ST HELENS’ on-loan hooker Bill Leyland stole the show over Easter’s Rivals Round, with his two late tries helping to secure a 34-24 win over old rivals Wigan Warriors.
Saints were 24-10 down with eight minutes to go, meaning Leyland’s double, following scores from Jackson Hastings and Tristan Sailor, capped a memorable comeback.
Here we look back at six other such comeback wins that left both sets of fans and players in a state of disbelief.
WIGAN v ST HELENS – 1987
Good Friday 2026 wasn’t the first time Saints staged a memorable comeback against Wigan — producing something similar, but perhaps slightly less dramatic, in December 1987.
Despite going into the lead early, Saints trailed 22-6 at the break to a Wigan side containing the likes of Joe Lydon, Ellery Hanley, Kevin Iro, Andy Gregory, Shaun Edwards, Andy Goodway and Graeme West.
But Saints, who had already lost Kevin McCormack, hit back in the second half with two tries from Phil Veivers, plus one each for Dave Tanner and Les Quirk to go 30-22 up. Paul Loughlin added a late penalty, his sixth goal of the game, to crown the 32-22 comeback win.
ST HELENS v CATALANS DRAGONS – 2012
In 2012, Gary Wheeler’s second try of the night, converted by Jamie Foster, saw St Helens go 32-22 up against Catalans Dragons with just ten minutes remaining.
The French side had been behind all game, but showed a never day attitude right until the very end.
A Setaimata Sa try gave Catalans late hope before a passage of unbelievable play after the hooter had sounded, in which the ball was worked right to left and then back again, saw Daryl Millard eventually cross to level the scores. Dureau kicked the conversion from the touchline to send Catalans to the top of the table for the first time in their history.
BRADFORD v WIGAN – 2007
This game made last month’s list of 30 lasting memories of 30 years of Super League, and it’s a game those present at Odsal are never likely to forget.
At 30-6 up, the Bulls had one foot in the next round of the play-offs, but Wigan had other ideas.
Inspired by a Mark Calderwood hat-trick, the Warriors scored 25 unanswered points to overcome one of the biggest deficits seen in the competition’s history. Harrison Hansen also scored for Wigan before Pat Richards coolly slotted over a drop goal to put Wigan in front for the first time with four minutes remaining.
The Bulls tried to salvage something from the game, but Wigan’s defence held firm to seal a memorable win.
HULL KR v WIGAN – 2012
Wigan were at it again five years later when they overturned another big deficit against Hull KR to seal their second League Leaders’ Shield in three seasons.
The Cherry and Whites knew only a win would be good enough to clinch the silverware, but they almost let it slip through their fingers after the hosts ran into a 32-12 lead early in the second half.
Gareth Hock and Pat Richards both then crossed to bring Wigan back to within 10 points, and despite a David Hodgson try for the Robins, the Warriors’ revival continued through tries from George Carmont, Liam Farrell, Richards and Josh Charnley, securing a 42-36 win as well as the trophy.
ST HELENS v BRADFORD – 1996
It’s not just in league games where sides have hit back to claim victory from the jaws of defeat — the Challenge Cup has seen its fair share of results like this. Not least the 1996 final, when St Helens overturned a 14-point deficit to beat Bradford 40-32.
With just under an hour gone, Saints were 26-12 behind in their first Challenge Cup Final for 20 years, but three towering bombs from Bobbie Goulding caused havoc for the Bulls and all led to tries that put Saints back in the lead.
A second try for Danny Arnold increased the lead, and after Robbie Paul had pulled one back for Bradford with his hat-trick try, Apollo Perelini made sure of the 40-32 win.
PENRITH PANTHERS v BRISBANE BRONCOS – 2023
The NRL is not immune to such comebacks either, with perhaps the greatest of recent years coming in the 2023 Grand Final.
Penrith Panthers went into the game looking to claim a third consecutive title, but with only 24 minutes left found themselves trailing 24-8 to Brisbane Broncos.
But, as has happened so often in the past, up stepped Nathan Cleary to inspire the Panthers’ comeback. In the space of 14 minutes, tries followed from Moses Leota, Stephen Crichton and Cleary, who converted all three, to suddenly put the reigning champions 26-24 up.
The Broncos were unable to find a final try of their own, and the trophy stayed with Penrith.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 520 (May 2026)