The looks defeated, the bodies collapsing on the lawn, crippled with fatigue as much as with spite, hands on knees and haggard eyes. This is not the end of the match that the Catalan Dragons had imagined in the Mancunian night of Old Trafford. It is in this “Theater of dreams”, nickname of the mythical lair of Manchester United, that the hopes of a first French title in the Super League were shattered net for the Perpignanais, defeated Saturday, October 9 by St Helens (12 -10). The English franchise has conquered its ninth title in history, becoming the most successful in the Super League, the third in a row (2019, 2020 and 2021).
“We will come out of this match with pride but also with a broken heart”, admitted the English coach of the Catalans, Steve McNamara, at the microphone of Sky Sports after the meeting. “I am very disappointed, very hurt, continued James Maloney, author of two penalties and a conversion. I had already lost finals, I knew what it was like and I didn’t want to share it with my friends. “
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A first final that lived up to expectations
For their first final, the Catalan Dragons were however up to the enormous stake which weighed on their shoulders. Not only the weight of the match, but above all that of the history of French XIII rugby, which feels relived in the footsteps of its locomotive after years of famine.
First of the regular season in front of their evening opponents, Steve McNamara’s men were not unworthy, they who played their first final, fifteen years after integration into the Super League. The Catalan Dragons even thought they had done the most difficult by taking the advantage after returning from the locker room. St Helens winger Thomas Makinson had just been sent off temporarily for a very dangerous tackle in the corner. The Dragons then mastered their numerical superiority to perfection for ten minutes by scoring in stride their only try of the game signed Mike McMeeken (10-6, 50e).
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Bad reception seals the outcome of the match
But the Habs have made too many mistakes to hope to lift the Super League Trophy. Tom Davies’ poor reception four minutes from the end is a terrible illustration. The ball went into touch, in favor of the Saints of St Helens, and cruelly sealed the outcome of this final. Hands on his head, Davies understood that his team’s last chance had passed.
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“We conceded some penalties, released the balls which cost us dearly at the end”, rehashed Steve McNamara. We will note pell-mell this penalty missed by James Maloney in the first period or this forward near the opposing in-goal of the captain, Benjamin Garcia. These errors, repeated at key moments in the match, got the better of the Occitanie players. “I thought we could get by at the end of the match”, believed James Maloney, who ended his career with this defeat. “I’m a sore loser and there are only competitors in the team, Garcia completed. When you lose a final by two points, it’s a big disappointment and that’s what wins hot. “
Opposite, St Helens knows these meetings with history too well to be impressed by the ardor and intensity of a newcomer at this level. Defeated two out of three times against the Catalan Dragons this season, the Saints have made it a point of honor to win the most important opposition. Helped by their thirteen previous finals and by a large crowd – St Helens is located 30 kilometers from Manchester – they ended up overturning a game they had started with enthusiasm.
The first Catalan minutes had been very difficult. The teammates of Sam Tomkins, best player of the season, were suffocated, put under the extinguisher and unable to come out of their own camp.
In addition to his knowledge of the place, St Helens has in its ranks a very talented will-o’-the-wisp. Already author of the first attempt in acrobatic position in the first act (4-2, 14e), Kevin Naiqama crushed the ball again in the in-goal (12-10, 66e) at the same time as the Catalan hopes. For his last with the Saints, the Fijian, moved to tears after the meeting, was logically named player of the match.
An appointment made for the future
For the Catalan Dragons, the result is obviously difficult to digest, but it will be necessary to learn the lessons of this lost final as well as of this magnificent season. ” It took a lot of work to get there, over a whole season. But we will say tomorrow or the day after that we had a great time. We are all proud of ourselves ”, admitted the captain, Benjamin Garcia.
The experience of a tough meeting like this allows for an express learning, and when the Perpignan club return to the final, this experience will count, without a doubt. “It was a very hard, physical match, Steve McNamara analyzed. This is the grand finals. It did not smile but we can be proud. “
“Even without me, I hope the club will come back”, wished James Maloney in conclusion. This will inevitably be the next goal of the Catalan Dragons who have already succeeded in restoring pride to the tricolor treizers. In Toulouse, now, to succeed in its final against Featherstone on Sunday to join its Catalan neighbors in the elite of European rugby union.