Delight for coach John Kear after Batley Bulldogs slay big-spending Leigh Centurions

While defeating Leigh Centurions 24-22 does not have the gravitas of Sheffield Eagles’ 1998 Challenge Cup final win over Wigan Warriors, or Hull FC’s victory in the same competition against Leeds Rhinos seven years later, it remains a remarkable feat.

Let’s not forget that Leigh, the big-spending, cocksure club that has laid out a small fortune gathering international players in order to try and earn promotion to Super League, had the likes of former England star Rangi Chase, ex-Wigan Warriors and Samoa captain Harrison Hansen, plus Kiwi powerhouse Fuifui Moimoi in their ranks on Sunday.

Furthermore, their outspoken owner Derek Beaumont insisted before kick-off at Mount Pleasant that Leigh – who finished first last term but froze when it came to facing top-flight teams in the Qualifiers – could go the entire regular season unbeaten.

That bold prediction did not even survive past week one.

Nevertheless Kear, speaking to The Yorkshire Post, admitted that the brilliant success – the West Yorkshire club were 22-12 down heading into the final 10 minutes – made it feel like they had overcome a Super League side given those stellar names in the opponents’ line-up.

“It inspired the players,” said the veteran coach.

“That was one of the reasons the first fixture didn’t hold any fears for us; the players were excited by the challenge of playing against Rangi Chase, Harrison Hansen and Remi Maitua who were all making their debut, and they were hoping Corey Paterson would play, too.

“It made them raise their game and raise their work-rate.

“Leigh are still the team to beat in this division given the quality of those players but we were so gutsy. I think that is probably the best word to describe it.

“We had numerous injuries during the course of the game.

“Sam Scott, Adam Gledhill, with a shoulder problem, and James Davey, with a hamstring, all couldn’t return.

“When you couple that with the fact we were playing against a high-quality team who dominated possession for 20 minutes in the second half, it says plenty about the sterling effort they put in to find a way to win.”

It is another significant blow for full-time Leigh who saw head coach Paul Rowley surprisingly quit barely a week before the campaign got underway.

Batley, who finished ninth in the Championship last season, secured the win after a last-minute penalty following a glaring error from 2011 Man of Steel Chase.

Kear added: “We’d been preparing for this game all the way through since November.

“As soon as the fixtures came out we said we weren’t going to worry about setting any targets about league positions, we’d just see how we came together – we had a lot of new players, too – in what would be the second toughest game we’d face all season.

“And we made a pretty good fist of it.”

Kear joined Batley in 2011 and conceded he has rarely had a greater moment in his time there than Sunday’s heroics.

“It’s a very big result and I suppose the two that compare while I’ve been at Batley were winning at Featherstone in golden point and beating Leigh in golden point, too, at Leigh Sports Village to get to the 2013 Grand Final,” he recalled.

“It was certainly a special day but then again my last half-dozen games I’ve coached have been special, too, as I picked up a few wins with Wales as well.

“It means a lot to me but it’s more about the players and knowing the belief and confidence they’ll have got from this.”

Kear did, indeed, enjoy an inspired autumn as his Wales side defeated Scotland, France and Ireland to win a maiden European Championship title.

There is, however, little chance for Batley to savour this most recent of results.

They must quickly ready themselves for what will be a testing examination at Featherstone on Sunday, Rovers looking to bounce back after their opening day loss at Bradford Bulls.

“It’s a very tough proposition,” added Kear.

“Fev have some quality players and I think they are stronger this year than last.

“In (Kyle) Briggs and (Anthony) Thackeray they have invested very heavily in two playmakers.

“At the weekend, you also saw Leeds Rhinos’ Mitch Achurch and Ash Handley played against Bradford on dual-registration to show what they have available to them so we know it’s going to be a real challenge.”