Friday 8th March 2013, 20:00 - Round:6

Pat Richards marked his 200th appearance for Wigan Warriors with a personal haul of 18 points as they ran in seven tries to see off Catalan Dragons.

Richards crossed twice and kicked five goals - the first try was his 150th four-pointer for the Warriors.

The hosts were dominant from the first whistle and never looked like surrendering the lead as they did in their win over Castleford Tigers last weekend.

The first half was initially a battle before the Warriors took control. They took the lead after 21 minutes when Blake Green went over, before quick tries from Chris Tuson and Jack Hughes saw them 18-0 ahead at the break.

Wigan did not ease up in the second half and a brace of tries for Richards and one each for Sam Tomkins and Greg Burke ensured a one-sided scoreline.

The Warriors started strongly and Tomkins and Josh Charnley were denied by good defence before Richards fell foul of it after he rose high to collect Green’s towering bomb.

Tuson should have gone over but failed to hold on to a sublime ball from Matty Smith, before the visitors’ Steve Menzies broke through some poor defending prior to being hauled down by a great tackle from Liam Farrell when the Australian looked certain to score.

Wigan finally opened the scoring after Tomkins’ kick through bounced into the hands of Tuson, who offloaded for Smith to send his half-back partner Green over for a try; Richards converted for a 6-0 lead.

Michael McIlorum won his side a clever penalty inside the Dragons half and, after receiving another set of six, Wigan crossed for the second try as Tuson steamed onto a ball from skipper Sean O’Loughlin, with Richards adding the extras.

The home side’s third score quickly followed as quick thinking from O’Loughlin presented a try for Hughes. Tomkins’ initial kick was spilled by Daryl Millard and O’Loughlin swooped on the ball before passing off the floor for his centre to walk over. Richards made no mistake to put Wigan 18-0 ahead.

They needed just three minutes of the second half to register their fourth try. A wayward ball from Millard was intercepted by Richards and the winger raced 95 metres to score his landmark try, before adding the extras.

The game ended as a contest on 51 minutes when Tomkins crossed in the corner for a 28-0 advantage. Richards missed his first attempt of the night but redeemed himself moments later when he collected a fine kick from Green to go over again.

It was definitely a night to forget for the Dragons and Damien Blanch failed to get on the end of a clever Leon Pryce kick in one of their rare attacks.

In the final 10 minutes Eloi Pelissier looked to have put a fair hit on Tomkins but his team-mates took offence and a melee followed. When it had calmed down referee Phil Bentham showed Olivier Elima a yellow card.

A strong Wigan performance was capped in the final three minutes when youngster Burke went over in the corner for his first Super League try, with Richards converting to complete the scoring.