JOEL TOMKINS described Catalans Dragons’ 26-20 victory over Hull KR as “one of the best games” he’s ever been involved in.
The former dual-code England star watched his injury-ravaged Catalans side let slip a 14-point lead against the champions, only to score a last-gasp try through teen winger Lenny Marc.
“That’s a special win for us – we were absolutely busted at the end of the game,” said Tomkins.
“We lost two of our middles (Josh Allen and Julian Bousquet) to HIAs in the first half, then we lost (Matthieu) Laguerre and Doddy (Lewis Dodd) at the end.
“For the boys to just keep turning up for each other, that was the most pleasing thing for me. It wasn’t perfect but we did some really special things with some really special efforts.
“I thought (Ben) Garcia was immense in the middle – playing 80 minutes after he had been out for a couple of weeks was incredible.
“We knew at half-time that we only had three subs and we had a couple of middles who were going to play some longer minutes than they normally do, so we knew that Hull KR would come back at us and it proved that way.
“There were parts of the game where we were scrambling and just covering each other’s backside when somebody made a wrong decision or missed a tackle but that is what wins games, that scramble and that extra effort.
“It’s one of the best games I’ve been involved in as a coach or a player. When you know what’s happening behind the scenes and the players who are injured, players who are playing busted and the lads who are ruled out during the 80 minutes, it makes it even more special.
“There were loads of excuses for us tonight, especially when they drew level we could have thrown the towel in, so to finish that way and get the try at the end is really, really special.”