So, as he reflected on his Sunderland side’s victory at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon, it wasn’t hard for the North-Easterner to appreciate the enormity of the achievement. As his manic celebrations in front of the travelling fans at the top of the Leazes End proved, Rigg knew just what winning on Tyneside meant to anyone of a red-and-white persuasion.
“I was thinking about it all week, all the different scenarios in my head, as you would because I’m human,” said Rigg. “It means the world to me. I got a bit emotional before the game, and I got a bit emotional after the game too.
“I wasn’t quite in tears, I just got a bit emotional in the changing room. Me and Luke [O’Nien] had a bit of a moment because we’ve played a lot of seasons here. Obviously, Luke’s been here for how many years now. He just gave me a hug and said, ‘Wow!’
Wow indeed. An afternoon that threatened to become extremely difficult when Anthony Gordon fired Newcastle into a tenth-minute lead ended in Sunderland glory.
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Regis Le Bris leapt into the air at the final whistle. The fans in the Gods at St James’ Park celebrated manically. Rigg headed down the tunnel, only to quickly reappear with his mobile phone to take a selfie in front of the Sunderland support.
“Walking on to the pitch, it was still quite surreal,” he said. “Being a local lad and walking out at St James’ Park, it’s still a big achievement for me personally. I think it is for most of the lads because those are the games you dream of playing when you’re a kid.
“That’s what Granit [Xhaka] said before the game, you dream to play in these games. We went 1-0 down, but I thought we kept our heads really well because it could have gone one, two, three. But it didn’t and then we scored two, so I think that’s just how it went.”
While Newcastle’s players wilted in the second half, Sunderland’s grew stronger. Their commitment, intensity and drive increased. Did the visitors want it more than the hosts? From a Newcastle perspective, that is a damning accusation. But it is one that Rigg is happy to make.
“I think it was about heart,” he said. “It was us playing for the badge, playing for the city. We knew we had to go out there and give the fans something. I think that was just heart - and we had more heart than them.”
Sunderland’s victory saw them move above Newcastle into 11th position in the table. With seven games of the season to go, they are three points behind seventh-placed Brentford and eighth-placed Everton. Either of those places might be good enough to secure European qualification. Is that a realistic target for the Black Cats?
“We’ve just got to take it game-by-game,” responded Rigg. “We’ve got our little targets as players, but obviously there are a few big games coming up, so we just need to take it game-by-game and hopefully the fans can push us like they did here.”