Warriors rally to beat Quins

Wigan go up to fourth in Super League with win on home soil

Last updated: 28th June 2008

Gareth Hock Wigan Warriors Harlequins

Hock: Scored for Wigan at the start of the second half

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A four-try blitz either side of half time helped Wigan record a 38-20 victory over Harlequins at the JJB Stadium.

Darrell Goulding grabbed two tries as the Warriors ended a three-game losing run in their first match on home soil in six weeks.

They had to do it the hard way, though, battling back from a 16-6 deficit to claim the two points that see them leapfrog Wakefield into fourth spot in the table.

Tony Clubb crossed twice in a losing cause for Quins, who had been good value for their 10-point lead before being picked apart by the Cherry and Whites.

Rallied

After being dealt an early blow by Mickey Higham scoring just two minutes in, the visitors rallied with three unanswered scores to take control of the contest.

Substitute Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook accepted a well-timed pass from Chad Randall to get Quins off and running, former Wigan player Henry Paul adding the conversion.

Within three minutes Brian McDermott's troops scored again, Joe Mbu getting on the end of Scott Hill's kick to stun a Wigan faithful who had turned up hoping to see their team bounce back from a disappointing draw at Castleford.

It got worse before it got better for the Warriors crowd, an uncharacteristic mistake from Pat Richards giving Quins a scrum that resulted in Clubb barging his way through Harrison Hansen to get his first of the night.

Paul's conversion from out wide had the Warriors reeling but they trailed by double digits for only four minutes, Richards making up for his earlier error by latching onto Thomas Leuluai's grubber kick.

Amazing run

The conversion cut the gap to four and just before the interval Wigan landed a sucker-punch that took the wind right out of their opponents' sails.

After collecting Trent Barrett's kick, Goulding managed to offload before being pushed into touch, the loose ball clipping a Quins player before Joel Tomkins dropped on it over the line, Richards then adding the extras from out wide to make it 18-16.

Harlequins never recovered from the late blow and conceded twice in the first five minutes of the second half, Mbu's inability to deal with the kick-off leading to Gareth Hock going over.

That effort was quickly followed by Goulding getting his first and despite seeing Cameron Phelps stretchered off in a neck brace after receiving oxygen on the field, Wigan continued to have the momentum.

Leuluai cantered in under the posts just before the hour mark to make sure of a home victory and Goulding completed his brace with five minutes to go.

Although Clubb followed suit before the final hooter with a 90-metre interception score, his solo effort was no more than a late consolation for the beaten Quins.