Leigh Leopards have the task of stopping Bevan French tonight, a player that Leigh coach Adrian Lam signed when at Wigan Warriors and he’s now recalled his thoughts when the former Man of Steel arrived just over seven years ago.
Earlier this week marked seven years to the day that Wigan signed Bevan French and it’s fair to say, he’s had a pretty big impact at the club but that was apparent to Adrian Lam from the very start.
Lam, who was head coach at Wigan from 2019 through 2021 before he took on the Leigh job, was asked plenty about French when speaking in his pre-match presser ahead of the Leopards’ clash against Wigan tonight.
The 55-year-old recalled: “I remember signing him and he came over straight away and he played in a couple of games and it was just next level stuff. I thought, oh, wow, this is a cracker here.”
French has indeed proven to be a ‘cracker’, earning Man of the Match in numerous finals and scoring an impressive 101 Super League tries already, including one last week on his return game.
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Leigh Leopards boss talks Bevan French and his own overseas star
French stole the show in that return game sparking debate as to whether he is Super League’s greatest-ever overseas player and whilst Adrian Lam would not be sucked into that debate too much, he did explain how impressive it is that French has settled so well.
“He’s up there. I don’t know where exactly, I’d have to think about it,” Lam said when asked if French is Super League’s best overseas player.
“I think he’s going to be a handful tomorrow night but I’ve got some players playing in some great form as well at the moment, so I want to focus on that and hopefully one of those players wins Man of the Match and that’ll be a good sign.”
One of those players who could well win Man of the Match for Leigh is Adam Cook, a player that Lam signed for this season and who has now finally settled in.
On recruiting overseas players, Lam explained: “When you ID these sort of players, that’s only the starting point. The player’s got to come over, they’ve got to settle in, they’ve got to suit the rugby and it takes time.
“I said that about Adam Cook this year, it was going to be 10 or 12 games before he found his rhythm and he’s starting to get there and all of a sudden we’re playing better rugby because Lachlan Lam and Adam Cook are playing well together.”
As for French back in 2019, he said: “I think Bevan picked it up really quickly and I wasn’t surprised at all because he’s got that genuine speed as well, but he can also sidestep on a dime and his acceleration’s unreal. I think that’s a real big key to this competition, but he’s certainly a massive key for them.”
