Warriors run hot in France
Wigan had Andy Coley sent off but still triumphed 34-16 against bottom club Catalans Dragons at Stade Gilbert Brutus.
Last Updated: 04/07/10 11:24pm
Wigan had fun in the sun in Perpignan, running in six tries to see off Catalans Dragons 34-16 at a sweltering Stade Gilbert Brutus.
The top v bottom battle went with the form book as the Warriors triumphed on French soil to move four points clear again at the Super League summit.
The only disappointment for the the visitors was the dismissal of prop Andy Coley for a high tackle midway through the second half.
With their opponents down to 12 men the struggling Dragons managed to run in two late tries to give the final scoreline a more respectable look.
Dominance
However there was no disputing Wigan's complete dominance in the first 55 minutes, Michael Maguire's side running in 30 points without reply.
Pat Richards opened the scoring in the 14th minute when he managed to get on the end of Paul Deacon's perfectly-weighted grubber kick to the left corner.
Les Catalans thought they had replied soon after when Dallas Johnson crashed over - only for his effort to be ruled out by the video official for obstruction in the build-up.
The crowd booed loudly at the decision and their mood didn't improve when Mark Riddell bounced out of a couple of tackles to dummy his way over soon after.
Richards added his second conversion before ending the opening 40 minutes with a penalty that put side 14-0 ahead at the interval.
Any hopes the Dragons had of mounting a stunning second-half comeback disappeared with three Wigan tries in the space of 13 minutes.
Thomas Leuluai grabbed the first with a darting burst from dummy-half after half-back partner Sam Tomkins had been held up just short.
The visitors were gifted an opportunity to attack again when Thomas Bosc booted the restart straight out of play, his error ending up with Coley barging his way over from close range.
When Martin Gleeson ran in a fifth try soon after, the Warriors looked on course to score a half-century of points against Les Catalans for the second time in the season, having won 58-0 at the DW Stadium back in February.
Finally scored
But the hosts got on the scoreboard in the 55th minute when Clint Greenshields juggled Bosc's pass before cruising over next to the posts.
Normal service appeared to have been resumed, though, when Wigan worked the ball out wide for Darrell Goulding to get his 19th try of the season.
However their victory was soured by Coley's sending off for an ugly-looking high shot on Jamal Fakir which ended the French international's evening early.
The Warriors stood firm despite being down a man until six minutes from the end when Greenshields scampered over for his second try of the night.
Cyril Stacul also raced over on the right wing before the final hooter to bring further joy for the vocal Dragons support, though it all came too late to prevent Kevin Walters' troops slipping to a 17th league defeat in 20 outings.
