Saturday saw two games in Super League with the top three all in action as Wigan Warriors hosted Leigh Leopards before Catalans Dragons welcomed Salford Red Devils.
The earlier of those games between Wigan and Leigh saw third host second with this ‘Battle of the Borough’ expected to be far more competitive than the previous meeting in round seven, where Wigan ran out as 34-6 winners at the Leigh Sports Village.
Leigh went ahead in that game in round seven as they opened the scoring 6-0 early on but from that point on it was one way traffic, with Saturday following a similar narrative.
The Leopards went ahead through Tom Amone but Wigan hit back quickly through Bevan French before they added to that lead with two quickfire tries before half-time.
That seemed to take the wind out of Leigh and from there it became another huge score with Wigan tacking on 22 points without any response, before the game culminated 44-18.
Derek Beaumont had tweeted pre-match about the brilliant reception he had got as he lauded the praise on Wigan Chief Executive Officer Kris Radlinski.
In the dining area for Beaumont they’d laid out leopard print napkins as well as a pair of furry leopard print handcuffs for the Leigh owner.
It was a momentous day for one Leigh player as well in Jack Hughes with the ex Warrington Wolves skipper making his 300th career appearance, something both clubs celebrated.
Hughes formerly played for Wigan, representing the Cherry and Whites 75 times, and in the post game there was a presentation ceremony to celebrate the Welsh international’s achievement.
That prompted Beaumont to once again lavish Radlinski, and Wigan as a club, with praise highlighting the respect shown between the local rivals.
Pure class from your Club rads waney and Matty and players to wait and do that for Jack 👏 well deserved win and respect to your departing owner Ian Lenegan for his tenure at his hometown club and input to the game as a whole. Thanks for my bottle of @LochLomondMalts Respect👍 https://t.co/wtXJKovrqp
— Derek John Beaumont (@derek_beaumont) July 30, 2023
He also paid tribute to outgoing Wigan Chairman Ian Lenagan who will step down at the end of the season, whilst thanking the club for his own bottle of malt whisky which prompted one fan to question if he had used it to drown his sorrows.
In good humour Derek responded as such:
I tell you what mate it drowned my sorrows and some I am still trying get back to the surface and only did half the bottle! Genuinely highly recommend it 😂 and that’s from a brandy drinker 😂 https://t.co/NJQa52O9en
— Derek John Beaumont (@derek_beaumont) July 30, 2023
It appears it might have been a heavy night for Mr Beaumont as he drowned the sorrows of a derby day defeat but at least he’s got Wembley to celebrate with in two weeks time.
