THERE are colourful characters and then there is Derek Beaumont.
The owner of the now-named Leigh Leopards, Beaumont has bankrolled the club for a decade and has been with them through three Super League promotions and two relegations back to the Championship.
After rebranding the Leigh Centurions to Leopards towards the back end of 2022, it’s fair to say that Beaumont has taken that attention to stratospheric levels.
Adorning a leopard-print jacket for the Challenge Cup Final last year – in which Leigh beat Hull KR in Golden Point – and heading down to London in a leopard-print Lamborghini, Beaumont has a lasting effect on all those he comes into contact with.
For Leigh’s new signing Matt Moylan, that character certainly came out to the fore, with the former Cronulla Sharks halfback getting picked up from Manchester Airport by Beaumont. Yes, in his leopard-print Lamborghini.
“He picked me up in the Lamborghini. It’s a bit different to the cabs I normally get from the airport! So yeah, I got in a Lamborghini and cruised down to Leigh,” Moylan told League Express.
“That was a good experience but everyone sees his colourful side with his suits and the leopards print but what I’ve noticed – in the little time I’ve been here – is how passionate he is about the club and the game as a whole.
“It’s not just us as a team, it’s about the overall game. He loves the game and a big part of his enjoyment for rugby league is us as a club and I feel like he gives us the facilities and opportunity to train hard and put ourselves in a good environment to compete each week.”
Moylan has admitted that he never thought he would be wearing leopards print in a rugby league scene, but he doesn’t mind it.
“I didn’t think I would be in leopard print! You get pretty plain gear at clubs. Back in Australia we had a couple of years where we had a shirt or jersey that was a bit outlandish but perhaps not leopard print.
“It’s a different change and obviously it’s bright, but once you’re wearing it routinely, you don’t even realise you are in it.”
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