Sean O’Loughlin and Thomas Leuluai beaten on rugby union debuts

Today a lot of the sporting focus will have been on England vs Scotland in rugby union’s Six Nations as Leeds Rhinos legend Kevin Sinfield started his position as England Defence Coach under Steve Borthwick.

Speaking of legendary rugby league players, Wigan Warriors have had some legendary players in Super League history but two that stand out are of course legendary skipper Sean O’Loughlin and halfback Thomas Leuluai.

The duo were part of a real dynasty at Wigan winning four Grand Finals in the space of nine years.

This made Sean O’Loughlin Super League’s second most successful captain after Sinfield.

Leuluai meanwhile was also key winning the Harry Sunderland Award in 2010 as Wigan defeated St Helens at Old Trafford 22-10.

He wasn’t at Wigan for all of their triumphs as he returned to the NRL for a brief spell but has finished his career of as captain of the Warriors retiring last year as a Challenge Cup winner having played a key role in the win over Huddersfield Giants at the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium.

This came after O’Loughlin’s last game was less successful as he was on the wrong end of a twist of fate that saw Jack Welsby become the hero of the 2020 Super League Grand Final.

The two are now amongst the coaching staff at Wigan under the guidance of Matty Peet however both made the switch to union this weekend.

Wigan RUFC took on league leaders Eccles today and O’Loughlin and Leuluai starred in the centres for Wigan to give them an added boost with a big crowd expected.

💥💥Team announcement 💥💥

Another huge weekend at Douglas Valley with both teams again at home and looking to build on last weeks double.

1st XV host league leaders @EcclesRugby
2nd XV host @WidnesRufc

Both Kick off 14.15 pm. pic.twitter.com/ZG9J99Dx2b

— Wigan RUFC (@WiganRufc) February 2, 2023

New Warriors skipper Liam Farrell, who is following in the footsteps of O’Loughlin and Leuluai, was in the crowd but that crowd nor the touch of class provided by the former rugby league superstars could guide Wigan RUFC to a famous win though they nearly did.

Wigan led late on but a late try from Eccles handed them a disappointing defeat despite the best efforts of the duo on their switch to rugby union as they lost 26-24.

Fortunately it is not a permanent switch with rugby league losing so many top stars to rugby union in recent times such as Sinfield who is now amongst the England set up.

After starring for Wigan RUFC they will continue their preparations with the Warriors ahead of the 2023 Super League season.