Adrian Lam is convinced the sky is the limit for Leigh’s leopardskin-clad heroes after he watched his son Lachlan kick the golden-point decider to sink Hull KR and end their 52-year-old wait for a Challenge Cup win at Wembley.
Leigh’s 17-16 win sustained an astonishing success story for a club whose announcement last October of a surprise rebrand was met with scorn in some quarters and the expectation of a top-flight return spotted with struggle.
With the world’s oldest rugby trophy in the cabinet and a top-four place in Super League seemingly secure, the Leopards head coach has warned the game had better start getting used to its garish newcomers.
“I had a conversation with (owner) Derek (Beaumont) about it (the rebrand) and how people were going to take it, and it’s snowballed to a point where I was having a coffee this morning and saw men wearing leopardskin tops and shirts,” recalled Lam.
“It helps because we’re winning but it’s just gone viral across the whole town and maybe across the UK. It’s caught on and I think it can go to so many different levels – where does it end?”
Lachlan Lam held his nerve to settle an enthralling if error-strewn affair in the fourth minute of the extra period, after both team-mate Gareth O’Brien and Rovers’ Brad Schneider missed opportunities to seal the victory.
Steeled by the influence of Lam and the constant prompting of Edwin Ipape, Leigh were the better team for long periods and would have been aggrieved to finish the first period only two points to the good as Rovers somehow clung on.
Jez Litten’s converted try cancelled out Ben Reynolds’ early penalty before Lam burst clear to put Leigh in control. Elliot Minchella’s yellow card for going high on Reynolds on the half-hour made Rovers’ task harder but they not only survived, but reduced the deficit through a Schneider penalty.
Schneider levelled at the start of the second half and valiant Rovers defence held Leigh at bay until Mikey Lewis coughed up an error too far on 65 minutes, Leigh capitalising when Tom Briscoe – the scourge of Rovers in their last final appearance in 2015 when he scored five tries in a 50-0 win for Leeds – touched down.
Matt Parcell gave his side hope on the hooter after the video referee took more than five minutes to deem Kane Linnett had not knocked on a crash ball before the Rovers hooker squeezed over, but Schneider’s conversion to drag the game into the extra period for the first time in the tournament’s history proved in vain.
No sooner had Lam’s kick soared between the posts, confirmation of the Leopards’ victory was greeted by a leopard-suited Beaumont leading a victory charge and Lam being engulfed by his team-mates, many of whom had faced uncertain futures before committing to the owner’s unlikely revolution.
“Some of the players we’ve recruited over the last 18 months were down and out in some areas and I’m just so grateful for what they’ve done,” added Adrian Lam.
“Edwin Ipape wasn’t in a team anywhere, no-one knew who Kai O’Donnell was, Josh Charnley couldn’t get in the Warrington team. The way that group has got together has been incredible. This is a magic moment for the club but we feel there is so much more to come.”
While few if any would dare mock Leigh’s pretensions to repeat the feat and go all the way to the season-ending Grand Final, Rovers face the difficult task of recovering and embarking on a run that will secure their own place in the end-of-season play-offs.
Such an eventuality would provide hope of a fitting send-off for captain Shaun Kenny-Dowall, whose hopes of marking his final season as a player by becoming the first KR player to lift the Challenge Cup since 1980 were cruelly dashed.
The veteran New Zealander had been the prime instigator in keeping his side’s feet on the ground after their golden point semi-final win over Wigan, and he will spend this week imparting a message of a different kind ahead of their Super League resumption at St Helens next weekend.
“I’m obviously very disappointed and I really feel for our fans who showed up in numbers like they always do,” said Kenny-Dowall. “But we will dust ourselves off and get back to what we always do, and that is the messaging for this week.
“We will take the learnings as a group and our full focus is on what is ahead. We are sitting nicely and we know if we rally round and put our full energy into the next few games, we will give ourselves the best chance to be playing in another game like that at the end of the year.”
Fraser Brown ‘hugely proud’ of Scotland career as he announces rugby retirement
Fraser Brown declared himself “hugely proud” of his Scotland career as he announced his retirement from professional rugby.
The 34-year-old Glasgow hooker has not played since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for the World XV against the Barbarians at Twickenham last May and he has now conceded defeat in his bid to return to action.
Brown won 61 Scotland caps, with the first of them coming against Italy in 2013 and the last in the Six Nations match at home to Ireland in 2023, the same game incidentally in which Stuart Hogg won his final cap. The front-rower went to both the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.
“When you have a serious injury like I did with an ACL at the end of your career, it is always going to be hard to come back from,” Brown told Scottish Rugby.
“That probably made it a little easier to announce my retirement but it’s still a surreal and strange feeling.
“I’m hugely proud to have played so many times for Scotland during my career. To get one cap was great, but then my second one came against the All Blacks at Murrayfield which was such a special occasion.
