The final that all rugby fans have been waiting for is just two days away where the Wigan Warriors will face the Catalan Dragons at Old Trafford in the Super league Grand Final.
After impressive seasons which saw both teams finish first and second in the league, both teams will have everything to play for as they try to end their respective seasons with some silverware.
The managers and captains of the teams were sat down at their pre match press conference, but the main topic of the questions was of course the Dragons Sam Tomkins ahead of his final game of his career after a brilliant career, having large spells at both clubs, making it even more personal for him.
Benjamin Garcia had some positive words to say about his teammate, he said “He’s changed the club, he’s a top professional.”
Having faced each other three times this year, Catalan were able to come out on top on two of those occasions, but the one that sticks out was Wigan’s thrashing of the Dragons in their most recent clash, winning 48-0, a result Catalan will need to get out of their heads if they are going to be able to come out on top.
Another point that was stressed by manager Steve McNamara was that despite the headlines and spotlight being on Tomkins, this game is more for the French than anything else, especially because of the French national team being a shadow of what they used to be.
He said “There’s a lot of talk about Sam, with his connections to Wigan and the game as a whole, but this game is about the French. It’s about Ben Garcia, Julian Bousquet, Alrix Da Costa, Fouad Yaha, they’re the heartbeat of our team and it’s about France.”
This is of course true but Sam Tomkins coming back to play his old club, where he won this trophy on three separate occasions, and being back to play his final ever game in rugby after battling thoughts to retire for many years is almost like a fairytale ending for the legend of the game.
Tomkins said, “This game is of course huge to me, I’m returning to play against a club that of course means a lot to me, but my full focus is on the game and trying to bring back some silverware for Catalan.”
McNamara of course got to this part of the competition in 2021, but couldn’t get over the finish line, he says he believes he can turn that negative experience into a positive one.
Wigan Warriors head coach Matt Peet also had a lot of things to say about this game and how prestigious it would be to be the victors of the match, even saying it would be more of an honour than the last piece of silverware he won for the Warriors.
He said “The Challenge Cup was an outstanding feeling for the club but to get to a Grand Final and compete against an excellent team is another step in the right direction. That’s probably what every coach and every club is looking for.”
The game kicks off at 18:00 at Old Trafford and it really is all to play for as the statistically two best teams in the country face off to win the Grand final.
