Salford City Roosters recorded their first away win of the season at bottom club Wigan St. Judes, thanks in no small part to some excellent defensive work on their own line in the final minutes of the game, and yet, on the balance of play the Roosters probably should have been more comfortably in front by that stage of the game.
The host team offered very little in the first half and it was no surprise that Roosters took a 10-0 lead into the break, and it could have been more if chances had been taken. They opened the scoring on 16 minutes when Richard Openshaw passed for Mike Foster to spin out of a tackle and stretch to score 15 metres from the posts. Jordan Parker added the conversion (6-0) but it wasn’t until two minutes from the break that they stretched the lead with a bizarre try that was too far out for Parker to convert. St. Judes fed a scrum on the half way line but the scrum half – Joe Roper hesitated to pick the ball up and Parker got a boot to it. Parker then followed up to hack the ball on further as he went into a 50/50 challenge with a defender and the ball then bounced up kindly for him to send Will Rigby over the try line wide out (10-0).
The home side came out for the second half like a different side and got off to a perfect start when they retrieved the ball from kick off and Brett Taberner stretched out of a tackle to score a try that Gareth Thomas failed to convert (10-4). Indeed the quality of the goal kicking proved to be vital in the end as, with 3 tries each, the only statistic separating the sides in the end was the fact that the Wigan side failed to convert any of their tries.
Roosters were awarded a penalty in front of the posts that would have given them an 8 point cushion, but much to the annoyance of coach Paul Viller they elected to run it and wasted the opportunity. On the hour that decision looked even worse as Adam Lavin went over in the corner to reduce the difference to two points (10-8).
The match clinching try came on 71 minutes when a slick cross field passing movement involving Parker, Marc Jones and Tom Pratt was finished off by debutant George Kemp in the corner. Parker added a superb conversion from the touchline (16-8) but, thinking the game was now won, the Roosters let their guard down again and St. Judes set up a nervous last 5 minutes with a try from Shaun Fraser (16-12).
Aided by a succession of penalties the Wigan team piled the pressure on, but with man of the match Bradley White leading the way and sterling work from Foster and Danny Trimble the Roosters held on for a crucial victory.
