ST HELENS Chairman Eamonn McManus has hailed his club’s 34-24 victory against Wigan Warriors at the BrewDog Stadium on Friday as “the game that had everything”.
St Helens had been trailing 10-24 going into the final stages of the game, but four converted tries in the final eight minutes, including the last two from Hull KR loanee Bill Leyland, completely rewrote the script, with those four tries being scored right in front of a bank of shocked Wigan supporters.
“It had seemed like game, set and match and I suspect that before the game many Saints supporters would never have heard of Bill Leyland,” said McManus.
“But the atmosphere was quite incredible, even by normal Good Friday standards. It was a great day and I think the whole sport will have benefited. Something like that gets worldwide publicity.”
Leyland won’t play for St Helens in the Challenge Cup this week and he was with the club on a week’s loan.
But McManus confirmed he would be happy to renew a loan period for the Maidstone-born player this season, whose two tries were his first ever in Super League.
“He’s already a cult hero at St Helens and the fans would love to see him again,” admitted McManus.
“He brought great energy onto the field in the last 20 minutes.
“When Rugby League is played like that, with such a thrilling ending, it’s definitely the best sport in the world.
“It was a game that had everything.”