Shaun Wane not using Wigan jet lag as an excuse for Warrington loss

Wigan coach Shaun Wane insists his players being jet lagged is not an excuse for them losing at rivals Warrington Wolves.

The Warriors squad only landed back in the UK on Monday morning after spending the last couple of weeks touring New South Wales and playing games against Hull FC and South Sydney Rabbitohs in Australia.

And Wigan lost 16-10 to Warrington Wolves in their first game back on Friday, but Wane has insisted that the jet lag is no excuse for their defeat.

When asked about the jet lag playing a factor, he said: “Definitely not – it was nothing to do with that at all.

“I just thought we weren’t good enough. They (Warrington) started the game with some energy and finished their sets far better than us which gave them field position. We defended a lot and were trying to come off our end all of the time in the first half and they had a lot possession in that first half which took a lot of juice out of us.

“Our start was disappointing and the way we couldn’t get out of our end. We didn’t have good shape and our last kick wasn’t good enough and it didn’t put enough pressure on them. We made our last plays up which put us under pressure.

“I think they would have been a bit disappointed with the score at half time due to the amount of possession they had but at the end of the day, it was to tries apiece. I thought it was a false score, they were better than that.”

John Bateman made his first Super League appearance of the season after recovering from a hand injury sustained at the World Cup with England.

He is a back-rower by trade but played at centre on Friday.

When asked about how he thought Bateman got on at centre, Wane added: “Okay, just okay.

“John is a competitor and it’s a big ask to come back from injury in a game like this, having not played much. I threw him in a different position which isn’t his best but he did a decent job there.”

Wane confirmed that there were no fresh injury concerns following the game.