Rovers will be intimidating, insists Wane

Wigan coach Shaun Wane admits his side’s Challenge Cup game against Featherstone won’t be a walkover.

Wane’s side will meet the Rovers on Friday night, a game scheduled to be on Sky television.

Featherstone were rewarded a tie against the Warriors after upsetting Castleford Tigers in the previous round two weeks ago.

And Wane knows travelling to the Big Fellas Stadium will be intimidating.

He said: “It is a different environment for us. The crowd will be very vocal, and they are very much on top of you.

“Sky have made it their game for a reason, they are hoping for an upset. We just need to make sure it does not happen and if we play anything like we should, we will be OK.

“We need to be tough no matter what sort of a game they throw at us and we will be ready to deal with it. We will pick the strongest team as we can for this game, this weekend is an important game for us.”

Wane has in the past picked considerably weaker sides against supposedly poorer opposition. It is a tactic that has proved to fail, after Widnes won their first Super League game since 2005 with a 37-36 win at the Stobart Stadium earlier this year.

Wane’s Wigan side that day excluded the likes of Sam Tomkins and Sean O’Loughlin, and handed debuts to four youngsters.

But Wane has done his homework on the Rovers, and has realised the potential threats Featherstone possess.

He said: “Liam Finn at stand off and Andy Kain, a dummy half who comes off the bench, are both very talented and are important to them.

“Overall they are a talented team who score some great tries, they also have some good players on their edges and we need to be ready.”