Super League round five: Leeds Rhinos beat Wigan Warriors in tense 12-10 victory as Catalans Dragons romp to 26-4 win vs Castleford Tigers

Leeds Rhinos came up with a massive victory in round five of Super League as they hung on to pick up a 12-10 victory over Wigan Warriors at AMT Headingley Stadium.

Leeds had the slight advantage at the half-time break thanks to an unconverted Riley Lumb try and Jake Connor penalty, Wigan hitting back in the dying moments of the half through Liam Marshall to bring the scoreline to 6-4.

Wigan then hit the front with a Bevan French converted effort but the key moment came as Ryan Hall, on his 500th career appearance, came up with a header assist to send Jack Sinfield over with Connor converting to put Leeds 12-10 ahead.

Rugby league rules dictate that a headed pass can only be ruled a knock-on if it is deliberate, and Hall appeared as surprised as anyone by the incident, which was reviewed several times on video before the try was awarded.

“It’s very rare that the ball comes off a player’s head but at the end of the day they’re the rules and it’s a try,” said Leeds head coach Brad Arthur. “It doesn’t look pretty but we’ll take it.”

From there, the Rhinos hung on at the full-time hooter with reigning champions Wigan chancing their arm, sending the South Stand wild.

The victory moves Leeds up to sixth in the table, with Wigan staying just ahead in fifth despite the loss.

Leeds show their strength to battle past Wigan

In the rainy Headingley conditions as Hall soaked in his monumental moment, it was a fast-paced opening few encounters between two of Super League’s giants as Rhinos’ Brodie Croft continually tried to challenge the right edge.

The breakthrough went the way of the hosts on the 10th minute as last-minute replacement Wigan winger Douglas fumbled a high kick, allowing Lumb to step past French and go over in the corner to give his side a 4-0 lead.

After the try, the arm wrestle ensued, both sides completing well as the South Stand got louder and louder.

With a penalty for offside on the 27th minute the next scoring moment, Leeds called for the kicking tee and Connor obliged to give his side a six-point advantage.

However, in the final moments of the first 40, Wigan did what they do best as Harry Smith sent a pearler of a grubber kick through for Marshall to pounce on in the corner to bring the score to 6-4 at the end of the first half.

After errors and penalties put Wigan on top early in the second 40 with territory, the time arrived for French to show his skill to dance over from short range, with Smith adding the extras to put Wigan in front for the first time on the 49th minute.

However, the pivotal moment came when the man of the hour, Hall, came up with the most bizarre of assists as he headed the ball when trying to catch a kick for Sinfield to dive over, Connor converting to move the home outfit 12-10 in front with just over 10 minutes remaining.

Despite Wigan continuing to chance their arm, Leeds stood firm in their defence and managed to see it out to the full-time hooter to give their fans a huge win.

Arthur: Lots of evidence that this group care | Peet: I have pride in what we showed

Leeds Rhinos head coach Brad Arthur:

“I am just happy for the club and the players. That was a tough effort.

“We can be smarter with some of the things we did in the second half but there is plenty of evidence there that they actually care as a group.

“They had to fight hard but we tried to throw it away a couple of times.

“That is morale boosting. I am so happy for Ryan Hall.”

Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet:

“I have pride. I thought we defended particularly in the second half like a Wigan team.

“It was a high-quality game and there are things we will look back on both sides of the ball that we can do better.

“But there was lots to like with young players in terms of their commitment and endeavour.

“I am generally proud of the performance.”

Catalans cruise past Castleford

Catalans Dragons made it back-to-back Super League wins with a comprehensive 26-4 victory over Castleford at The Jungle.

Steve McNamara’s side made light work of a torrential first-half downpour to score twice through Tevita Pangai Junior and Alrix Da Costa before two tries in the second period from Fouad Yaha and Sam Tomkins put them out of sight.

Castleford rallied in the closing stages and wing Innes Senior reduced the deficit with his side’s only score, but it was too little too late as the West Yorkshire side slipped to a fourth defeat in their opening five matches.

Both sides notched their first Super League wins of the season last time out, having lost their first three fixtures.

Castleford beat Salford 22-14 and Catalans also secured a home win, 11-0 over Leeds in Perpignan.

Round five of Super League concludes with a blockbuster clash on Sunday as the two unbeaten teams in the league, Leigh Leopards and Hull Kr, go head-to-head from 3pm, live on Sky Sports+.

Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining four matches each week shown on Sky Sports+ via the red button.