Wigan Warriors ace Zach Eckersley on wearing Sir Billy Boston's iconic No. 2 shirt - 'A massive honour'

Zach Eckersley admitted wearing Sir Billy Boston’s iconic number two jersey added extra emotion to Wigan Warriors’ fitting tribute night in their win over Hull KR.

The homegrown winger was wearing the number made famous by Boston as Wigan celebrated the life of their legendary former player with a 46-0 victory over a youthful Hull KR outfit at the Brick Community Stadium on Thursday night.

Boston sadly passed away aged 92 earlier in the week, with Wigan paying tribute to one of the greatest players in the club’s history before kick-off.

Eckersley, who has enjoyed an outstanding season with 35 tries in 29 appearances across all competitions, admitted the significance of wearing Boston’s old number hit home before kick-off.

“We understood how big of a game it was and how big of a player he was - one of the greatest players to play the sport - never mind just for this club,” Eckersley told Wigan Today.

“I think the whole night was around him - it was only what he deserved - and it was a good night. The training week was similar - obviously we spoke about it - and we wanted to honour him with a good performance, which I feel like we did.”

Eckersley was handed the number two jersey ahead of this season, following in the footsteps of Boston and other Wigan greats including Jason Robinson.

He admitted having the No. 2 on his back made him nervous before the tribute match, wanting to do Sir Billy proud.

“A little bit, yeah, more so today,” Eckersley said. “I got a bit nervous before the game - a lot of great players have played in that number - but he is probably the greatest.

“I got a bit nervous before the game, but I just tried to focus on my game and play my game. I probably hadn’t thought enough about it (the number two) and how big of a thing it is, but I suppose I’ll think about it more over the next few days.”

The 22-year-old explained how proud he was back in pre-season when he first found out he would be wearing the famous jersey for the 2026 season.

“When I got given the jersey in pre-season, it was a massive honour, and I was proud to go and tell my family and stuff like that,” he added.

“Any number you wear at this club with this badge on, it’s special, so to be given the number two was a great moment.”

Eckersley also had to contend with torrential rain during Thursday’s game, but praised halfbacks Harry Smith and Bevan French for controlling the contest with their kicking and game management.

“It was tough,” he reflected. “When we hit the floor, we were sliding back an extra 10 metres, so it was tough.

“At the end of the first half, they were putting kicks to Marshy (Liam Marshall) and I couldn’t see where Marshy was or the ball, so it was difficult, but I thought Harry and Bev led us around the park really well with their kicking game, and I thought we performed well.”

The victory sets Wigan up for a huge trip to Leeds Rhinos on Saturday night, with the sides level on points at the top of the Super League table with two regular-season games remaining.

“It’s a massive game,” said Eckersley. “Obviously we’ll recover and have a good training week and look forward to that game.

“Everyone will be excited for that game, the whole squad will be, and they are the games you want to be involved in.”

Wigan have recovered from a rough patch earlier in the season to put themselves firmly into League Leaders’ Shield contention, and Eckersley believes the Warriors have done so by sticking to to the principles that underpin the club.

“We went through a rough period earlier on in the season,” Eckersley reflected. “But we just doubled down on what we are good at, what we want to be about and I think tonight epitomised that.

“We are most proud of the nil on the scoreboard - that’s what this club is about, it’s defence first - and we’ve taken each game as it has come, and we’ve got a big game up next, so we’re looking forward to that one.”