Wigan 34 - 0 Bury

Wigan welcomed Bury to Douglas Valley this weekend in a rearranged fixture that had fallen foul to the weather the previous weekend. The weather was once again a talking point throughout the league as numerous fixtures were called off due to waterlogged pitches. Conditions at the Valley were awful as the wind whipped the rain sideways, but the pitch was in great nick, testament to the investment in both monetary terms from the club and the voluntary man hours given up by the groundsmen.

The conditions played their part in the early going. Bury finding themselves pinned back against their own line worked hard to secure the ball and were looking to set up an opportunity to clear. Competition at the break down was fierce and the ball came free which gave Kilian Wallace the opportunity to pounce and open the scoring.

Just moments after the restart, debutant, Zak Barker took the ball on halfway and put through Chris Carr on the burst. Carr cut a line that left the defensive line reeling. Bury made valiant efforts to stop the big outside centre but sheer determination carried him over the line. Zak Barker added the conversion to give the home side a 12-0 lead.

Conditions worsened through the half and Bury did a good job of stifling Wigan possession. The visitors’ commitment to the breakdown saw Wigan turnover the ball on a number of occasions but the visitors couldn’t capitalise. Wigan added the only other score of the half, just before the break with a Zak Barker penalty, to go in 15-0 up.

With Head Coach, Martin Scott’s, words ringing in their ears, Wigan turned out for the second half with instructions to move the ball away from the competitive opposition pack. It took time for the strategy to take hold but once it did, Wigan found themselves in the ascendancy again.

Once the ball was played out wide, Luke Sutcliffe showed all his pace as he sprinted down the right touchline taking the ball over from just inside the Bury half.

But with 5 minutes to go, Wigan were still searching for an elusive bonus point to keep up pressure on league leaders, Thornton Cleveleys. It seemed destined not to be until an error in the Bury 22 gave Wigan an opportunity from an attacking scrum. With the ball played off the back of the scrum it made it’s way to young Zak Barker who broke the line before being hauled down. It seemed that the chance had gone but as he went down he stretched out a long arm and placed the ball down on the line to guarantee the bonus point.

Wigan were in buoyant mood and from the restart, Luke Sutcliffe broke the defensive line before being tackled. With the ball recycled, David Callaghan took up the break before playing the ball to Chris Carr. Carr was tackled short of the line but the ball squirted out backwards and Tom Hill was on hand to pounce on the loose ball for another score. Zak Barker added another conversion to make the final score 34-0.