Wigan Warriors defeated Toulouse Olympique 48–18 with help from Zach Eckersley, who continued his fine form into Super League round 22.

The Warriors built on five consecutive wins and claimed their 17th win of the campaign with tries from Zach Eckersley, Bevan French, Noah Hodkinson, Liam Marshall and Jai Field.

Sylvain Houles’ Toulouse side couldn’t bounce back from last week’s 46–0 defeat to Leeds and suffered their third consecutive defeat despite a spirited performance.

The result meant that the Warriors remained third in Super League whilst Toulouse remained in ninth position on just 14 points.

The opening try of the game came in just four minutes when Paul Ulberg finished off a quick Toulouse move down the right side to stun the hosts.

Wigan bounced back from the restart and pushed forward in the match, forcing a knock-on by Luke Polselli which gave them vital field position.

In the 10th minute, the Warriors drew level at 6–6 after Zach Eckersley’s athletic finish on the right side secured his ninth try in the last six matches.

As Wigan grew into the game, Toulouse were pushed back and faced repeated sets on their try line.

Wigan took the lead in the 18th minute when the French side gave Bevan French too much space before he sliced through Toulouse after dazzling footwork and touched down.

Wigan continued coming and cut Toulouse open yet again, this time from the left side as Liam Marshall touched down to give the Warriors an 18–6 lead.

Wigan had more notable chances when Bevan French and Jai Field combined to illuminate the game as the crowd watched on in shock, despite being unable to convert.

Toulouse showed determination to claw themselves back in the game when Romeo Tropis dived on Brendan Hands’ kick to score for the visitors with just 12 minutes left in the half.

Cesar Rouge completed a first-half comeback for Toulouse when he claimed a deflected kick and slid the ball uncleanly past Harry Smith to score.

The game was closely contested and Wigan edged into the break leading 24–18 following Noah Hodkinson’s try on the stroke of half-time.

Matt Peet’s Wigan started the second-half with quality and speed which was evident when Noah Hodkinson received the ball from an accurate passing sequence before running freely down the sideline and setting up Zach Eckersley for his second try.

Wigan led 26–18 following Sam Eseh’s powerful, bursting try from close range which sent the 16,889 Wigan fans in attendance at the Brick Community Stadium into fierce celebrations.

A series of handling errors by Toulouse meant that frustration was setting in, combined with fatigue from a defending a continuous Wigan onslaught.

Wigan were in flow state as Bevan French glided through the Toulouse defence effortlessly before breaking away and kicking onto Jai Field who scored a scintillating counter-attack.

Wigan capped off a breathtaking 48–18 victory with an acrobatic effort by Liam Marshall ensuring the Warriors win in style.

By Aydin Gorgun.