Leigh Leopards and Huddersfield Giants will resume the fixture that was left unfinished on Friday night because of a floodlight failure at the Leigh Sports Village; the game will kick off at 3pm on Sunday, with 32 minutes left to be play; both clubs have commented on RFL's decision
Saturday 2 September 2023 14:55, UK
Leigh Leopards and Huddersfield Giants will make history on Sunday by playing the final 32 minutes of Friday night's abandoned Super League clash.
The game was halted after 48 minutes with the home side leading 16-12 because of floodlight failure at Leigh Sports Village.
Stadium staff tried in vain to resolve the issue for 55 minutes before a decision was eventually made to call the game off.
Fans waited patiently for an update on the fault hoping the action would resume but the decision was taken to abandon the game at around 10pm.
The RFL Board considered submissions from both clubs and have ordered the match to resume at 3pm on Sunday afternoon from exactly the position at which it was interrupted.
That leaves 32 minutes to be played and will feature the same number of remaining interchanges, and match officials.
A Leigh Leopards' statement read: "Leigh Leopards would like to apologise to Huddersfield, its spectators, and our spectators and sponsors for the issue with the floodlights that caused the stoppage of last night's [Friday's] game.
"The club would like to thank the RFL board for dealing with this situation in such a timely manner and realise the efforts and interruptions to individuals this has caused.
"While the rules permit a recharge for entry to a game that has passed half-time, the club can confirm that all tickets purchased and those holding membership cards, whether they attended or not, are eligible for free entry to the remainder of the game.
"In addition to this, both sets of fans can purchase remaining tickets in the east and west stands on a first-come-first-served basis at a discounted price of £5 for over 18s and £2 for under 18s, with under 12s free if accompanied by an adult.
"Anybody who purchased a ticket and can no longer present it can prove the purchase, and a ticket will be reissued."
The Giants did not agree with the decision to resume the game at the same point.
Chief executive Richard Thewlis told the club website: "The Giants do not believe that the RFL board have arrived at the right decision and believe that the full game should have been replayed.
"Whilst we accept the difficulties that they have faced, this decision made by them is unprecedented in the history of the game. We have asked about an appeal against this decision but are told there is no mechanism to do so within the rules."
