On the night when Wigan celebrated one of their greatest players, perhaps it was fitting that the class of 2026 produced a performance Sir Billy Boston would have been proud of on their charge towards, potentially, another Super League title.
There are some nights where the result is dwarfed by the occasion. Where sport comes second. This was undoubtedly one of those, as the town where rugby league is more akin to a religion than a pastime came together in grief to remember the life and career of their most cherished adopted son.
In the week Boston died at the age of 92, Wigan’s players were challenged by their coach, Matt Peet, for a performance rugby league’s first knight would have adored. At times, it was a game played in conditions that Boston would have been familiar with during the sport’s winter seasons; torrential rain and horrendous weather.
But Wigan, just like Boston did, made light of those difficulties to register a 13th consecutive Super League victory, extending their own modern era record and returning to the top of the table. Leeds Rhinos will get the chance to return serve on Friday when they face St Helens, but it is obvious it will take some team to stop them this year.
Few are better placed than Peet to put this night into perspective. “It was for Sir Billy,” he said. “Tonight was about more than just two points. I loved the crowd, the event the club put on and the performance too.”
From the rows of flowers that lined the stadium to the pre-match ceremony, right down to the little touches – best epitomised the empty usual seats of Boston and his wife, Joan, who died last month. It moved many inside the venue to tears.
On the pitch, Wigan were given a helping hand by the defending champions. At the end of a run of four games in 14 days, Willie Peters chose to leave out many of his big-hitters and blood youngsters. The result was perhaps entirely expected, with an under-strength Robins failing to score for the first time in his trophy-laden reign.
Behind 28-0 at half-time, his young side dug in after the break, but this was still a brutally one-sided affair. “I expected it to be that tough,” Peters said. “I’m proud of the effort; we hung in there and it could have gone out to a massive scoreline. It could have got a lot worse.”
Fittingly, it was Wigan’s wingers who shone in appalling conditions in the first half. Zach Eckersley and Liam Marshall crossed for wonderful two tries apiece and with the outstanding Jai Field adding a try, the Warriors had a commanding lead by half-time. Rovers could muster little in terms of a meaningful response.
If St Helens win on Friday, Hull KR will be level with seventh-placed Saints with two games left: and they meet on the final day. It could yet be a shootout for the final playoff place. Peters will argue he was looking at the bigger picture, and games against Huddersfield and the Saints, in passing up a chance to compete here.
Wigan’s defence was as strong as their attack and with Marshall completing his hat-trick before tries for Adam Keighran and Jake Wardle, it always felt about how many Wigan would declare on, rather than whether the Robins would hold them at bay.
These two sides have contested the past two Grand Finals with one win apiece. The odds against a third are lengthening by the week, with only one of them looking like they will be at Old Trafford.
