Orrell's home disadvantage

As an example of the making of rugby history, Leicester's 38-10 defeat of Orrell at Wigan was altogether unexceptional. Orrell as a club may fancy the actually rather unfancy surroundings of Central Park but the players would very likely have done better back home at their homelier and substantially more atmospheric Edge Hall Road four miles away.

Orrell have spent these many years using their precarious position in rugby league land as a backs-to-the-wall virtue. Victory - remaining in English rugby union's First Division - has always been achieved against ferocious odds, and proudly so. As Orrell still stand sixth even after this trouncing, it is about to happen again.

But all of a sudden the great comradely fellow feeling, what in this part of Lancashire they would not call esprit de corps, of union men swimming unaided in a sea of league has been turned on its head, if the metaphor is not too mixed. In the new professional era, Orrell are looking to exploit league, not resist it.

So Orrell merchandise was on sale in the Wigan shop and one watering hole had been temporarily decked out as the "Edge Hall Bar". And at the final whistle the announcer made what were presumably conciliatory remarks about the demise of the dinosaurs. "This is Central Park not Jurassic Park," he said.

A first appearance at Central Park on Grand National day and with Wigan making their Super League bow 90 minutes after no-side is doubtless unrepresentative but the disappointing statistic that only 3,637 should have turned up - and the majority of those from Leicester - told its tale.

That said, Edge Hall Road (whose capacity is supposedly 4,950) is not a decent option for a club aspiring to European competition, though Orrell's chance of ending among this season's top-four qualifiers as good as disappeared on Saturday. For this wonderful club, who by their very existence are a triumph of rugby union, it was an emblematic afternoon and not just because of where they were.

Take Austin Healey (Leicester are), and he wasn't even there. The England A scrum-half may have signed for the Tigers but Orrell still wanted - and more especially needed - him to turn out against his new club rather than go with England to the Hong Kong Sevens. They asked and he declined.

Given that his future lies at Welford Road, Orrell would hardly be cutting off their nose to spite their face if they declined to select him again this season and Phil Moss, the Orrell coach, said as much: "He let his team-mates down. Loyalties are very important, especially to a club like this."

Moss ventured that the prodigal's presence might have made a critical difference, though any scrum-half would have been stretched to do much that was useful with the modicum of possession supplied by the Orrell forwards. Even without Dean Richards, Leicester had a vast amount of territorial advantage and should have scored considerably more.

Still, it made a change to see them at least attempt a nicely, unwontedly varied strategy. Without Richards, the rolling maul that drives opponents and neutral observers to distraction was bound to be less overpowering and, no matter how erratic, the return of the one-time Ireland stand-off Niall Malone gave the Tigers many more attacking possibilities than usual.

Even so, Leicester's tries came from Orrell's quirkily wayward penchant for passing their way out of defence as much as their own creativity, Rory Underwood's first at the first half's last gasp effectively settling the result after the "home" side had done the hard part by withstanding a protracted period of Leicester pressure.

Thereafter Leicester were intent on improving their points-difference, only to find that relative to Bath it had deteriorated by 10. John Liley, out of sorts with his kicking, compensated with a try and still racked up 23 points. John Wells and Underwood contributed the others, Graeme Smith's providing minimal compensation for an Orrell performance that did nothing to persuade sceptical Wiganers of the merits of the other code.

Leicester know the feeling. They won last season's Courage Championship without persuading even their own coaches of the aesthetic merit of the way they played and have usually carried on regardless while maintaining their challenge to Bath this season.

In this context, it is poignant to recall Tony Russ complaining at people complaining when Leicester played to their strengths, not because Leicester had begun the season by preaching an expanded game but because on Saturday the club chief executive, Peter Wheeler, finally confirmed that Russ had been sacked (though he never used that dirty word) as rugby director.

Here we have a melancholy parable of our professional times, which at Leicester's exalted level are ruthless and quite unforgiving. Wheeler says he has an agreement with Russ not to discuss the reasons until Russ himself has spoken, and Russ says his solicitor has told him not to say anything.

In the absence of official comment, there is no shortage of speculation. Les Cusworth, the former Leicester and England stand-off, is among those in the frame, as is Bob Dwyer, the ex-Australia coach whose season in charge at Racing Club in Paris may end in relegation. Russ himself had been due in France on Saturday to size up a centre in Grenoble, perhaps to play alongside Will Carling, whom Leicester are trying to lure from Harlequins for pounds 500,000.

Anyway, Russ stayed away from both Grenoble and Wigan and could be excused if he regarded Leicester's invitation to him to attend the cup final on 4 May as either patronising or an insult. "I don't feel under pressure for my job, because Leicester Football Club doesn't operate like that," the formerly trusting Russ once said. Things have changed a bit since 1992.

Orrell: Try Smith; Conversion Mason; Penalty Mason. Leicester: Tries Underwood 2, Wells, Liley; Conversions Liley 3; Penalties Liley 4.

Orrell: S Mason; R Mathias, L Tuigamala, P Johnson (capt), G Smith; P Hamer, G Povall; P Winstanley, A Moffatt, P Mitchell, S Bibby, C Cooper, A Bennett, P Anglesea, J Huxley.

Leicester: J Liley; S Hackney, J Overend, R Robinson, R Underwood (capt); N Malone, A Kardooni; G Rowntree, R Cockerill (J Aldwinkle, 55), D Garforth, M Johnson, M Poole, J Wells, W Johnson, W Drake-Lee (P Freshwater, 17- 19).

Referee: A Spreadbury (Bristol).