Catalan Media
“Michael McIlorum might come back into the equation against Hull but whoever we pick is going to have to play a whole lot better than we did tonight..." Catalans coach Steve McNamara
CATALANS DRAGONS are in the last chance saloon at Hull FC on Saturday afternoon if they are to salvage anything at all from a dismal second-half of the season (writes STEVE BRADY).
Les Dracs limped to a laboured 12-8 victory over London Broncos in Perpignan with coach Steve McNamara at a loss to explain his side's continuing slump in form.
Top of Super League in April and May, Catalans have tumbled to eighth in the ladder and will need a win over the Airlie Birds plus defeats for Leigh (home to St Helens) and Leeds (away to Hull KR) to sneak into the top-six play-offs by the back door.
“It’s not a great position to be in but we are doing what we can in the circumstances,” McNamara told Catalan Media after Saturday's win over London.
“It’s out of our hands now but all we can do is go out there and put on our best possible performance at Hull.
“We’ll know by the time we play (all of the other fixtures will take place on Thursday and Friday) what we will need to do or not do but the big thing for us now is to recover from this game and find out why we were so nervous in our approach against London.
“We’re clearly out of form. We've lost four games and managed to get a win tonight which has kept us in the frame but I don't want to say too much about that, we'll just dust ourselves down and get ready to go next week.
“We need to pull it all together and we know what it looks like when we do it and we play well but we're a long way off it at the minute and we were disappointed to play like that in our final home game of the season.”
McNamara reported no injury concerns from the London game, with Sam Tomkins coming through the 80 minutes unscathed despite his heavily-strapped left knee.
The coach added, “We’ve no major worries from tonight, it's the first time in a while that we had a lot of choice on selection this week and we might make some different choices next week.
“Michael McIlorum might come back into the equation next week but Tom Johnstone probably won’t be ready by then, if we progress to the next stage he may feature but we're a long way off that yet.
"Whoever we pick is going to have to play a whole lot better than we did tonight.
"We put ourselves under a lot of pressure, we were down to 12 men at the end of the game it was one of the few positives that we managed to hold out in that period.
“At stages it was like we were trying not to lose that game instead of trying to win it.
“We had to score points in both halves and the more we got stopped the more concerned we became so it was a tough night but thankfully we got the win.
“We lacked connection, people were trying and we were over the tryline on numerous occasions but they did well to keep us out. That built pressure and pressure and it seemed that the harder we tried the worse we got.
“We can't play like that against Hull.”
“Going to Warrington on Friday will be a hell of a task but we’ll give it everything we’ve got..." London coach Mike Eccles
LONDON BRONCOS will have a final flourish at Warrington on Friday before Rugby League chiefs decide upon the future structure of Super League and whether or not it will contain the game's capital club (writes STEVE BRADY).
Coach Mike Eccles prides himself on “togetherness” within his playing group yet is fully aware that the squad will be picked apart by rival clubs if, as expected, London are not offered a seat at the top table in 2025.
"It's been a hell of a season and we will finish it the way we have approached every game. We're going to Warrington to win," he told Catalan Media after Saturday night's 12-8 defeat to Catalans Dragons in Perpignan.
London came close to a second victory over the Dragons this season and Eccles couldn't be prouder of his players.
He added, “Once again, I’m immensely proud of their effort, we were never broken down with anything significant, they scored from a kick we should have cleaned up and an off-load that we let them stand too long in the tackle.
“Catalans had to win to keep their dream alive and they were always going to be tough to beat.
“But we handled their shape and their threat incredibly well, so super, super proud of that. Obviously we got beat but I’m mega proud of that effort again, to come here is extremely tough.
“We’ve given away a lot this year in terms of size of squad, fitness of squad, quality of squad and spend on squad and when you haven’t got any of those things you have to have togetherness and team spirit.
“And that’s what is running us close to the opposition in games at the moment.
“Togetherness is what we pride ourselves upon and it’s what you have seen today."
Eccles revealed that he will be missing hooker Sam Davis after he limped from the pitch in Perpignan, but said his team will be gving it everything against the WOlves.
“Sam's season is likely over with a calf injury and we’ve got a couple of guys busted in that dressing room but everybody’s in the same position at this stage of the season.
“We believed we could win each game over the past six or seven weeks. We’ve been so close against Warrington, Leeds and here in Perpignan today, no wins but the performances have been magnificent.
“And we’ll be out there against Warrington with the same approach. We won’t be going there thinking about points and points difference because you can quickly find yourself unstuck.
“Going to Warrington on Friday will be a hell of a task but we’ll give it everything we’ve got, the approach won’t change just because it's a points-difference situation between us and Hull who finishes bottom.
“We’ll keep doing what we’re doing and hopefully get the reward."
Eccles paid tribute to the 300-or-so London fans at Stade Gilbert Brutus to support his side on Saturday night.
He added, “Our support is absolutely amazing, they always travel so well to France, we don’t normally travel in great numbers but they seem to love it here.
“I knew they would be here in numbers today, we made a point of going over to them before the match to thank them, rather than just applauding at the end when things are done.
“We wanted to acknowledge them being here and the fact that they were behind us.
“They give us phenomenal support and we’re all in it together."
PERPIGNAN'S MELTING POT
Ben Lam's switch from French rugby union's Top 14 competition is a "major moment" for Rugby League says leading administrator.
