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Bevan French deflected the praise onto his team-mates after his stunning solo try set up Wigan’s Betfred Super League Grand Final victory over Hull KR.
The Australian produced a moment of magic to claim the only touchdown of a hard-fought contest at Old Trafford which the Warriors ultimately edged 9-2 to secure back-to-back titles.
French threw a dummy and then slalomed through an otherwise solid Rovers defence midway through the first half but the winger was modest about a starring role in a fourth trophy success of the year.
French said: “The game was so quick, I didn’t get to reflect on that moment. The ball was in play so much, it was just on to the next battle straight away.
“I may have been fortunate enough to get the man of the match, or score tries, in those finals, but it’s our defence that’s won those games.
“This is the second Grand Final in a row where we haven’t conceded a try. It’s great to achieve this, but collectively it’s the defence that has definitely won it for us.”
He deserves all the credit he gets but there are some fantastic players among this group— Matt Peet on Bevan French
Coach Matt Peet hailed not only French’s performance, but his all-round character.
“I love him to bits,” said Peet. “It’s easy to love him when he has those big moments in big games, of course it is, but I see what he does on a daily basis. He does so much.
“He deserves all the credit he gets but there are some fantastic players among this group.”
Peet revealed Wigan’s latest success was partly inspired by a motivational team-talk from former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
He said: “We just thought we were on the verge of something similar to when United won the treble, so we reached out through a mutual friend.
“With his mentality, we thought he would be the perfect person. It was epic, as you can imagine. We were hung on his every word.”
Hull KR coach Willie Peters reflected on a strong effort from his team, who finished second in the table to Wigan in the regular season and again came up just short of the champions.
Peters said: “I’m proud of what they’ve done all season, not only tonight. I think the performance here – we never gave in, that’s what Hull KR people do.
“We work hard and were resilient, that’s in our DNA. I think we showed that again.
“Although we were on the wrong end of the scoreboard, we played against a very good team that know how to win those games. They took their moments.
“I’m extremely proud to be head coach of this team. The play certainly didn’t let anyone down.
