CATALANS DRAGONS 16 YORK KNIGHTS 28
RICKY WILBY, Stade Gilbert Brutus, Saturday
A STELLAR second-half inspired York to a comeback win at Catalans, their first at the French side.
It had started as a night of celebration at the Stade Gilbert Brutus, with the Dragons honouring retiring captain Benjamin Garcia on his final home appearance.
Tommy Makinson will also hang up his boots at the end of the campaign, whilst Alrix Da Costa, Toby Sexton, Edenn Rogers-Smith and Nick Cotric are among those heading for pastures new in 2027.
York trailed 16-12 at half-time but kept the Dragons scoreless in the second half, despite playing the final six-and-a-half minutes with twelve men after Jesse Dee’s sin bin for a professional foul.
However, Catalans weren’t without their own issues, with both Da Costa and Rogers-Smith failing head injury assessments.
The hosts made the perfect start, opening the scoring in the fourth minute.
A David Nofoaluma error offered field position, only made worse by a penalty and a six-again, before Charlie Staines threw a wide ball out for Leo Darrelatour to score in the corner. Guillermo-Aispuro Bichet was wide from the touchline, his only miss of the evening.
Dominating both possession and field position, Catalans could have extended their lead well before they did so in the 17th minute, when Darrelatour was again put over by Staines, who was at his creative best. Aispuro-Bichet’s conversion opened a 10-0 lead.
York then began to find their feet, working their way back into the contest midway through the half.
After a mistake by Josh Allen had invited the Knights to attack the line, Cody Hunter’s sublime delayed pass put Oli Field through a huge gap on the left.
Hunter made no mistake from the tee, and converted again three minutes later after sending Nofoaluma stepping away from Clement Martin’s attempted tackle, the winger running around towards the posts to give the half-back an easier angle.
Da Costa saw a try ruled out by referee Tom Grant as he looked to end his Dragons career on a high, but the hosts made no mistake from their next chance to go in at the break in front.
Darrelatour’s hat-trick try was a thing of beauty, which came after the hooter at the end of the first half.
A loose ball was collected by Garcia and sent wide to Laguerre who combined with Sexton and Martin to put the winger in the clear from 50 metres.
Aispuro-Bichet added the conversion to give his side a 16-12 lead, but those proved to be the hosts’ final points.
Catalans started the second half as they had the first, applying early pressure that saw both Julian Bousquet and Garcia held up over the line.
But it was instead York who scored next against the run of play. Aispuro-Bichet’s grubber on the last was picked up by Liam Harris who raced 70 metres to score to the right of the posts. Hunter fired the visitors back into the lead.
The Knights pulled further ahead in the 64th minute after a Paul McShane break, with Hunter and Harris combining to send Scott Galeano over down the right.
Catalans looked to have been handed an opening with six-and-a-half minutes remaining when Dee pulled back Aispuro-Bichet as he looked to race onto his own kick in-goal, forcing the visitors to see out the remainder of the match a player light.
And as the stakes got higher, both teams knocked-on and offered up possession. The Knights in particular were extremely thankful for two try-saving tackles on his own goal line by Toa Mata’afa.
Those proved crucial, with York sealing victory in the final minute when McShane played in Paul Vaughan to crash over from close range after Hunter had intercepted a Staines pass.
Hunter added the extras to hand the visitors their first win at Catalans and lift them up to tenth.
GAMESTAR: Cody Hunter was magnificent for the visitors, particularly with his kicking and game management, having a hand in several tries.
GAMEBREAKER: The re-introduction of veterans Paul McShane and Paul Vaughan in the final quarter steadied the ship for York, with the latter’s try clinching the game for York in the dying minutes.
HIGHLIGHT REEL: Leo Darrelatour’s hat-trick try at the end of the first half saw the Dragons go 80 metres, shifting the ball from left to right for the winger to race clear and score.
ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts Cody Hunter (York Knights)
2 pts Paul Vaughan (York Knights)
1 pt Charlie Staines (Catalans Dragons)
MATCHFACTS
DRAGONS
1 Charlie Staines
2 Tommy Makinson
27 Clement Martin
24 Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet
28 Leo Darrelatour
6 Toby Sexton
7 Lewis Dodd
16 Josh Allen
19 Kruise Leeming
17 Romain Navarette
13 Benjamin Garcia (c)
33 Edenn Rogers-Smith
9 Alrix Da Costa
Subs (all used)
10 Julian Bousquet
21 Matthieu Laguerre
29 Geovanni Descalzi
32 Adrian Delarose (D)
18th man (used)
25 Lenny Marc
Also in 21-man squad
26 Ugo Tison
30 Alexis Lis
35 Mickael Goudemand
Tries: Darrelatour (4, 17, 40)
Goals: Aispuro-Bichet 2/3
KNIGHTS
1 Toa Mata’afa
2 Ben Jones Bishop
5 Scott Galeano
4 Sam Wood
46 David Nofoaluma
37 Cody Hunter
7 Liam Harris (c)
13 Jordan Thompson
9 Paul McShane
10 Paul Vaughan
12 Jesse Dee
20 Oli Field
6 Ata Higano
Subs (all used)
8 Jack Martin
14 Denive Balmforth
15 Xavier Va’a
27 Matty Foster
18th man (not used)
23 Jon Bennison
Also in 21 man squad
16 Justin Sangare
26 Nikau Williams
50 Thomas Doyle
Tries: Field (21), Nofoaluma (25), Harris (53), Galeano (64), Vaughan (79)
Goals: Hunter 4/6
Sin bin: Dee (73) – professional foul
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 10-0, 10-6, 10-12, 16-12; 16-18, 16-22, 16-28.
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Dragons: Charlie Staines; Knights: Cody Hunter
Penalty count: 5-7
Half-time: 16-12
Referee: Tom Grant