Leigh Centurions 30-6 Wigan Warriors
Leigh Sports Village
Att: 2,883
06/01/13
Return of RL
With a rather uninspiring selection of fixtures to choose from we decided to check in on what Rugby League was being offered. My research was lazy and I only managed to find a game in Dewsbury. Because we'd already got photo's there I decided to ask Ben whether he knew of any games. Thankfully he did, and it was a ground we'd been meaning to get to for quite a while. I fed the news back to NL hq to see whether it was of interest and our plans were settled. This would come on the back of a night out in Newport and then seeing Aldershot get through to the fourth round for the first time in my lifetime. We were hopeful that this would top off a fine weekend.
On the day Matthew decided he was a nerd and had to do homework so passed up the opportunity to head north. So instead the car was limited to just three. For once the Motorway didn't play up so we were in Leigh with time to spare. Shortly outside Leigh I got a call from Ben to say that he and his Grandfather had to divert in order to pick up Joe from Gibbo's 92, so we took the time to get our tickets and then head in to see the Rugby World Cup. It was fairly uninspiring (like the outside of the ground) but we did get a chance to look at where the WC is being held. It turns out that there are about 101 venues being played, in about 4 different countries, Leigh Sports Village were advertising Samoa v Cook Islands or something like that. The others finally turned up and I proceeded to wait with them whilst they got their ticket. Ben made it his duty to tell the steward that I'm cockney. This is quite simply wrong; I have a strong Berkshire accent I'll have you know.
I then took the chance to take my first proper look at the Stadium, it didn't quite live up to my expectation, I think I can go as far as saying I preferred their old ground. LSV opened in 2008 at a price of £17.5 million. It is the focal point of the overall sports village (which cost £50 million). Along with the main stadium there is an athletics track, pubs a sports centre etc. The capacity of the Stadium is 11,000, I'd say that 2,000 of this is the terrace behind one goal. All the stands are of a similar height, on 3 sides it's about 25/30+ steps, with the final side housing a line of executive facilities. It's certainly a ground that is capable of playing Super League (no duh I hear you say) so it's no surprise they're going for election in 2014. Underneath the stands are fairly bland, mainly bare concrete. The catering facilities were a bit ridiculous. Ben wasn't entitled to the meal deal as apparently Lucozade isn't a soft drink, whilst when we went down they had no hot food left. My favourite features of the ground were the floodlights, pictured below, which may suggest how uninspiring the place felt. Joe was telling us that prior to Leigh Genesis (formerly Leigh RMI) moving out their gates weren't enough to facilitate for the costs of stewards, I guess this suggests just why the club no longer exist at a senior level.
After gaining an initial impression of the Stadium we awaited the arrival of the two teams, and the guests. Initially the announcer said the teams were being led out with the WC trophy. Out came the trophy, no players. The person carrying it got about 10 metres, realised no one was following him and looked rather bemused. He headed back down the tunnel and we were left wondering what was happening. The trophy then came out again, this time with two people and an U14's rugby team. Then the teams. Finally we had to wait for the Mayor of Wigan. She was greeted by boo's from the home fans, that is until the announcer then introduced as the former mayor of Leigh, to which there were cheers! With every bodies hands shook we could now look forward to the game. Wigan fielded a young team, whilst the Leigh side was full of experienced players, which suggests the score line. It was simply a case of Men v Boys, with not much to write home about. In the second half Ultras Brigante (Wigan) somehow got two flags and a drum in. They created a small amount of noise, can't say I was that impressed. It certainly beat the repetitive "We hate Wigan" from the home fans. I guess this was to be expected considering it was a pre-season friendly.
On the day Matthew decided he was a nerd and had to do homework so passed up the opportunity to head north. So instead the car was limited to just three. For once the Motorway didn't play up so we were in Leigh with time to spare. Shortly outside Leigh I got a call from Ben to say that he and his Grandfather had to divert in order to pick up Joe from Gibbo's 92, so we took the time to get our tickets and then head in to see the Rugby World Cup. It was fairly uninspiring (like the outside of the ground) but we did get a chance to look at where the WC is being held. It turns out that there are about 101 venues being played, in about 4 different countries, Leigh Sports Village were advertising Samoa v Cook Islands or something like that. The others finally turned up and I proceeded to wait with them whilst they got their ticket. Ben made it his duty to tell the steward that I'm cockney. This is quite simply wrong; I have a strong Berkshire accent I'll have you know.
I then took the chance to take my first proper look at the Stadium, it didn't quite live up to my expectation, I think I can go as far as saying I preferred their old ground. LSV opened in 2008 at a price of £17.5 million. It is the focal point of the overall sports village (which cost £50 million). Along with the main stadium there is an athletics track, pubs a sports centre etc. The capacity of the Stadium is 11,000, I'd say that 2,000 of this is the terrace behind one goal. All the stands are of a similar height, on 3 sides it's about 25/30+ steps, with the final side housing a line of executive facilities. It's certainly a ground that is capable of playing Super League (no duh I hear you say) so it's no surprise they're going for election in 2014. Underneath the stands are fairly bland, mainly bare concrete. The catering facilities were a bit ridiculous. Ben wasn't entitled to the meal deal as apparently Lucozade isn't a soft drink, whilst when we went down they had no hot food left. My favourite features of the ground were the floodlights, pictured below, which may suggest how uninspiring the place felt. Joe was telling us that prior to Leigh Genesis (formerly Leigh RMI) moving out their gates weren't enough to facilitate for the costs of stewards, I guess this suggests just why the club no longer exist at a senior level.
After gaining an initial impression of the Stadium we awaited the arrival of the two teams, and the guests. Initially the announcer said the teams were being led out with the WC trophy. Out came the trophy, no players. The person carrying it got about 10 metres, realised no one was following him and looked rather bemused. He headed back down the tunnel and we were left wondering what was happening. The trophy then came out again, this time with two people and an U14's rugby team. Then the teams. Finally we had to wait for the Mayor of Wigan. She was greeted by boo's from the home fans, that is until the announcer then introduced as the former mayor of Leigh, to which there were cheers! With every bodies hands shook we could now look forward to the game. Wigan fielded a young team, whilst the Leigh side was full of experienced players, which suggests the score line. It was simply a case of Men v Boys, with not much to write home about. In the second half Ultras Brigante (Wigan) somehow got two flags and a drum in. They created a small amount of noise, can't say I was that impressed. It certainly beat the repetitive "We hate Wigan" from the home fans. I guess this was to be expected considering it was a pre-season friendly.