In a game significantly more painful to watch than play in, Leigh found just enough wherewithal to drag themselves to victory, while Hornets disintegrated into a mess of dropped ball, unforced errors and gross disinterest.

In the worst game I've seen at any level for quite some time, coughing the ball at least half a dozen times on the first tackle gave this very ordinary Leigh side sufficient platform to play what little lucid football was on offer.

After a reasonable start, Hornets found themselves backpedalling as Leigh applied early pressure. With the set seemingly going nowhere, ex-Hornet Sam Butterworth launched a searching 20 metre pass into the path of Couturier, who crashed in to score.

The game then began to unravel; both teams struggling to put together any meaningful passages of play. With fans debating an early walk to the tea-bar for excitement, Hornets fell asleep on defence as Heremaia strolled through a static defence from the back of a scrum.

Couturier added the extras followed by a penalty on the hooter and Hornets went in 12-nil down.

Those who thought the game could get no worse were disappointed as the second half simply fell apart. For 15 minutes, both sides huffed and puffed with little to show for it; locked in stalemate, with the emphasis on stale.

It became increasingly obvious that the first spark of ingenuity would seal the game and, just before the hour, it was Butterworth again who proved Hornets tormentor; his delicate chip and chase taking him under the posts. The extras making it 18-nil and the game dead in the water.

Hornets continued to jab impotently at the Leigh defence to little avail. Leigh, by return, forced a drop-out; Hornets went for the short option - which scudded eight metres and stopped. Leigh accepted the two points from the resulting penalty.

On the next visit to the Hornets line, Cookson took advantage of an absent-minded defence to score. At 26-nil, the Hornets faithful contemplated the possibility of failing to score for the second game running. Thankfully, the one scintilla of respite from this pile of unwatchable tripe came in the shape of Simon Baldwin's untidy 77th minute try. The afternoon typified as Kingy sliced the simple conversion shot wide of the right hand post.

There was still enough time on the clock for Leigh to march downfield and close the game with a Stewart try, but by then, most of remaining travelling support were losing the will to live. The hooter came as blessed relief.

Be assured, this was a very ordinary Leigh side. But they demonstrated ably that, when the game's a scrappy mess, reversion to executing the basics well is often enough to get things back on track.

As for Hornets, well, where do you start? Clueless for the most part; lacking incision, leadership and cohesion. Handling was awful - way too many unforced errors. If there was a game-plan, it wasn't evident.

Darren Abram summed up the performance: "... we were very poor. Probably the worst alll year ... one to 17 didn't put their hand up and didn't perform. As Head Coach, I take responsibility (for) that when the players cross the line. I just have a few words with them before and at half time to gee them up and get something out of them. Unfortunately today, I couldn't get anything out of them. There was nothing in there."

"The players are committed, but it was one of those where I had no answers. It was just a poor performance all-round; attack, defence - and a lack of enthusiasm, which is the frustrating and disappointing factor."

"Leigh were no great shakes: they just had lots of enthusiasm and came forward and completed more than us."

Darren and his coaching team have until Thursday to sort things out if we are to avoid a humiliation live on TV. And I'd start with a bollocking...