The sixth of September 2009 has little significance to many in rugby league but Mickey Higham will never forget it. A week earlier Higham had won the Challenge Cup with Warrington at Wembley but his joy turned to concern with the news that his first love, Leigh, had suffered a potentially fatal blow.
Higham’s home-town club had been dining at the top table but relegation from the Super League in 2005 sent them into decline.
They were relegated from the Championship that September day in 2009 when results went against them on the final day of the season.
“We were bottom of the Championship and the club had nowhere left to turn – it was at rock bottom – and you could feel it around the town,” says Higham, now Leigh’s captain.
But the club earned a reprieve when the Rugby Football League relegated Gateshead to League 1 instead over off-field difficulties. It was a pivotal moment in Leigh’s history.
They have finished no lower than fourth in the Championship since and, after making a mockery of the convoluted league system that is perceived to make it harder for teams to gain promotion, Leigh return to Super League on Friday when they visit Castleford.
“It’s testimony to how the club has rebuilt because we spiralled out of control when we left Super League in 2005 – now it’s down to us as players to reward the people who have built us back up,” Higham says.
“We’re a Super League club off the field; it’s time to show we are on it.”
Survival is often the sole ambition of a side promoted to the Super League but Leigh are no ordinary club. Higham, who won major honours at Wigan and Warrington, is no ordinary player either.
“We’ve done the hard yards, we’ve done the tough stuff and it’s now time to see how far we’ve come,” he says. “All the hard work and the tears of joy have all come to fruition and we’ve sacrificed a lot to be here.
“We don’t want to just be one-hit wonders, we want to cement our place and be a regular fixture at the big dance – but we know there’ll be some tough asks.” A trip to Leigh underlines Higham’s point that they have the feel of a Super League club.
Gone are the days of the dilapidated Hilton Park ground, which was the last to host a top-flight game in the town in 2005. Leigh’s new Sports Village is a venue befitting big games.
Higham’s return home from Warrington 18 months ago was heralded as a coup but even he, eternal optimist and proud Leyther that he is, was not sure Leigh would see the bright lights of Super League again.
“It was in the back of my mind that when I came back, stepping down from the top end of Super League with Warrington, that maybe I’m done with the top level and I might not be able to get back,” the 36-year-old says. “But I knew there was a chance with the backing the club have and the buzz around the place. Now we’re here it’s a dream come true.”
Higham’s dream becomes reality against Castleford, the side fancied to challenge the status quo at the top this season. It is a daunting start and even Higham, a veteran of almost 350 Super League games, is anxious.
“There’s going to be some emotion there and I’ll be nervous,” he says. “Hopefully I can turn it into some positive energy. It’s going to be one of the proudest moments of my career when I walk out of that tunnel with these boys, having got the job done.” Higham and Leigh’s job is only just starting. The real hard work starts now. Eight years on from Leigh’s darkest hour, they are back in Super League – and you can expect them to make their presence felt.
