Wigan Warriors 6 Castleford Tigers 4: ‘The better team lost’ admits Tigers coach Daryl Powell

Sam Powell scored the only try of the game as Wigan edged out Castleford 6-4 in poor conditions to gain revenge from their defeat on the road earlier this month.

This was not the high-scoring thriller witnessed in West Yorkshire, but it was full of effort and intensity.

The Tigers led 4-0 at the break thanks to two Peter Mata’utia penalties in a less than thrilling half with very few chances.

“I thought we were the better team to be honest with you,” said Powell. “We couldn’t quite take our opportunities. We got Peter Mata’utia through and the ball gets dislodged. I thought that chance was good at the end if he could get the ball to James Clare.

“I thought we were really unlucky. I was really proud of the effort and we defended outstandingly well. I thought our attitude was great, we’ve got a bit of something to work with when you know the boys are working that hard.

Powell revealed he was happy with the performance of referee Chris Kendall in a week that has seen the RFL change some rules in order to clean up the ruck.

He added: “I thought the ruck was a lot better today. I thought he handled the ruck well. I reckon there were five or six there today which would have been played into the back of someone on the floor. I thought the game benefited because of it so I was pleased with it, the game was a lot cleaner.”

Castleford dominated the opening stages without creating too many chances as Wigan struggled to launch any attacks of their own.

After a drab 16 minutes, Wigan appeared to take the lead with Zak Hardaker claiming he had touched down following a George Williams kick. Video referee James Child had other ideas and ruled the full-back had failed to ground the ball.

Castleford took the lead in the 25th minute with Mata’utia slotting over a penalty after some interference from Williams.

Chris Clarkson went agonisingly close to scoring on the last tackle, but he was halted by a good two-man tackle Tigers ended the half the strongest.

They extended their lead three minutes before half-time with Mata’utia adding another penalty after the Warriors were penalised for a ball steal. The Tigers went close to extending their lead even further when Jake Trueman made a half break and sent a no-look inside ball for Mata’utia to race onto; unfortunately for the visitors he dropped the ball in the tackle.

A knock on from Tuoyo Egodo inside his own half gave the Warriors a crack at their line. That gave the home side the break they needed as Sam Powell forced his way over from close range for the opening try of the game on 53 minutes. Hardaker converted as Wigan now led 6-4. The game was still in the balance heading into the final 10 minutes, the Tigers almost went back in front as James Clare opted to run on the fifth, but he was brought down metres short.

Wigan Warriors: Hardaker; Marshall, Hankinson, Gildart, Burgess; Williams, Shorrocks; Flower, Leuluai, Bullock, Isa, Greenwood, Partington. Subs: O’Loughlin, Smithies, Powell, Tautai.

Castleford Tigers: Mata’utia; Clare, Minikin, Egodo, Eden; Trueman, Aston; Watts, McShane, Maher, Clarkson, McMeeken, Massey. Subs: Milner, Clark, Peachey, Smith.

Referee: Chris Kendall.

Attendance: 10,058.

Meanwhile, Castleford’s Matt Cook has agreed a new one-year contract extension with the club, keeping him at the Tigers until the end of 2020.