“To reach 50 caps was a big moment as I had to deal with a lot of injuries throughout my career and to be part of the growth process of the team which has resulted in where they are now has been cool.”
At club level, Brown made 141 appearances for Glasgow after joining from Edinburgh in 2011.
The hooker helped them win the Guinness Pro12 in 2015 with victory over Munster in the final in Belfast, while his last appearance for Warriors proved to be last season’s Challenge Cup final defeat by Toulon in Dublin.
Glasgow head coach Franco Smith paid tribute to Brown, saying: “Fraser is the epitome of a modern professional and someone who should serve as a role model to any young player starting their journey.
“The respect with which he is held, not only within the Glasgow Warriors community but within the wider rugby family, should serve to underline the achievements he has earned throughout his career and the manner in which he has achieved them.
“His work ethic and determination to bring the best out of the people and players around him has been clear to all throughout his career.
“I wish him the very best for whatever comes next and I know he will apply that same work ethic and determination that made him one of this club’s most distinguished Warriors.”
Brown becomes the second experienced Scotland front-rower to announce his retirement in the space of a month after Edinburgh prop WP Nel recently revealed he would be hanging his boots up at the end of this season.
England tap into knowledge of Brian Ashton to play entertaining brand of rugby
England have been tapping into the knowledge of veteran attack guru Brian Ashton to achieve their aim of filling Twickenham.
The Red Roses ran in 14 tries in an 88-10 victory over Ireland that places them on the brink of claiming a sixth consecutive Guinness Women’s Six Nations title when they face France on Saturday.
A thrilling attacking performance before a 48,778 crowd was born out of the belief that in order to play in front of a full house of Twickenham at next year’s home World Cup, they must play appealing rugby.
And helping them achieve that aim is Ashton, a former England men’s head coach regarded as a visionary in the game whose expertise has been enlisted by Red Roses boss John Mitchell.
“Brian makes us ask questions. ‘If this is the picture, what is the easiest way that you can take the wins?’” said Dow, who ran in a hat-trick against Ireland.
“I do think it is about asking those questions and having Brian Ashton available throughout the week…I absolutely adore the man.
“The way he phrases things almost makes you re-think the philosophy of rugby. I think in the English brand the philosophy is ‘let’s kick to the corner, let’s take the territory’. But is that the philosophy of all rugby? Can we expand that?
“At the end of the day, professional rugby is a business in its own way. We need to be proving to the whole of England that we can play an exciting brand of rugby.”
While England march on by overwhelming the opposition in front of them, Ireland’s blowout highlights the gulf in class in the women’s game and affects the credibility of the Six Nations.
The Red Roses have accumulated 228 points after four rounds and France are the only European team capable of taking the wind out of their sails when the rivals clash in Bordeaux.
“I 100 per cent think teams will catch up and as much as we may be on top now, it is on us to try and work to keep that place and demand more from ourselves,” Dow said.
“Because as much as we’d love the game to grow, we want to keep the gap ourselves and continue to prove that we can be the best.”
John Mitchell: England motivated to fill Twickenham with captivating displays
England ran riot against Ireland with head coach John Mitchell revealing their pivot to an all-action attack is designed to fill Twickenham.
A crowd of 48,778 watched the Red Roses plunder 14 tries in an 88-10 victory that keeps them on course to win a sixth successive Guinness Women’s Six Nations title when they face France in a likely Grand Slam decider next weekend.
Unstoppable wing Abby Dow and player of the match Ellie Kildunne completed hat-tricks, but there were fireworks across the field as England delivered on their promise to put on a show.
Their ultimate aim is to run out at next year’s home World Cup in front of a sold-out Twickenham and Mitchell insisted that can only be achieved by captivating audiences with a style of play no longer based on forward dominance.
“The girls presented a performance that went up a gear. We asked that of them during the week and they certainly delivered it,” the Kiwi said.
“We’ve got a drive to fill the stadium on a consistent basis because we want to play here consistently.
“If we can continue to produce performances like that it won’t be too long before we do fill all the seats. From that point of view, it’s only that style of rugby that will bring people to watch us.
“We know we have other strengths as well, but this is a good sign and we’re only in the infancy of it.
“It’s a testament to the girls because they go out and own it and see the rewards from it.”
England have amassed 228 points after four rounds of the Six Nations, conceding only 20, and the lopsided scoreline at Twickenham is an ugly look for the competition.
“I’m sure some people will chat about the competitiveness, but at the end of the day we drive ourselves in the way we prepare and that’s all we can focus on,” Mitchell said.
“We’re not really in a position to judge the competition or its competitiveness. Our standards in the way we prepare have gone up a little bit in terms of level.”
Ireland head coach Scott Bemand admitted his side were left “shell-shocked” by the game’s dominant force.
“Tough day at the office. We came up against the market leaders but we’ll dust ourselves down and come back next week,” he said.
“This was a big game for a youthful group. Could we have predicted a margin like that? Probably not.”
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