Capital gains for Wigan

Paul Deacon: two tries for the Warriors

Wigan moved back to the Super League summit with a comfortable 38-6 win at struggling Harlequins.

The champions had been knocked off the top by Warrington less than 24 hours previously but had little trouble reclaiming top spot.

Veteran half-back Paul Deacon crossed twice for the Warriors - who were far from their best but by the same token still had far too much for Quins.

The visitors thought they had an early lead when Brett Finch wriggled over the line, only for referee Robert Hicks to penalise him for a double movement.

Wigan, having been forced to play their rearranged game with Castleford on Wednesday night, looked off the pace in the opening 10 minutes as the hosts enjoyed the majority of possession.

The Londoners were next to think they had scored when Tony Clubb cantered over the line, only for Hicks once again to chalk the try off for crossing.

But in the 16th minute Wigan went ahead in trademark fashion - Man of Steel Pat Richards soaring above the defence to claim a Thomas Leuluai kick and charge over the line.

Minutes later they added another try, Ryan Hoffman bursting over after a break from Sam Tomkins.

Quins finally hit back on 25 minutes, as Luke Dorn cleverly drew the Warriors defence and created room for prolific tryscorer Karl Pryce to muscle in at the corner.

The men from the capital then came desperately close to drawing level, Luke Gale spilling the ball as he tumbled over the line.

Clever kick

Having seen their own line just about hold firm, the Warriors took advantage at the other end as Tomkins jinked inside and out to set up Harrison Hansen for a score before the interval.

Moments after the restart the visitors all but wrapped up the two points when another clever kick led to a try, Finch's chip this time gathered by Deacon.

It was one way traffic now, Deacon grabbing his second try shortly afterwards when he strode through a gap in the defence.

With such a poor home record over recent seasons, the Londoners were never going to get back into it, but with Wigan easing up, the hosts did at least enjoy some possession and territory.

They were unable to make anything of it though, and once more the Warriors gave them a lesson in finishing on 68 minutes, Stefan Marsh wriggling over despite a host of would-be tacklers.

Finch then crossed in the final moments to complete a virtually stress-free afternoon for the champions.