The unwanted 38-year record St Helens could break in crucial Leigh Leopards clash

St Helens will lose five straight league games for the first time in over 38 years and five straight in all competitions for the first time in over ten years if they fall short at Leigh Leopards on Friday night.

After losing to the Salford Red Devils, Castleford Tigers, Wigan Warriors, and most recently Warrington Wolves, who won 24-10 at the Totally Wicked Stadium, Paul Wellens’ team is currently on a four-game losing streak.

The Red V have dropped to fourth on the Super League standings as a result. Saints lost at Leigh the previous season, and if past performance is any indication, they might finish as low as sixth in the standings at the end of Round 18, depending on what happens in other games.
Over the years, many Saints teams have suffered four straight losses, but five straight losses for the 10-time Super League winners is extremely uncommon.

The unwanted record St Helens could break in crucial Leigh Leopards clash

The last time a team wearing the Red V dropped five straight league games was during the 1985–86 Championship season, which ran from Boxing Day 1985 to January 19, 1986.
A 38–12 loss to fierce rivals Wigan at Central Park on Boxing Day, 1985, was followed by a defeat at home against Widnes on New Year’s Day, 1986.
After that, Halifax defeated Alex Murphy’s team at Headingley. Warrington then defeated them at Wilderspool, and Bradford, with the “Northern” moniker, finally defeated them at Knowsley Road.

It’s important to remember that their losing streak across all competitions was really six because they had already lost to Hull KR in the John Player Special Trophy (Regal Trophy) semifinals before that run began on Boxing Day.
This is the only time a Saints team has lost five straight league games in a single season.
At the end of the season, Murphy’s team was in third position, one point behind Wigan in second place and two behind Halifax in first.

Since then, just one St. Helens team has suffered five straight losses in a season, all competitions combined. That team, led by Nathan Brown and captained by current manager Wellens, lost five straight games in April and May of 2013.

Following their defeat by KR at Craven Park in Round 4 of the Challenge Cup, Brown’s team resumed play in Super League but lost to the London Broncos 21-14 at Twickenham Stoop.
On May 3, at Langtree Park (now known as the Totally Wicked Stadium), Widnes defeated Saints 35-28 to end their five-game losing streak across all competitions.
At the end of the season, the Red V placed fifth and lost to Leeds Rhinos 11–10 in the play-offs’ preliminary semifinal.
In Round 11 of the Super League season, on April 7, the team lost at Craven Park to Hull KR. Five days later, they lost at home to Catalans Dragons.