The former All Blacks’ forward Todd Blackadder also breached the champions’ line as the visitors won 27-22

The former All Blacks’ forward Todd Blackadder also breached the champions’ line as the visitors won 27-22. Bristol have a big pack with an excellent line-out and good scrummagers.”Scotland’s full-back Brendan Laney ran in a hat-trick of tries as Edinburgh extended Swansea’s miserable season in the Welsh/Scottish League. But Leeds’ director of rugby, Phil Davies, insists: “This is going to be one of the most difficult games of the season. In addition, the former New Zealand A coach Peter Thorburn takes charge of the Bristol forwards for the first time.Victory over Saracens two weeks ago took Leeds above Harlequins and off the foot of the table. The former Harlequins pair, Jamie Williams and Brendon Daniel, are expected to line up against the Tykes while the 25-year-old Argentine prop Emiliano Bergamaschi, who joined last week, will start on the bench.

Chris Garrard, Worcester’s Australian wing, helped himself to five of his side’s 11 tries while Tony Yapp, who also went over, landed eight conversions.
Exeter’s outside hopes of promotion were virtually extinguished by their surprise 28-19 collapse away to the bottom club Henley.Fifth-placed Bristol aim to consolidate their presence in the top half of the Premiership when they visit relegation-threatened Leeds today. That result put them 12 points clear of second-placed Worcester who were unable to make any inroads into their rivals’ lead despite thrashing Otley 71-14 at Sixways. Rotherham’s return to the Zurich Premiership looks assured after the Yorkshire side strolled to a 30-8 victory over Rugby in National League One yesterday. Substitutes: Bibey, Smith, Johnson, Wild.Referee: R Smith (Castleford).. Substitutes: Houles, Marshall, Jackson, Bawden.Wigan: Radlinski; Dallas, Ainscough, Connolly, Carney; O’Neill, Lam; O’Connor, Newton, Howard, Cassidy, Furner, Farrell. Farrell’s kick was deflected, Ricky Bibey claimed it and Terry Newton gave the final pass for Jamie Ainscough to touch down.Not for the first time, Farrell was starting to make a win look more comfortable than it was, and when he went over for his second try, Wigan were at last in control.Farrell’s third, seven minutes from time, was a solo from the base of the scrum and Dallas made it look more comfortable with his late try.London: Barnett; Hall, Martin, Purdham, Roy; Gillett, Moran; Stephenson, Hetherington, Cram, Evans, Toshack, Dymock. Farrell took Lam’s pass to stretch over and added the goal for a lead they hardly deserved.Farrell’s penalty for offside stretched out the precarious lead, but it took a stroke of luck to put them in a winning position.

Barnett dropped a high kick to give them their chance, and from the resulting possession the visitors eventually contrived a way through. The way they came through unscathed was proof positive.Four minutes into the second half, and almost despite themselves, Wigan went ahead. The Broncos moved it left and Wayne Evans got it out for Nigel Roy to score in the corner.If London were better with the ball in their hands than they had been in their opening fixture, they were unrecognisable defensively, especially when they were put under pressure close to half time by Adrian Lam’s 40/20 kick that gave Wigan the chance to attack them deep in their own territory. Once Tony Martin’s penalty had put them level, they were always the more inventive side and thoroughly deserved the only try of the half after 21 minutes.The normally reliable Brett Dallas fielded a kick from Hetherington but lost the ball in a heavy tackle.

But “Craig Smith”, the formidable New Zealand Test prop, turned out to be Mark Smith, the young reserve hooker.Wigan got a flying start when Richie Barnett put the kick-off dead on the short Brentford pitch and Andy Farrell got the game’s first points with a penalty.That was to be no indication of how London would play, because they had the best of the first half by a distance. If either side were to fall down on the job again, the absence of key personnel would not be the excuse. The Broncos’ hooker, Jason Hetherington, was fit to return and Craig Smith made his Super League debut for Wigan. A second-half hat-trick of tries from the Wigan captain, Andy Farrell, turned a stuttering performance into a deceptively convincing victory over the much-improved Broncos.
Farrell accounted for 24 of Wigan’s points as they made up for a first half in which they were often second best.Both sides came to Griffin Park for London’s first Super League game there with something to prove, Wigan after their defeat by Bradford on the competition’s opening night, and the Broncos’ after a dreadful show at Leeds.Both also had good news over the availability of players badly missed last weekend. Sykes was impressive on loan to the London Broncos last season, but has been shunted off to the Bulls’ rugby union branch office at Wakefield recently.Bradford will have little idea what to expect from a reconstructed Warrington, but will be warned not to regard them as dead and buried by last week’s comeback against Halifax. Wakefield are sweating on the fitness of their influential half-back Brad Davis for a game in which they would love to pick up points to kick-start a campaign in which survival is the main priority..