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Smith: a winner with Great Britain and Leeds

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The year in pictures

Champions St Helens made a miserable start to the defence of their Super League title but they bounced back in style to win the one that really mattered.

Saints lost two of their first three Super League games including surprise defeats to Harlequns and Wakefield, but they may have had half an eye on the Reebok Stadium on February 23.

Victory in the World Club Challenge would make St Helens the first team to hold all four major domestic trophies at the same time and more than 22,000 people turned out to see them try.

The night did not start well as Australian champions Brisbane Broncos bucked out into an 8-0 lead and Saints were still trailing at the half. But two tries from Ade Gardner and one from returning skipper Paul Sculthorpe helped set up an historic 18-14 win.

Sculthorpe was man of the match after a five-month lay-off following knee surgery and looked to be getting back to his best. Unfortunatley 'Scully's' season was once again to be blighted by injury and he made just nine appearances in 2007.

Saints quickly got into their Super League stride and the race for the minor premiership - and home advantage in the play-offs - quickly boiled down to a battle between the champions and Leeds Rhinos.

Wigan - inspired by Aussie Trent Barrett who would prove to be one of the signings of the year - were also showing signs of life, although their season was soon to be overshadowed by controversy.

Turnaround

At the wrong end of the table, Huddersfield Giants lost their first seven games and coach Jon Sharp looked odds-on to be the year's first coaching casualty.

But a 56-12 victory over Wakefield on April 6 prompted a dramatic turnaround as the Giants went on a six-game winning run. That ended in another surprise - a defeat at Salford - but the Giants were walking tall now and would eventually finish in a play-off spot.

It was the Reds who were struggling at the bottom and with the relegation trapdoor creaking open, it was no great surprise when Karl Harrison was dismissed in May. Veteran coach Shaun McRae eventually took over but he could not prevent Salford slipping into the National Leagues.

Leeds coach Tony Smith was also moving on, although in happier circumstances. The Rhinos coach announced his intention to leave Headingley at the end of the season and become Great Britain's full-time coach. Leeds quickly lined up New Zealand's Tri-Nations-winning coach Brian McClennan as his replacement.

Smith's first match in charge of the Lions was an international against France and the signs were good, Britain running in eight tries in a 42-14 victory.

Upward curve

But that notwhithstanding, French rugby league was very much on an upward curve in 2007. Catalans Dragons began to establish themselves as a Super League force and would not need their 'safety net' this season. Wins over Saints, Leeds and Bradford proved that the Dragons were a match for anyone on their day, as Wigan were soon to find out.

St Helens saw off Bradford in the first Challenge Cup semi-final and the following day Wigan were due to face Les Catalans in what was almost a home game just down the road at Warrington.

Having already won at Headingley in their run to the semis and crushed Catalans at the JJB 30-0 a month before, Wigan were widely fancied to set up a dream final against Saints on rugby league's return to Wembley in August.

They may have even expected to and if so, that proved their downfall. Catalans raced out of the traps and scored four tries in the first 17 minutes. Wigan never recovered and despite a brave second-half fightback, the French side held on to win a classic semi-final 37-24.

Unfortunately the Dragons could not repeat their heroics in a one-sided final as St Helens maintained their stranglehold on the game's major trophies with a 30-8 victory.

Turmoil

Wigan's season was in turmoil after they were deducted four points for breaching the salary cap, a penalty which dropped them down to ninth in a congested Super League mid-table. Bradford were also docked two points for a lesser offence.

The Warriors were now just five points above bottom-placed Salford and loked to be facing another relegation battle, but to their credit the players produced an impressive five-game unbeaten run into the play-off places, eventually finishing sixth. The other play-off teams were Saints - yet another trophy in the bag - Leeds, Bradford, Hull and Huddersfield.

Wigan had already been involved in the game of the season - that Challenge Cup semi-final - now they were to be involved in the game of the decade.

Bradford led 30-6 with an hour gone - largely thanks to a first half hat-trick from David Solomona - and looked to be cruising into the second round, when suddenly Wigan hit their stride. They ran in four unanswered tries - including a hat-trick from Mark Calderwood - and Pat Richards knocked over the winning drop goal with the clock ticking down.

Minor premiers

To suggest that the Bulls were stunned would be an understatement but coach Steve McNamara handled the shock with admirable dignity.

When Wigan went on to record a narrow 21-18 win over Hull at the KC Stadium they were just one game away from Old Trafford and the unheard of prospect of a team winning the Grand Final from sixth place was taking shape.

In the other 'half' of the draw, minor premiers St Helens beat Leeds 10-8 in an attritional thriller at Knoswley Road, 20-year-old scrum-half Matty Smith's penalty 13 minutes from time taking Saints to a second successive Grand Final.

That meant Leeds had to halt the momentum of 'Road Kings' Wigan to get to Old Trafford for a second time in three years. It was an eagerly-anticipated contest which for once failed to live up to expectations. Leeds completely dominated, rampaging to a 36-6 victory with Kevin Sinfield kicking eight goals and Rob Burrow and Brent Webb both grabbing a brace of tries.

Grand Final

Despite that impressive display, Leeds headed for The Grand Final and Tony Smith's last game in charge as clear underdogs. But this time they were to have their day.

Leeds led 8-6 after a tense and cagey first half, but busted out of the blocks after the break and raced to a 33-6 victory, proving that momentum in this game is everything, even against a team of Saints' quality. Half-back Rob Burrow was a deserved Harry Sunderland Trophy winner.

With the Super League trophy in the bag, Smith was able to turn his attention to the three-Test series against New Zealand.

Lions

The Lions were without a series win for 14 years but against a weakened and inexperienced Kiwi squad, this looked to be their best chance of breaking that sequence.

The first Test at Huddersfield was closely-fought although the scoreline of 20-14 to the Lions slightly flattered the tourists.

That was proven emphatically in the second Test before a full house at Hull's KC Stadium, as Great Britain ran up a record 44-0 win.

Skipper Jamie Peacock barged his way over inside two minutes for the opening score as the Kiwis quickly wilted. The Lions scored a further seven tries to finally clinch that series win in front of an ecstatic crowd.

The third Test at Wigan was a dead rubber but Smith was determined his men would complete the whitewash.

They fell 12-0 behind early on, but roared back in emphatic fashion, eventually winning 28-22.

The year finished with Great Britain's rugby league stars finally lifting a trophy. Next year they could even be lifting the World Cup...