe Westerman to force his way over for an equalising try.
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Hull, bidding for a first away win over Wigan for six years, were the more workmanlike side throughout the first half and they took advantage of a surfeit of possession to pile on the pressure, which paid off on 17 minutes when England winger Tom Briscoe touched down Richard Horne’s kick just inches from the dead-ball line. Tickle’s conversion made it 10-4 and Hull demonstrated their resolve in defence to keep their lead intact by half-time.
Hull, who had Willie Manu put on report for a high tackle on Sam Tomkins, extended their lead with a Joe Westerman penalty goal but a long pass from makeshift stand-off Sean O’Loughlin got Charnley over unmarked for his first try on 54 minutes.
The game exploded on 64 minutes when Joel Tomkins and Yeaman traded blows following an off-the-ball incident. Referee Steve Ganson let both players off with a lecture but showed the red card to the Wigan man moments later after he appeared to lead with the elbow going into a tackle by Yeaman. The incident appeared to spark Wigan into life and they drew level eight minutes from the end when Charnley grabbed his second try, courtesy of another long pass from O’Loughlin.
Sam Tomkins found the target with a penalty from close to the posts after Westerman had been pulled up for interference at the play-the-ball.
Hull KR 40 Crusaders 22
Willie Mason’s Super League career could not have got off to a better start as he played a key part in helping his new Hull KR side register just a second win of the season. After a six-month wait, the week’s build-up to the former Australia forward’s debut was centred largely around his all-action, no-nonsense style, with the questions centred more around who he would have a set-to with first than how he would actually play.
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But any of those issues were put to rest in the shape of two accomplished spells of 23 and 31 minutes, with Mason showing that his visa-enforced break from the game has taken away none of his power. He was named as man of the match by the sponsors and it would be hard to deny him the accolade after a slick showing, which saw him run and tackle with purpose, offload at will and have a hand in two of their seven tries.
A Mason offload set Shaun Briscoe free and, after Blake Green had also burst through, captain Ben Galea was on hand to get his fourth try of the season.
The Crusaders shipped eight tries at Hull last weekend and looked to be in a similarly generous mood here, none more so than when their defenders were foxed by Green’s kick, allowing Craig Hall to put Scott Murrell in for a second try.
Mason, in the 17th minute, side-stepped his way through the visiting defence before handing a pass inside to Liam Watts who did the rest under the posts.
Despite saying in the build-up that he would last the full 80 minutes, Mason was given a breather after an impressive 23-minute burst. His departure took some energy out of the home attack and within minutes the Crusaders were on the board thanks to Stuart Reardon after Hall fumbled Michael Witt’s kick.
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Rovers remained the more dangerous of the two sides, though, and underlined their dominance with a fourth try a minute before the break, with Hall, who converted all four, taking a pass from Kris Welham before putting his centre back in and over. Mason returned to the action with nine second-half minutes gone.
Clint Newton’s delayed pass allowed Webster to end any doubt about the final outcome, with Green then shimmying his way over the line from close range for the try his display deserved.
Jarrod Sammut jinked his way in for a consolation try for the Crusaders, his fifth of the season, and even when Peter Lupton and Reardon followed him in with scores in the corner, the end result remained in little doubt, especially after Welham broke away for his second.