For a quarter of the century, few Super League moments have quite stood the test of time or been rendered quite as dramatic as Dwayne West’s incredible last-gasp try to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat for St Helens against Bradford Bulls in the 2000 playoffs.
With the Saints trailing 11-10 and the hooter having already sounded, they somehow kept the ball alive, passing from side to side before West etched his name into St Helens folklore. It was so dramatic, and so barely believable from a sporting perspective, that it felt like a moment that could surely never come close to being repeated.
Until now, that is. Almost exactly 25 years to the day, the same team – who history has shown can never be written off, even when all seems against them – produced another moment from the sporting gods to keep their season alive in a fashion that even just a few seconds earlier, would not have seemed remotely possible.
Make no mistake about it, in almost every single moment prior to Shane Wright scoring one of the greatest and most dramatic tries Super League has ever seen to secure victory for St Helens at the expense of Leeds Rhinos, Paul Wellens’ side were labouring and, quite frankly, limping towards a miserable exit from the playoffs.
They trailed for most of the evening and the knives were being proverbially sharpened when, with less than 10 minutes remaining, were behind by eight points. The Saints, who have struggled in attack all year, suddenly needed two tries to keep their season alive. At that point, it seemed inevitable that it would be Leeds progressing to face Hull KR next week in the semi-finals.
But what they did next beggars belief. Jon Bennison’s try and subsequent conversion brought the gap down to two before they were awarded a penalty as the full-time hooter sounded. They kicked deep, and produced a move which saw the ball pass through almost every pair of hands, shifting left to right and then right to left, with Wright the lucky man to touch down.
The Leeds players slumped to the turf, with their season suddenly over. The Headingley crowd was stunned into silence. And the Saints’ squad and travelling support were sent into delirium. “Someone reminded me this week that the ‘Wide to West’ try was 25 years ago on Monday…it’s almost like it was written in the stars,” Wellens said.
“To our credit tonight, we weren’t perfect but we stuck to the task and played to the end. That shows you the rewards you can get. But when the dust settles, we’ve only got into the next round and we’ve another big game next week.” That game comes against the all-conquering Super League leaders, where they will undoubtedly have to go up several levels.
Because this playoff tie was fairly low on quality prior to that stunning finale. Leeds led 12-6 at the break thanks to tries from Chris Hankinson and James McDonnell, with Jonny Lomax briefly levelling the scores for the Saints. When Jake Connor added a penalty to make it 14-6 going into the final quarter, the destiny of the tie only seemed to be going one way.
It was perhaps no surprise that what transpired in the final few moments left the Rhinos’ head coach almost lost for words. “It’s a tough game, isn’t it,” Brad Arthur said. “Sport can be unfair sometimes but we’ve had enough chances to win that game in the second half so we just have to go away and learn from it.”
Arthur is right. Leeds could, and perhaps should, have put this game to bed. But that won’t be remembered now. What will be remembered for ever more is how the Saints, against all the odds, somehow plucked a victory from nowhere thanks to Wright’s miraculous late try. It will forever stand the test of time, and who knows where it could lead to next.
Because the funny thing about that iconic West try a quarter of a century ago? It proved to be the catalyst for the Saints to go all the way to Old Trafford and win the Grand Final. The prospect of history repeating itself seemed impossible even after the full-time hooter had sounded on Saturday evening but now, no outcome can be ruled out.
