Derek Beaumont: Leigh Leopards' Challenge Cup final win was 'written in the stars'

Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont says their Challenge Cup final win over Hull KR was "written in the stars".

With the final poised at golden point, Lachlan Lam kicked the cup-winning drop-goal to earn Leigh their first Challenge Cup victory since 1971.

Their win comes during a season where the newly-promoted side have fought to compete at the top of Super League.

"Little old Leigh, we've come down, there's leopard print en masse, what a feeling," Beaumont told BBC Sport.

"We've got something going on here that's special. Serendipity, fate. Some things are just written in the stars. I think this is one."

Beaumont has helped transform the fortunes of the club in the past two years, with the club going from competing in the Championship to successive trophies.

Derek Beaumont rebranded Leigh under their new Leopards title in time for the 2023 season

Under former Wigan boss Adrian Lam, the club won the 1895 Cup and promotion to Super League last term, with glory at Wembley capping their recent revival in the course of just 15 months.

"This was a win or not game for us, not win or lose, because we've won by coming here, that's how we approached it," Beaumont continued.

"I've never been through anything as hard in my life. It was the worst game of rugby - not in terms of quality, but to watch - that I've ever experienced.

"Massive respect to Hull KR, though, what a spectacle. We've [won the Challenge Cup] live on the BBC with a massive audience and it's mainstream. [But] no-one deserved to lose."

A family affair as the Lams continue success at Leigh

For Adrian and Lachlan Lam, it was the pinnacle of their coaching and playing careers respectively.

Lachlan arrived from the NRL to play under his father Adrian, with the club battling to win promotion from English rugby league's second tier and has since gone on to success after success.

But his latest triumph almost did not happen when Matt Parcell crossed on the verge of the full-time hooter to send the game to golden point.

Ultimately though, Lam kept his calm with the boot to send the Leopards into raptures and to ensure their first Challenge Cup title for over half a century.

"I can't believe it. The last try (from Hull KR) was just heart-breaking. I feared the worst," he told BBC Sport.

"I've kicked a thousand field goals in training over the last month and I don't want to say how many I've made."

For Adrian Lam, however, there was an added relief to the manner in which Leigh won, having been on the receiving end of a golden-point extra-time defeat in the 2020 Super League Grand Final during his time in charge of Wigan Warriors.

Adrian Lam told BBC Sport: "That's what great teams do in those moments and anyone can win in those finals.

"It's one of those moments for rugby league in this country where we can all look back on it.

"I lost a Super League Grand Final as a coach in extra time from a kick that hit the post, but I know now people will talk about this for years to come."