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For almost five years, few teams have captivated the British rugby league like St Helens. From the shine – on the pitch, at least – of Ben Barba’s short-lived stint with the club, to the dominance they’ve conceived over the past two seasons, he hasn’t been difficult as a neutral to feel a certain level of affinity with the Saints.
But this Saturday, the back-to-back Super League champions take on the role of villains. For the third time in five years, a team will make their Grand Final debut when the Catalans step onto the pitch at Old Trafford. Castleford failed in 2017 against Leeds Rhinos, while Salford succumbed to the might of the Saints two years ago. This weekend, the stakes seem much higher for a sport in desperate need of something new.
Old Trafford won’t be as busy as usual this Saturday, although last year’s final bump played behind closed doors should give this weekend’s crowd a chance. But anyone with the big picture of the rugby league in mind should focus on the impact that a Catalan Dragons victory could have on the sport, rather than on the fan base of any of the traditional clubs from the heart of the game at Old Trafford.
Catalans coach Steve McNamara has believed in the project from the start. He inherited a relegated club four years ago which might have been fatal for the rugby league’s chances of breaking out of its traditional Nordic roots. The success of the 2018 Challenge Cup was a watershed moment, but becoming the first club outside the U62 lane, let alone the country, to win the Super League would be monumental.
“I think it’s the biggest [game of my career]”Said McNamara.” This has been seen in the rise of the national interest of L’Equipe and Canal +, which shows the growing interest in France. The enormity of what the Catalans have accomplished is reflected in the fact that the opposition coach is keenly aware of how they brought the Northern Hemisphere rugby league to the brink of a huge opportunity, which could escalate if Toulouse got a promotion in the Super League on Sunday evening too.
“I think what the Catalans have done is absolutely exceptional,” said St Helens coach Kristian Woolf, who also coaches Tonga. “It’s really good for the game to have someone from France in the Grand Final. I am involved in the international rugby league and that adds up to the occasion. But we have our own reasons for wanting to win, we have to care about ourselves and our own motivations.
Saturday’s final pits the two teams who have undoubtedly set the standard for the whole of 2021 against each other. The Catalans were deserved leaders of the league, while the second-placed Saints have been with the Dragons almost every step of the way. As Woolf points out, they have enough motivation, including the possibility of becoming the second team in the modern era to win the Super League for three consecutive years.
Separating the two on the pitch is difficult, and at first glance we could have one of the most intensely contested Grand Finals in history. The two coaches were keen to divert the heat from each other this week. “There is no pressure on us,” McNamara said. “The pressure was last week. The saints are clearly the favorites.
This was greeted with a wry smile from Woolf, who replied: “These are the leaders of the league and there has been the Magic Weekend. [when Catalans defeated St Helens] so you would definitely put them in your favorites. We can really enjoy this week. You feel a lot of pressure when you haven’t done something for a long time, or you haven’t done anything before. In 2019, there was pressure on us because we had not won a Grand Final for a few years.
“There is no pressure on the squad this year because of what the squad has achieved over the past two years, both in the Super League and in the Challenge Cup.”
Whichever team starts off as the favorites, there’s no doubt the neutrals will support. The Catalans have bought 5,000 flags to distribute to neutral supporters, and they have set up five charter flights in the hope that 2,000 Catalans will be in attendance.
A litany of chess with the expansion is over: Paris Saint-Germain appeared in 1996, but disappeared in two seasons. London never realized its potential. Toronto Wolfpack imploded in the middle of last year. The 14 years the Catalans have spent in the Super League may not be long, but in terms of expanding in the sport, it’s a lifetime. After disappointing years before McNamara’s arrival, the game as we know it could change with a league title on Saturday night.
“We can create a new era for rugby union in France,” said Catalans owner Bernard Guasch, who has funded the project since its inception, on Thursday. “We hope that the French rugby league will be smart enough to work together; the French Federation, Toulouse Olympique and the Catalan Dragons. Guasch’s close friend Barcelona president Joan Laporta sent a good luck message to the Dragons players and left the door ajar for them so they can play at Camp Nou again.
We have a habit of saying that history will be made under the lights at Old Trafford every year. If it’s the Catalans who bring the trophy back to Perpignan on Saturday, for once it might not be a stretch to suggest that is exactly what is happening in front of our eyes.
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