Quote ="glow"Link opens and then crashes for me?
But I guess that's just our system at work?
any chance of a copy n' paste or is it to big?'"
What would rugby league have done without Leigh this last couple of weeks?
Amid the ravages of the early winter, it seems that the A579 corridor has been the only place in the country capable of staging matches.
The Academy international against the Australian Schoolboys was switched there from Barrow, as was the Universities Test from the frozen wastes of Cheltenham.
Remarkably, that game was due to be televised live and free-to-air on Premier Sports, who are also planning to show student games during the regular season.
The change of venues scuppered the TV, but the game was played perfectly safely on the 3G pitch at Leigh Easts – and a storming affair it was, with GB losing 40-30 after fighting back from 30-0 down. Fighting back literally at times, because there were a couple of mass brawls – and that from lads with degrees and ‘ologies’.
I also noticed on the dressing room doors that the pitch had been used earlier in the day by no less a rugby union stronghold than Stonyhurst College, playing Toowoomba High School on their British tour.
On Friday night, the adjoining Leigh Sports Village pitch will host the second Academy Test, which was supposed to be taking place at Castleford.
And if you’re desperate for a game on Saturday, the only one that can be guaranteed is Leigh East v East Hull.
So all roads lead to Leigh – or they do if they’ve been gritted – because the town has the unique combination of an under-used, undersoil heated stadium and 3G pitches that seem to be playable come what may.
We might as well drop this pretence that visiting teams are touring Britain and accept it for what it is – touring Leigh.
Great reporting though
