Super League: Wigan Warriors will not defend Ben Flower after his Grand Final red card
Monday 13 October 2014 19:24, UK
Wigan chairman Ian Lenagan admits he is sorry that Ben Flower’s dismissal in Saturday’s Grand Final has overshadowed St Helens being crowned champions.
Prop Flower was shown a red card in the opening minutes of the match at Old Trafford after landing two punches on Lance Hohaia, the second of which connected when the Saints half-back was prone on the floor.
We will be there to support him but we make it very clear that Ben’s actions on Saturday were not the actions we want of either a Wigan player or a rugby league player, particularly on such a big stage as the Grand Final.
Down to 12 men for almost the entire match, the Warriors were unable to cling on to a 6-2 half-time advantage as they went down to a 14-6 defeat against their arch-rivals.
“Wigan as a club have apologised. I have on behalf of the club to the fans and rugby league generally. But more importantly, Ben has,” Lenagan told Sky Sports.
“If you had seen him crying his eyes out on Saturday with the realisation of what his actions had caused, and the terrible nature of them, that second punch in particular…the lad was devastated.
“I have seen tears of pleasure and joy. I saw (St Helens chief executive) Mike Rush full of emotion having won the Grand Final on Saturday. I was delighted for him, because they have had five difficult losses at the Grand Final and I think Mike deserved it
“If I’m sorry about anything, it is the fact that this issue has distracted from the victory that St Helens won, and won well.
“It was a fantastic atmosphere on Saturday night. The first play, the first tackle made by Saints was exactly as Wigan would have done in terms of their aggressive defence.
"We admired it, but it obviously led on. There is no excuse; there is no way you can consider Ben’s actions acceptable.”
Charged
Flower has been charged with a Grade F offence for "violent and aggressive punching on an off-guard opponent” and could be suspended for at least eight matches.
Greater Manchester Police have also confirmed that they will speak to officials at St Helens, the Rugby Football League and potentially the Crown Prosecution Service to decide what, if any action, will be taken against the Wales international.
Wigan will accompany the player to his RFL disciplinary hearing on Tuesday, though Lenagan insisted they will not fight Flower’s corner in the hope of lessening the punishment handed down by the panel.
“We will be there to support him but we make it very clear that Ben’s actions on Saturday were not the actions we want of either a Wigan player or a rugby league player, particularly on such a big stage as the Grand Final,” he said.
“Ben has acknowledged that completely. He apologised and is devastated by the damage his actions have had on Wigan, on rugby league, on losing the game on Saturday. I’m not saying we would have won it otherwise, but we certainly found it difficult to win with one man short.
“We will be there to help and support him, but not in any way to argue that there was anything reasonable or allowable about his actions. His actions were wrong.
"I have complete confidence that the disciplinary panel will treat it in the correct way and come up with what is the right answer. Wigan won't object to that."
