It would have been a travesty had Wigan not won this match, though a late fight back by Leeds made it very tight. Wigan rushed into a 17-0 lead at half time, thanks two Cameron Phelps tries within the first 10 minutes and a third from Liam Colbon. Pat Richards kicked a conversion, penalty and drop goal to bring the half to a close.
The second half and Leeds got onto the score sheet as Danny McGuire crossed early after the break but Wigan responded with Darrell Goulding going over in the 59th minute. Ryan Hall, Keith Senior and Gareth Ellis scored for Leeds, closing the gap to 1 point and then and Rob Burrow missed a last-minute 40m penalty which would have taken the win. Final score:
Wigan 23 Leeds 22
Scorers
Wigan Tries: Phelps (2), Colbon, Goulding Goals: Richards 3 Drop-goals: Richards
Leeds Tries: McGuire, Hall, Senior, Ellis Goals: Sinfield (2), Burrow
Teams
Wigan: Richards, Calderwood, Goulding, Carmont, Phelps, Barrett, Leuluai, Fielden, Higham, Coley, Hansen, Tomkins, Hock
Replacements: Colbon, McIlorum, O’Carroll, Tuson
Leeds: Webb, Hall, Ellis, Senior, Donald, McGuire, Burrow, Leuluai, Diskin, Peacock, Jones-Buchanan, Lauitiiti, Sinfield
Replacements: Smith, Bailey, Burgess, Allan
Referee: A Klein (London)