Edwin Ipape has praised the Leigh Leopards culture after a fantastic play-off victory over Salford Red Devils.
It was an excellent game of rugby league, but it was the Leopards that emerged victorious, and that was in no small part down to some magic from Ipape at hooker, who notably had a wonderful assist that seemed to secure the win.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, he said: “I thought all the boys were putting in the hard yards and I thought the boys were awesome tonight. I was just lucky to get them on arrival and play a part in this win.”
He certainly did both of these things during the game, but when asked by Jenna Brooks whether he prefers scoring or stopping tries, he said: “Ah look, our coach, says you have to put yourself in the picture, and you have to compete for 80 minutes, and I thought, ‘that’s what we do’.
“If you put yourself in a better position, you might end up with a lucky break or lucky stride over the line, and stuff like that.
“So I think it’s just the competitive edge that I go out on the field with and the boys that we go out on the field with.
“It’s just that you have to do well for the betterment of the team. So I thought I was lucky to come up with a try and break tonight.”
Leigh Leopards star talks “last dance mentality”, transfers and motivation
Credit: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
Speaking on how many players are leaving the club ahead of next season, he said: “Oh, look, you know, we’ve had this squad for two or three years now, and it means a lot for us, you know.
Some of us have come from overseas, and, you know, we’ve built a family and we’ve built a culture in this team, and it’s kept us close together, and it’s sad that some of the boys will be leaving us.
“But in saying that, it’s rugby league, and it’s just the world that we live in so that last dance mentality has been a motivation and it’s been a drive for this group in this short space of time.
“Every opportunity we get, we play and we leave everything out there. That’s the theme: our last dance.”
