Wigan Warriors duo Escare and Navarrete help France to impressive victory

Wigan duo Morgan Escare and Romain Navarrete both got on the scoresheet as France beat Wales 54-18 in their European Championship opener at the Stade Albert Domec.

By The Newsroom

Published 28th Oct 2018, 07:14 BST

Updated 28th Oct 2018, 08:18 BST

Morgan Escare and Romain Navarrete won the Grand Final with Wigan earlier this month

In a game which also doubles as a 2021 World Cup qualifier, the hosts soon moved into a 26-0 lead courtesy of two tries from Paul Marcon and further scores from Hakim Miloudi and Bastien Ader.

Wales, the defending champions, hit back, cutting the gap to 26-12 at half-time following tries from Josh Ralph and Elliot Kear, but that did not stop France.

Escare scored twice and Tony Gigot, Rhys Curran and Navarette also crossed in the second half, meaning debutant James Olds’ effort for Wales was nothing more than a consolation.

Escare and Navarrete were playing their first match since becoming the first Frenchmen to win a Super League Grand Final.