Wigan fullback Morgan Escaré insists there is no grudge between himself and former club Catalans.
One of the Warriors’ new recruits returns to his old stomping at the weekend for a pre-season friendly between the two clubs, just months after exiting the French side.
Escaré was part of an exodus at the Dragons during the off-season having struggled to feature in the club’s first-team plans last year.
The French international was Super League’s second highest try scorer in 2014 after he bagged 27 tries, however a disappointing campaign the year after resulted in him losing his place to Tony Gigot, who kept hold of the jersey throughout 2016.
Rumours suggesting Escaré was in dispute with head coach Laurent Frayssinous circulated throughout the year, however, the 25-year-old dismissed the speculation, insisting that he has a good relationship with his former employers.
“There’s nothing to those stories. I got on well with the teammates, it was just a case of me against Tony Gigot. The manager wanted us compete for the same shirt and that was his decision.
“It probably dates back to previous season when he didn’t have the best of seasons. Last season I was fit but the manager made the choice not to play me.”
Despite threatening to compete with the competition’s elite for years, the Dragons have yet to win any major silverware since entering Super League 11 years ago.
After spending four years in the first-team, Escaré admitted that he can’t explain why the Dragons haven’t delivered on the big stage.
“There’s no secret to it. They’ve been in existence for ten years now. We spoke about it as a group and it is an ambition but we just never managed to get over the line.”
