Wigan have been installed as Tetley's Challenge Cup favourites after brushing aside Widnes to set up a semi-final clash with Super League strugglers London Broncos.
England winger Josh Charnley scored a first-half hat-trick of opportunist tries to put the Warriors on their way to a 48-4 win over the Vikings in a disappointingly one-sided quarter-final at the DW Stadium last night.
With three other England players - Sam Tomkins, Sean O'Loughlin and Lee Mossop - all returning from injury, Wigan showed signs of recapturing their early-season sparkle but coach Shaun Wane says he will not be underestimating the bottom-of-the-table Broncos when they meet at Leigh on Saturday week.
"It's 80 minutes and if you don't turn up with your A game, you will get burnt," Wane said.
"They've got (Jamie) Soward in there. They'll be looking forward to it.
"I'm really pleased for the players that their hard work has been rewarded with a semi-final. I just want to make sure we go there and give a good account of ourselves."
Wane revealed that Wigan failed in their bid to have their semi-final scheduled for the Sunday, instead of Warrington's tie against Hull, which would have given his players a longer turnaround from next Monday's Super League derby at St Helens.
"I might get one team run in," he said. "We got told it's on the Saturday and there's nothing we can do. It will have to be a good team run before the biggest game of our year."
With one eye on the trip to St Helens, Wane took the opportunity to wrap Tomkins and O'Loughlin in cotton wool as they sat out the last half-hour with the win secured.
Widnes coach Denis Betts was able to derive some satisfaction in keeping the scoreline below the 62-4 hammering they took on their previous visit to the DW Stadium in March but he admitted they paid the price for some kamikaze-style rugby.
"It would have been a big ask to come here and win a game any way but we chanced our arm and were a bit too cavalier at times," Betts said.
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"I've got to maybe take a bit of responsibility. We knew we had to move Wigan about because they're such a dominant force around the ruck. If we had played their game, it would have been 60-odd points again.
"We weren't patient enough and our execution was poor. They were 30 points up at half-time and we gave them 24 of them. Josh Charnley is never going to score an easier hat-trick in his life."
