St Helens ace Theo Fages APOLOGISES for winning Super League Grand Final
THEO Fages had one word to sum up St Helens’ dominance that ended in a right and proper Super League title – sorry.
Not for their brilliance that saw them end the regular season 16 points clear, not for learning lessons in playing the biggest of games after Wembley heartache in the Challenge Cup Final loss to Warrington.
Instead, the Frenchman was sorry for ruining the dreams of his adopted family that taught him so much after Salford brought him to England.
The one he urged to cancel the Caribbean holiday they booked thinking the Red Devils had no chance of reaching Old Trafford.
Spotted as a 16-year-old, Fages arrived hardly able to speak a word of English but was placed in the care of Shirley and Alan Bradshaw.
After learning to drive over here and mastering the language – as Shirley put it, ‘Google Translate was our best friend to start with’ – Fages went on to establish himself as a Super League star and now a champion.
But there was still a message for the couple who tuned in from their hotel in Barbados.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for them,” said Fages in his accent that is three quarters south of France, one quarter north of England after seeing tries from Morgan Knowles, Mark Percival and Zeb Taia help them to victory.
“They’re a big part of why I’m here today. They helped me so much in the first few years here and I’m still very close to them.
“The first thing I said to them when Salford reached the final was, ‘You’ve got to cancel your holiday,’ as I know how much Salford means to them. I wanted them to be there.
“I visited them last week. They’re family to me. They’re the reason why I made my dreams come true.
“I made my debut for Salford and they gave me my chance. I’ll always be grateful to them as I wouldn’t be here now if they didn’t.
“Finishing 16 points clear was a good achievement but everyone judges you on the Grand Final. I think we deserve this.
“Everyone had what happened at Wembley in their head. We didn’t want to be upset again. Losing at Wembley was hard but we had to reset and we did that well.”
A Salford win would have been the ultimate fairytale but no-one can argue with Saints making sure reality prevailed.
Boss Justin Holbrook heads to NRL side Gold Coast Titans a title winner and Luke Thompson showed why Aussie clubs would have him tomorrow with a sensational performance.
An epic 72-minute stint sealed the Harry Sunderland Trophy as man of the match and fellow prop Alex Walmsley – who was almost as good himself – believes the 24-year-old is the best on the planet.
He said: “Thommo is the best in the world.
“He’s the best front rower in the world for me and he’s been a delight to play alongside. To do 70 minutes straight in a Grand Final, tell me another front rower in the game that can do that.
“I hope we’re on the Great Britain tour together. I’m sure Thommo will be in, hopefully I can sneak I alongside him as well.
“This has been five years in the making. We’d lost in every semi-final before this year to get back to a big dance and we’ve finally made it.
“I was part of the 2014 team and that was a great experience. But this is the pinnacle of my career, to be back here as a starting front row I’m so grateful and happy.”
