Jones-Buchanan says Leigh could follow Challenge Cup glory with Old Trafford win
Seven-time Grand Final winner Jamie Jones-Buchanan reckons Leigh could follow up their Challenge Cup final glory by winning Super League.
Having lifted the Cup for the first time in 52 years on Saturday, the Leopards are the talk of rugby league. With just six games to go in the run-in, the promoted side also lie joint-second with Wigan and champions Saints. Ex-England second-row Jones-Buchanan, who knows all about this time of year following his Leeds glory times, feels Adrian Lam’s surprise package could push on and make a maiden Old Trafford appearance, too. He said: “I don't see why they couldn’t go on and win it.
“Saturday was one of the best Challenge Cup finals I’ve seen from a storytelling point of view and listening to their owner Derek Beaumont in his leopard print suit saying it was all written in the stars, Lachlan Lam with that extra-time drop goal and Josh Charnley saying he thought he’d never play Super League again, it’s really hard to deny it. And this unbelievable story of Leigh winning the Cup really adds value now to Super League: the top four or five teams could go on and win it and it wouldn’t be a surprise either.”
However, he reckons St Helens - who lost five of their opening ten games after coming back from winning the World Club Challenge in Sydney - are looking ominous for a fifth straight title. They won their game in hand from those Oz exploits against Huddersfield on Sunday to move just four points behind leaders Catalans. Jones-Buchanan, 42, said: “It’s interesting to see St Helens have started to come back up the ladder with a bit of formidablity about them.
“They are smarting a little bit about being knocked out of the Challenge Cup semi by Leigh but everybody had sort of forgotten about that game in hand and now they're back in contention. They are going to finish strong. I experienced it back in 2011 and 12 with a Leeds team that was a bit older and had won a few trophies and everyone had written us off. But we had that level of experience and talent in the team - we won it from fifth both times - and I’d probably hazard a guess that Saints will win it again. I said they would at the start and I'm stricking with it."
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Steve McNamara’s Catalans might have something to say about that as they bid to go one better than their 2021 Grand Final loss. They have a number of big-name players departing at the end of the season, including former England captain Sam Tomkins who will retire. Jones-Buchanan said: “I played for Steve with England 2011 and 2012 and it was brilliant. He’s a great man-manager. Whenever Sam Tomkins and Mitchell Pearce play together in the halves I don’t think they've lost a game this year so if they can keep them fit and on the field, Catalan have every chance certainly.
Ex-Leeds Rhinos great Jamie Jones-Buchanan at Doncaster Racecourse with the “Horsebox Hotel” - part of a prize as part of a competition to raise money for the MND Associataion (Courtesy of Andrew Kelly)“What Catalans have done really well is probably told each other this story of a last stance: we sometimes see teams that are breaking apart with people going in different directions can fall apart with that uncertainty about what they're doing next. But these Catalans seem to be coming to an end point and they’re talking about creating some history. And the Grand Final is the elusive trophy for them.”
Wigan, St Helens and Leigh are all joint-second on 28 points but Jones-Buchanan feels Wigan are the least likely to make a push for Old Trafford glory. He said: “They always respond well to adversity. Whenever they've had a disappointment - like the Cup semi-final loss to Hull KR - they've backed it up really well. But for me there's just not enough variance in the way they are playing. It’s either magic from Bevan French, Jai Field or Liam Marshall and Abbas Miski’s been outstanding as well in moments. They are a danger, without a doubt, but they do lack that variety.”
Nosediving Warrington are in fifth and recently sacked boss Daryl Powell with Jones-Buchanan’s former England team-mate Sam Burgess coming in in 2024 while Hull KR are desperately trying to hold onto the sixth and final play-off spot. He added: “Sam Burgess is a leader of men. Sometimes in rugby league we get a bit too tactical and technical. Sometimes all you need is a group of talented individuals - like they have at Warrington - with a collective narrative to just go out and get the job done.
Could St Helens captain James Roby make it five titles in a row before retiring at the end of the season? (PA)“Somebody like Sam, as and when he comes, might be able to get them to do that. Obviously it’s too late for this year. Whereas Hull KR is really easy; Willie Peters’ job now is to get rid of their Challenge Cup hangover. That’s the big danger: that they've blown all their emotional energy losing there. And they could have won it.
"They tried their hardest to make it as hard as they could with unforced errors and even right at the death there they missed touch in golden point. That will have a massive emotional drain on them and we’ll see the quality of that group in terms of resilience with how they bounce back from that adversity. But I don’t know if they’ll have that consistency to do it between now and the end of the season.”
* Jamie Jones-Buchanan was speaking at Doncaster Racecourse as they launched a competition in aid of MND Association to give a pair of festival attendees the chance to stay in a horsebox hotel on the racecourse grounds for the Betfred St Leger Festival in September. All you need to do is buy a raffle ticket online at
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