WIGAN WARRIORS 96 CARDIFF DEMONS 0
KASEY SMITH, Robin Park Arena, Sunday
RELENTLESS Wigan stormed past Cardiff and into the last four once again with a dominant performance.
The Warriors have come close to reaching Wembley in recent years, losing in the semi-finals for two seasons in succession.
But Denis Betts’ side will be brimming with confidence off the back of this display, which featured nine first-half tries, averaging more than a point a minute. The only thing stopping them scoring any more was the hooter.
Wigan’s pack proved simply unstoppable — too strong, too powerful — while their speed with ball in hand was also too much to handle.
The Demons’ brightest spark was stand-off Amberley Ruck, who brought energy and creativity during their rare ventures into home territory and impressed with her kicking and set-up play.
However, Cardiff simply couldn’t match the class of their Super League hosts, who charged out of the blocks, with a Jenna Foubister charge-down paving the way for Eva Hunter to crash over from close range. Foubister added the first of twelve goals from 18 attempts.
Then Remi Wilton darted out of dummy-half, making considerable metres with the visitors unable to drag her down. Wigan shifted it out to the right and Anna Davies was on hand to notch the first of her quartet of tries.
Davies claimed her second soon after, diving over the line following a perfectly-weighted pass from Grace Banks.
A strong carry from Mary Coleman drew multiple defenders, with Cardiff battling to bring her down. This left a wide gap for Molly Jones to burst through and score Wigan’s fourth try.
More joy followed, and this time it was Megan Williams breaking through to allow Coleman to score between the posts.
In a clear display of Wigan’s dominance, one of Cardiff’s carries from their own line ended with defenders driving the ball carrier back into her own in-goal area, forcing a drop-out. That huge effort set up Coleman to power over for her second.
Quick off the line was Ruck to snatch possession, giving Cardiff a brief reprieve from the onslaught. That was short-lived however, and George Wilson caught her last-play kick cleanly and ran the length of the field to strike.
Coleman completed a first-half hat-trick after sprinting through another gap as Wigan ran riot. From the kick-off, they grabbed another when the ball was shifted to Eva Hunter, who ran from her own half to score again.
Wigan continued their dominance in the second half and Ellise Derbyshire got in on the act after her jinking run resulted in her diving over.
Davies grabbed her third with another diving effort after great work from replacement hooker Carys Marsh.
Hungry for more, Banks scored twice, while Jones, Wilton and Foubister each scored once. Davies added a fourth with Derbyshire scoring her second. In total, nine Wigan players got on the scoresheet.
GAMESTAR: Cardiff could not stop the powerful Mary Coleman, who grabbed a deserved first-half hat-trick of tries.
GAMEBREAKER: Wigan’s third try extended their lead to 14-0 within twelve minutes, leaving little hope for a Demons comeback.
MATCHFACTS
WARRIORS
3 Georgia Wilson
2 Anna Davies
24 Ruby Hunter
4 Molly Jones
5 Ellise Derbyshire
6 Jenna Foubister
1 Grace Banks
8 Mary Coleman
19 Remi Wilton
20 Holly Speakman
11 Eva Hunter
10 Shaniah Power
13 Megan Williams
Subs (all used)
9 Carys Marsh
14 Rachel Thompson
16 Rease Casey
17 Emily Veivers
Tries: E Hunter (3, 38), Davies (7, 12, 48, 68), M Jones (15, 54), Coleman (18, 23, 36), Wilson (26), Derbyshire (46, 79), Banks (51, 58), Wilton (65), Foubister (75)
Goals: Foubister 12/18
DEMONS
14 Meg Whittaker
2 Lucia Davies
20 Lora Roberts
3 Kaitlin Hubbert
5 Zoe Heeley
6 Amberley Ruck
7 Rhi Parker
8 Sara Jones
9 Jasmine Gibbons
10 Ffion Jenkins
11 Bridget Jones
12 Charlie Mundy
26 Sue Neuman
Subs (all used)
22 Amy Price
23 Hannah Jones
25 Katie Carr
13 Ffion Jones
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 10-0, 14-0, 18-0, 24-0, 30-0, 36-0, 42-0, 48-0; 54-0, 58-0, 62-0, 68-0, 74-0, 80-0, 84-0, 90-0, 96-0
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Women of the Match
Warriors: Mary Coleman; Demons: Amberley Ruck
Penalty count: 1-2
Half-time: 48-0
Referee: Alan Billington
