Bevan French double fires Wigan Warriors to third straight Grand Final with derby win over Leigh Leopards

Matt Peet’s Warriors have won the last two Grand Finals at Old Trafford, and will look to defend their crown for a third year in a row when they face the winners of Hull KR or St Helens in the big dance next weekend.

Wigan and Leigh both named unchanged squads for the semi-final at the Brick, with Peet opting for the exact same 17-man squad that beat Leeds Rhinos a fortnight ago, likewise with Adrian Lam of the Leopards.

Leigh forward Owen Trout thought he had opened the scoring for Leigh in the sixth minute, but his effort was chalked off by the video referee after it was sent upstairs as a no try.

It was Wigan who drew first blood inside 14 minutes as a strong kick chase from the Warriors forced an error from Leigh fullback Bailey Hodgson, which saw Adam Keighran pick up the loose ball and assist the supporting Bevan French, who raced under the sticks. Keighran converted to give the Warriors an early 6-0 lead.

Leigh hit back on the half-hour mark as Robbie Mulhern charged onto a flat ball from Edwin Ipape to score from close range. Gareth O’Brien added the extras to level the score at 6-6.

Ipape was his influential self for the Leopards in the first half, but he conceded a penalty in the 38th minute near his own sticks, meaning Wigan opted for the two, with Keighran slotting his penalty goal between the uprights to edge his side into an 8-6 advantage.

French got his second just before the half-time hooter sounded following a slick attacking move from the Warriors. Keighran’s conversion was good, and the Warriors took a 14-6 lead into the changing rooms at half-time.

It looked like the Leopards were going to pull another try back on the hour mark, but a try-saving tackle from Field kept them at bay. To Leigh’s credit, they threw a helluva lot at Wigan’s goal-line defence for a good 15-minute period midway through the second half, but the Warriors kept them at bay with some solid defence.

But with just seconds left on the clock, Sam Walters went over for Wigan thanks to an assist from French to seal an 18-6 win for the Warriors, and ultimately, Wigan’s place in the Grand Final at Old Trafford.

Wigan: Jai Field; Abbas Miski, Adam Keighran, Jake Wardle, Liam Marshall; Bevan French, Harry Smith; Liam Byrne, Brad O’Neill, Luke Thompson, Sam Walters, Liam Farrell, Kaide Ellis. Subs: Ethan Havard, Junior Nsemba, Patrick Mago, Kruise Leeming. 18t man: Harvie Hill.

Tries: French (2), Walters Goals: Keighran 2/2

Leigh: Bailey Hodgson; Keanan Brand, Tesi Niu, Umyla Hanley, Josh Charnley; Gareth O’Brien, Lachlan Lam; Joe Ofahengaue, Edwin Ipape, Robbie Mulhern, Frankie Halton, Owen Trout, Isaac Liu. Subs: Jack Hughes, Alec Tuitavake, Matt Davis, Brad Dwyer.

Tries: Mulhern Goals: Ipape 1/1

Referee: Chris Kendall Attendance: 18,523

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