Derek Beaumont makes huge Leigh Leopards announcement about star man live on BBC

Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont has confirmed the club have fought off interest from the NRL to tie down star hooker Edwin Ipape. Ipape was off contract at the end of this season and was known to be of interest to a number of clubs down under.

However, the Leigh owner has confirmed that Ipape has penned a six year deal with the club and that ensures he will be representing the Leopards until the end of the 2031 Super League season.

Ipape has been with Leigh since joining from PNG Hunters in 2022 and in that time he has established himself as one of the best hookers in rugby league, with the Papua New Guinea international improving year on year.

So far, he has made 75 appearances for Leigh, not including his outing against Huddersfield Giants this afternoon, with 37 tries coming along the way.

Announcing the deal live on the BBC, Beaumont said: “There’s been a bit of speculation on Edwin and sometimes when you’ve got something that’s not overly positive to say it’s best to just get it out there and say it.

“It’s a difficult day but not for us, not for Edwin, more for the NRL clubs chasing him. Edwin has committed as a Leyther on a club record length deal both financially and in terms.

“Edwin is going to see out his career for the next six years at the end of this year until the end of 2031 and that’s massive news for Leigh Leopards.

“It’s massive for Super League, you see people like Bevan French committing a long time with our neighbours Wigan Warriors to get a Dream Team player like Edwin who is highly sought after to commit a long time, that’ll be 10 consecutive years and that’s unheard of for an overseas player to commit to one club, it’s huge news for us.”

Speaking on his commitment, Ipape said: “Firstly I thank Derek and Chris Chester and the coach for what they’ve done for the club and for me personally, they’ve brought me here from PNG.

“Nobody knew who I was then and they gave me an opportunity to be who I am today. It shows the passion, love and loyalty I have for this club. It wasn’t a hard decision.

“I think the club is heading in the right direction and what the owner has done, the people they’ve brought in have been good people and I think we’ll see a lot of success in the future.”