PERPIGNAN is the perfect melting pot for any potential thawing of relations between rugby union and League according to a leading official in both codes.
Catalans Dragons’ Director of Sport Neil McIlroy spent 19 years on the staff at leading union side ASM Clermont and he has just overseen the first-ever top-level transfer of a player from 15 to 13-a-side in France with Ben Lam moving from Montpellier to Les Dracs.
“It’s huge, he’s huge,” said McIlroy about the 6’4” 18-stone winger who has spent the past three weeks training with the Dragons.
“It’s the first time a player has moved from a top union to a top League club in France,” said McIlroy, “And we shouldn’t underestimate the effect it is already having.”
The history of the two codes in France has been difficult to say the least since League broke away from union in 1934, hostilities peaking with a wartime ban for the 13-a-side game and the confiscation of all its assets which were handed over to the 15-a-siders.
Rivalry remains intense in Perpignan with union side USAP playing Top 14 games a stone’s throw away from the Dragons at nearby Stade Aimé Girale.
Recent suggestions by the city mayor that the two clubs could groundshare were met with a hysterical meltdown in local press and on social media from fans on either side of the divide.
McIlroy added, “It’s true that there has been a historically difficult relationship between the codes and it still seems prevalent in Perpignan which is a pretty passionate place when it comes to rugby.
“I think the economic climate plays a major role, particularly in Perpignan which isn’t one of the biggest or richest cities in France.
“Union and League are competing vigorously for a piece of the professional sports pie and that can bring certain rivalries of the past to the fore.”
But former Scottish union prop McIlroy believes cross-code player moves can initiate a healing process, adding: “Beyond financial considerations, in my experience there is a genuine appreciation between the codes at professional level, between players, coaches and staff.
“And there is a general admiration from other parts of the country that a town like Perpignan can have two leading teams of both rugby codes.
“This isn’t Paris, Lyon, Marseille or Toulouse, it is quite an achievement to have two clubs at the top level of their sport here.
“There is rivalry but we do have some cross-code supporters. I think the two can, and should, co-exist and there is an increasing mutual appreciation from one to the other.
“There is a level of curiosity about cross-code players that can only be good for both games, just look at the headlines made when Israel Folau went from League to union in Australia.
“People are curious to see how the bigger names will fit in and I think Ben’s move to the Dragons is already creating a lot of attention.
“I’m fascinated myself, obviously in my professional role here, but also on a general level I think people are intrigued by players who cross the codes.
“Ben’s move is a huge development, it shows that there is a pathway and the door is open between the codes, it sends out a strong message.
"Ben's move is huge, it shows that there is a pathway between the two codes in France and the door is open..."
NEIL McILROY
“There are over 30 professional union clubs in France with big budgets up to over 50 million euros a year and this move shows that we are an attractive option for players who want to try their hand at League.”
McIlroy believes Lam can be a big hit for Catalans, adding: “Obviously, you’ve got a much better chance of making a successful switch if you’re a wide player, it’s much more difficult for a forward moving from union to League, but Ben’s got all the cards in his hands.
“He will have game-time with our reserves (St Esteve XIII Catalan) in the French championship and that is our initial plan for him. The Super League season will wind up shortly and the Super XIII (formerly Elite 1) begins at the end of September.
“We want him to immerse himself completely in the game so he’ll train with the Dragons’ first team, we want him to learn as quickly as possible and there is no better way than having senior staff and players around you.
“It’s clear already that all the guys in the first-team group are keen to help him and guide him with his positional awareness so we’ll see what it brings.
“He’s 6’4” and around 118kg, he usually plays union at 115kg so he’s going to get that down. His last game for Montpellier was the beginning of June so he’s just getting back into it now.
“He could have continued his career in union in France but he’s desperately keen to throw his hat in the ring and have a go at League before he finishes.
“It’s a learning curve for him but he and his representatives made us an offer based upon a trial period that we could almost not refuse. He now has a personal challenge to achieve a professional contract with us.
Story: STEVE BRADY
“It’s a learning curve for him but he and his representatives made us an offer based upon a trial period that we could almost not refuse. He now has a personal challenge to achieve a professional contract with us.
“His trial period goes until Christmas and we want to see him on the field, he is a big man physically but there is a lot more to it than that so he’ll get game time in the championship and we’ll make a mutual decision with him around Christmas.”
McIlroy revealed that Lam was available to fit into the Dragons’ first-team playing squad immediately if absolutely necessary but it wasn’t part of the current planning.
He was included in the 21-man squad which prepared for the recent trip to Leeds Rhinos but not slected in the playing 17.
The Dragons are preparing for 2025 and the Auckland-born Samoa international will be 33 when next year’s Super League season starts with the potential for a partnership with another new Dragons’ recruit at centre who has similar physical attributes, this time hailing from Rugby League and the NRL’s Melbourne Storm.
“We’ve got Reimis Smith, he’s a big boy too,” said McIlroy.
Catalans have also got Nick Cotric and Tommy Makinson lined up to replace departing wingers Tom Johnstone and Tom Davies, but judging by Lam’s sheer physical presence so far at training at Stade Gilbert Brutus, he might just force his way into first team contention.
And maybe even before this current Super League season ends with only London Broncos and Hull FC remaining on the fixture list.
