Wigan Warriors coach sings praises of youngster with Kaizen mentality signposted

Teenage sensation Junior Nsemba continues to shine for Wigan Warriors, putting in another sterling showing as they got the better of Catalans Dragons on Thursday night, with boss Matt Peet having high praise for the youngster post-match.

Until Willie Isa’s ankle fracture dislocation, picked up in the Challenge Cup against Castleford Tigers last month, all bar three of Nsemba’s senior appearances for Wigan had come from the bench.

But with veteran Isa sidelined for a good few months, the 19-year-old has been thrust into Matt Peet’s starting 13, and is yet to disappoint.

Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet sings praises of youngster Junior Nsemba with teenager’s Kaizen mentality signposted

In their Round 10 clash against Catalans, which the Warriors won 30-8 having trailed 8-6 at the break, the young second-rower’s 92-metre tally was only bettered in their forward pack by captain Liam Farrell, who earned a couple of his 103 metres on the night scored his 150th career try.

Added to that, only winger Abbas Miski was able to match Nsemba’s five tackle busts, with the teenager’s 31 tackle count higher than all bar one Catalans player – hooker Alrix Da Costa.

Accordingly, it’s no surprise that Cherry & Whites chief Peet is pleased with what he’s seeing from Nsemba, lauding his desire to improve continuously – adopting a Kaizen mentality.

Peet said: “I think that was probably the exact game that he needed because we had to do a lot of defending, he did a lot of work.

“There’ll be areas that he’ll want to look at and improve, but he’s going to get better each week. He’s working hard during the week, and he’s just so keen to learn.

“When a player like Willie is set in stone there (in the position), a lot of it is about the combinations, getting to know one another and building some chemistry between the four of them on that edge as well as the lads on the inside.

“It’s just work we need to do on the training field to get Junior to a place where he’s (getting) better and better each week, and that’s what we’ll do.”

N.B.: All statistics taken from Super League’s official website at the time of writing