Wigan Warriors survive Junior Nsemba scare as forward passes HIA in Super League Grand Final

Aaron Bower
Junior Nsemba

Junior Nsemba leaves the pitch during the Super League Grand Final

Wigan Warriors forward Junior Nsemba survived a worrying-looking HIA scare to return to the field during the Super League Grand Final.

Nsemba looked as though his evening would be over within the first 15 minutes on Saturday night, after the forward’s head hit the Old Trafford turf with heavy contact before a challenge from two Hull KR defenders.

The game was stopped for a number of minutes while Nsemba was tended to. He then headed down the tunnel for a head injury assessment which many assumed the forward would have inevitably failed given how serious the contact was – plus the fact Nsemba did not appear to move immediately after the incident.

But Nsemba, ten minutes later, returned down the sidelines to an enormous roar from the Wigan supporters inside Old Trafford, before coming back onto the field to replace Liam Byrne.

The news was an enormous boost for the Warriors, who were without a recognised back-rower on their four-man bench. Luke Thompson switched to second row during the ten minutes Nsemba was off the field.

Matt Peet’s side took the lead during Nsemba’s absence too, with Bevan French scoring one of the great Grand Final solo tries to break the deadlock.

It looked as though the Warriors would be down to three interchanges for the remainder of the evening: but Nsemba’s return gave them a huge boost with half-time approaching.

 

Super League Junior Nsemba

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