Bradford Bulls 22 Wigan Warriors 26: Bulls rally but come up short as Wigan progress

Former Great Britain winger Gareth Raynor was sent off after half-an-hour for a foul on Sam Tomkins as the England full-back was going over for a try that put the Super League champions into the lead for the first time.

The Bulls winger appeared to be aiming to dislodge the ball from Tomkins’s grasp but referee Steve Ganson decided there was intent to harm the player, although he opted not to award an additional penalty.

Tomkins was out cold for several minutes and, after being helped to his feet, was taken from the field and played no further part in the eventful match.

The numbers were briefly evened up when Wigan prop Jeff Lima, no stranger to disciplinary matters in his first season in England, was sin-binned four minutes before half-time for use of the elbow.

But the champions seized control of the tie even before they were restored to their full complement, with the aid of two tries in the first five minutes of the second half.

Stand-off Brett Finch sprinted 70 metres for the first after collecting Kyle Briggs’s kick and Pat Richards, switched to full-back in the absence of Tomkins, supported a break by winger Darrell Goulding to touch down for his second try.

At 22-6, 12-man Bradford were staring at a crushing defeat but they rallied superbly to belie the struggles that have undermined their Super League campaign.

Scrum-half Ben Jeffries, now in his second spell with the Yorkshire club, carved out a try for winger Patrick Ah Van and full-back Shad Royston pounced on Briggs’s grubber kick as the Bulls cut the deficit to just four points.

Wigan finally made the game safe with second rower Liam Farrell’s 75th-minute try but the Bulls continued to belie their woeful league form by scoring the game’s last try through Ah Van.

Mick Potter’s men, who have gone six matches without a win in the league, might have pulled off a surprise win had they been able to cut out the errors that continuously spoiled their impressive approach work.

They were certainly unrecognisable from the side that was humiliated 44-10 at home by Wigan in February and, despite facing a stiff breeze, were good value for the early lead given to them by Elliott Whitehead’s try.

That came, not surprisingly, from a high kick from Briggs which eluded Tomkins and bounced kindly for Bryn Hargreaves who combined with his fellow front rower Andy Lynch to get the makeshift centre over the line.

Ah Van’s conversion made it 6-0 but Wigan pulled a try back through Richards, who took Goulding’s pass to cross on 18 minutes and make up for his second-minute miss, when he got to the line only to lose control of the ball.

Tomkins’s try, the result of a trademark sidestepping run, then edged the visitors in front and, although it was a lead they never relinquished, Wigan could never breathe easily until the final whistle.

Potter pinpointed the dismissal of winger Raynor as the crucial factor behind his side’s defeat, calling the decision “harsh” and intends to raise the matter with the Rugby Football League’s director of referees Stuart Cummings.

“I’ll go through the appropriate channels,” he said. “I thought he was trying to stop the try.

“It was without a doubt the turning point, that was plain to see. Twelve v 13 in the second half was tough. It wasn’t impossible but it was tougher than it would normally be.”

Wigan coach Michael Maguire said he thought referee Ganson had made the correct decision.

“He didn’t miss him so I thought it was a fair call,” he said.

“Sam took a fair knock. He was definitely out when the doctor got to him and he’s still quite groggy.

“But I’m hoping he’ll be okay for next week. We’ll assess that as the week goes by.

But, with a disappointing showing in the league so far, Potter was pleased with the determination shown by his players when another heavy defeat looked likely.

“It was a big step in the right direction,” said Potter. “We need to back this up next week.

“Our execution was a lot better and I thought overall we worked better as a team.”

Maguire added: “It was definitely not a performance we’re capable of but credit has to go to Bradford who came out and performed.

“I thought in the second half they controlled the game better than we did, particularly when they had the wind behind them. Even though they had 12 men, I thought they scrambled pretty hard.

“We had to dig in there. I’m just happy to get away with a win.”

Bradford Bulls: Royston, Raynor, Platt, Whitehead, Ah Van, Briggs, Jeffries, Lynch, L’Estrange, Hargreaves, Elima, Sibbit, Langley. Substitutes: Olbison, Burgess, Kopczak, Diskin.

Wigan Warriors: S. Tomkins, Charnley, J. Tomkins, Goulding, Richards, Finch, Leuluai, Coley, McIlorum, Mossop, Farrell, Hoffman, O’Loughlin. Substitutes: Lima, Deacon, Prescott, Tuson.

Referee: S Ganson (St Helens).