Long repays Saints' faith

By Phil Harlow
BBC Sport at the Millennium Stadium

After an incident-packed Challenge Cup final played before a sell-out crowd under blue Cardiff skies, there was one name you could not avoid.  

St Helens scrum-half Sean Long was quite superb as he guided his side to a 32-16 win over local rivals Wigan, claiming the Lance Todd trophy as the final's outstanding performer for the second time.

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Long, currently playing some of the best rugby of his career, has been making headlines after being implicated, together with team-mate Martin Gleeson, in a betting scandal.

Report: Saints 32-16 Wigan

The Challenge Cup final attracts rugby league fans of every denomination, and the Wigan, Leeds, Castleford, Hull etc fans were not slow in pointing out what they thought about Long's alleged gambling activities.

You could scarcely avoid the banter about "long odds" and every kick the 27-year-old lined up was subject to deafening boos and catcalls.  

Saints fans countered with their replica Sean Long wigs - blond mullet, with white sweatband, a modern-day Bjorn Borg, if you will - to demonstrate solidarity with their hero.  

And Long's unique current standing in the sport could not have been better illustrated than the reception he received on accepting the Lance Todd trophy.  

A curious mixture of delighted cheers, angry boos, rapturous applause and yelled expletives greeted Long's trip up the steps to receive the trophy.  

While professing to not have heard anything, Long's coach Ian Millward preferred to look on the bright side of the crowd's reaction.  

"You'll always get a mixed reception with good players," said Millward.

The rest of the players deserve the credit - they got me into positions where I could do the kicking Sean Long

"I think that (the people booing) were showing appreciation in a different way."  

That "appreciation" may become a familiar sound to Long as he continues to divide opinion, playing with the threat of RFL sanctions hanging over his head

But the man himself, who kicked 12 points in an outstanding display, was understandably keen to focus on the match itself.  

"To win the Lance Todd once was unbelievable but to win it a second time, I'm a bit stuck for words," said Long.

"It'll probably take a couple of weeks or even months for it to sink in.  

"The rest of the players deserve the credit. They got me into positions where I could do the kicking."  

But it is as close to a sure thing as you can get that Long will be the toast of St Helens.