WIGAN coach Denis Betts believes a longer-than-usual turnaround between games will give his side chance to refresh ahead of a crucial phase of the season.
After backing up their Challenge Cup final triumph with a 68-4 victory over Leigh on Thursday, the Warriors will have enjoyed an extra couple of days of recovery before heading to Huddersfield on Sunday.
And that is something Betts wants his players to make the most of.
“It’s a bit of time to rest a few bodies and reset ahead of a tough run,” he said.
“We’ve got Huddersfield on Sunday and they’ll want to prove a point against us, and then it’s York and St Helens as we head towards the second phase of the season (the split of top four and bottom four).
“I told the girls to switch off for a bit, forget about rugby over the weekend and come back in ready to go again.
“A few of them headed over to Paris to watch the men’s game, and some others just hd a few days away elsewhere, because they just needed that time.”
The extra turnaround time has not been enough to allow Isabel Rowe and Lauréane Biville to recover after both picked up injuries in the Leigh game.
“Izzy rolled her ankle and it was feeling a bit sore, so we took her off,” he added.
“She’s had a sore ankle for a number of weeks now and that’s why Jenna (Foubister) has been doing most of the kicking out of hand, so we just need to see how that settles.
“I’ve not had the prognosis on Lauréane yet, but she started off looking really strong defensively, so I was really sad to her leave the field.
“I think she’s just twisted her knee, but I just have to wait and see what the physio says, and hopefully it’s nothing too serious.”