Catalans 20-18 London: Dragons edge to Qualfiers victory in Super League

Match stats: Catalans 20-18 London

Catalans tries: Myler, Wiliame, Anderson
Goals: Walsh 4

London tries: Barthau, Williams, Ioane
Goals: Sammut 3

Match report

Catalans Dragons managed to secure only their second win in eight games as they struggled to come from behind and defeat London Broncos 20-18 in their opening Super 8s Qualifiers fixture.

Despite facing Kingstone Press Championship opposition, the Super League side struggled to break down their opponents, who could have won the game had they made he most of their scoring opportunities.

Former Dragon William Barthau could have had a hat-trick as the visitors flirted with victory, the Broncos half-back dropping the ball twice when close to touching down over the line.

Catalans were reeling following Tony Gigot's late withdrawal after his ban for an anti-doping offence was restored to two years.

London took an early lead as Barthau latched onto a break by Matt Davis to juggle the ball before touching down. Jarrod Sammut added the conversion to give the Broncos a six-point advantage.

Catalans levelled in the 14th minute when Luke Walsh attacked the London line before putting in a reverse kick towards the posts and Richie Myler (pictured) managed to collect and touch down just before the dead-ball line - the try being awarded on the approval of the video official.

The Dragons continued to attack the London line, but poor handling prevented the home side from taking the lead.

The Broncos went ahead when an error by Vincent Duport was pounced on and, from a scrum, Alex Walker sent Rhys Williams charging over in the left corner.

Brayden Wiliame broke down the left and charged over Api Pewhairangi to touch down with 20 seconds remaining of the first half.

Catalans dominated the early stages of the second half but failed to break through the stubborn London defence.

Just before the hour mark, London were rewarded for their industry and hard work when Sammut kicked a goal from bang in front of the posts to level the game at 12-12.

Walsh added a penalty 16 minutes from time to edge the Catalans in front and four minutes later a smart shift in direction from Myler saw them attack down the short side and create an overlap that allowed Louis Anderson to charge over.

Walsh added the conversion to take the score to 20-12 and crucially give the hosts an eight-point advantage which was to prove vital in the last minute of the game when Mark Ioane crossed the whitewash, with Sammut adding the conversion attempt as the hooter sounded.

Match reaction

London Broncos head coach Andrew Henderson on his side: "I thought it was a monumental effort from my team today. We had to deal with the fact that we had to travel here on the day, that is something that we haven't done before as a team and I thought the boys handled that really well.

"I felt we competed hard for large periods of that game and I think probably on another day we might have got something out of that game.

"I think a couple of times in the second half, William Barthau took the ball to the line and just lost possession over the line and I know it's a cliche to say it is a game of inches, but that is what it came down to today. We were a little bit unfortunate and a little bit unlucky."

Dragons head coach Steve McNamara on his side: "The team did not play at their level tonight, it's frustrating and it was frustrating to watch. That being said, we can learn lessons from tonight and we have to learn it quickly ahead of next weekend.

"We learnt a lot about the competition that we've entered today. The team that I've seen play over the past few weeks against Castleford, Wigan and St Helens was not there tonight.

"We were far removed from that team tonight. I think today for whatever reason, we underperformed massively. I think London were great and a credit to their competition that they're in, but I thought we were poor by our standards that we have set in the previous weeks.

"Collectively we were so far off in so many areas that there is not one or two things that you can pick on. For a team that has looked connected with each other over the past few weeks, while not getting the actual wins, I thought today we pulled ourselves apart.

"A win is a win and it was essential that we gained the two points tonight.

"The last few weeks has been about improving parts of our game which I felt we undid today.

"Having said that, we ended up with the two points and given the competition we are in, that was the number one priority today."

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