Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont has taken another swipe at Hull FC, branding their heavy defeat at Leeds Rhinos on Friday night as a ‘disgrace to the game.’ The Black and Whites were hammered 68-6 at Headingley, with Beaumont saying the decision to relegate London Broncos over the Black and Whites should they finish bottom of Super League would be an ’embarrassment’ to the competition.
Hull suffered their 22nd defeat of the season at the hands of Leeds, with their points difference also taking a battering. London, meanwhile, remain level on points with the East Yorkshire club ahead of Sunday’s trip to Huddersfield Giants, with a bottom-placed finish for Hull a genuine possibility.
But regardless of such an eventuality coming to fruition or not, Hull’s blushes will be saved by IMG, given their status as one of rugby league’s seven provisional Grade A clubs. On the contrary, London are set to drop back down to the Championship whether they finish bottom or not, given their poor provisional grading score last autumn.
Beaumont, meanwhile, has previously voiced his concern over Hull’s status under a system he previously voted for alongside other Super League clubs, saying it will ‘good for the game.’ The Leopards chief also called Hull ‘pretty desperate after they signed John Asiata earlier this year and accused them of ‘clearing the decks’ and saying the way they have operated ‘is not right.’
Taking to social media, Beaumont wrote: “#HullFC score is a disgrace to the game, take nothing from @leedsrhinos but you would not put that on any of the top 6 of the @RLChampionships, to relegate @LondonBroncosRL ahead of you is an embarrassment! @TheRFL this needs sorting!”
Beaumont then accused Hull of ‘blocking’ him on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter), suggesting that the club has been ‘disrespectful’ and that they ‘deserve’ relegation.
