OLIVER GILDART hopes Leigh Leopards’ season has been switched back on after the lights went out on their eventual two-day win over Huddersfield Giants.
The recent Super League game had to be abandoned after 48 minutes of Friday-night action due to floodlight failure at Leigh Sports Village.
For the first time ever, the decision was made to continue the match two days later, rather than replay it in its entirety, and the Leopards held on to a winning position for their first victory since lifting the Challenge Cup last month.
England international centre Gildart, a mid-season signing by Leigh from the Dolphins, recalled the surreal experience.
He told League Express: “It was weird. It was 50 minutes into the game, I tapped the ball and passed it to Joe Wardle, they’d just made the tackle and the whole stadium went out.
“We were told to go back in the changing rooms and we all just thought ‘they’ll restart the generator or whatever and we’ll be back on’.
“But ten minutes passed, 20 minutes, 30 minutes. We thought ‘are we going to be made to play after we’ve been sat around for 40 minutes?’
“When we got into the changing rooms the lights were on, and then they cut out after five or ten minutes as well. It was quite funny really, it’s a good story to tell.
“They eventually decided they’d cancel the game and we didn’t know much that night.
“We had to stay on it, eat the right foods, stay hydrated, catch up on sleep. I struggle to sleep after games because of the adrenaline so I caught up on sleep on Saturday, and then it was back to work on Sunday.
“As players we really needed the win and just wanted to get the game over with and move on.”
That result got Leigh’s league form back on track as they aim to finish as high up the table as possible ahead of the play-offs, with home games against Wakefield Trinity and Wigan Warriors on the next two Fridays to finish the regular season.
“We’d had a bit of a dip since the Wembley result,” said Gildart, who missed out on playing in the Challenge Cup final – against future club Hull KR – because he joined Leigh too late to be eligible.
“Most teams do struggle after Wembley with it being such a big high. Wembley is gone now and we have to get back on the horse.
“We’ve got a big few weeks coming up. We’re back on the right track now hopefully.”
