Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont under fire after post-game celebrations

Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont has come in for criticism following his post-match antics after the club’s win over Catalans Dragons.

The Leopards moved to third in Super League after their 26-12 win over a struggling Dragons side on Saturday evening with Leigh full-back David Armstrong putting in another stellar performance.

Armstrong raced the length of the field and rounded opposite number Sam Tomkins to seal the win  after Joe Ofahengaue had crashed over for his second try in as many weeks.

Despite Catalans’ torrid form, winning in the south of France in conditions such as those yesterday is a brilliant achievement for any team and it’s one that rightfully should be celebrated.

However, some were left questioning owner Derek Beaumont’s way of celebrating it with the larger than life personality crashing Adrian Lam’s post-match interview on Sky Sports, leaving head coach Lam looking confused and even distracted.

Questions asked after Leigh Leopards owner’s post-match antics

Fielding questions from commentator Stuart Pyke, Lam could be seen looking behind him where Beaumont was dancing along with the club’s drummer with fans pointing to the incident as one that highlights a lack of professionalism.

Footage was posted to social media by Perpignan-based journalist Steve Brady, who goes by the X handle @catalanmedia, before quickly being shared to the point where it already has over 206,000 views, considerably more than the 9,000 who have viewed Leigh’s post confirming the score.

Of course, some of those who have viewed it have praised Beaumont as simply celebrating a strong win but plenty were far from impressed that someone with such power in the sport would behave in such a manner.

‘Classy’ was a response used ironically by some whilst Brady would share his own post pointing to the contrasts between the sport in the northern and southern hemispheres.

He said: “If ever there was a visual metaphor comparing the NRL and the current leadership of the RFL, this is it…”

Of course Beaumont, along with Gary Hetherington, was one of the leading players who brought about the return of Nigel Wood to the sport as with Wood leading a Strategic Review.

There’s no doubting that Derek Beaumont has transformed Leigh from a yo-yo club to one of the sport’s leading teams, both on and off the field, and therefore is well entitled to celebrate such a win in front of over 1,000 travelling fans.

However, most would argue that there are far better ways to do so than by stealing the limelight and undermining your head coach’s post-match interviewer on the sport’s main broadcaster.

Congratulations @LeighLeopardsRL… it’s clear that certain people have been ‘celebrating’ well before the final hooter 🙄
❤️💛🐉 pic.twitter.com/SIGKZabmoW

— Catalan Media 🇨🇵 (@catalanmedia) June 21, 2025