Richards slays Dragons

Wigan coach Michael Maguire paid tribute to Pat Richards who scored a record-breaking 38 points in the victory over Catalans on Friday.

Richards notched five tries and landed nine out of 10 kicks for his tally as the Warriors thrashed the French outfit 58-0 at the DW Stadium on Friday night. The full-back's total of 38 was six better than Andy Farrell managed for Wigan against Huddersfield in 2000 and it could have been even better had the 28-year-old's final kick gone through the posts instead of striking the upright. Sean O'Loughlin, Darrell Goulding, Thomas Leuluai and George Carmont with two, also crossed the whitewash but theirs was the side-show to Richards' main event, with only Iestyn Harris' 42 points for Leeds against Huddersfield in July 1999 ahead of Richards in the all-time Super League record book. Coach Maguire would have loved the former Wests Tigers' star to kick all 10 goals but felt it took nothing away from an amazing night for Richards. "He was great tonight and I felt for him when he hit the post with that last kick," he said. "He would have ended up with 10 out of 10 but Paddy had a great game tonight. "That's credit to him. He's working very hard and the performances are coming out."