FRIDAY night’s Super League clash in London was “a victory for expansion clubs” according to Catalans’ coach Steve McNamara.
The former England boss, who has just signed a new two-year extension to his contract in Perpignan, said he was a big fan of development in the UK’s capital city.
Following his side’s 34-0 win in front of 5,102 fans, he said: “I always get excited when we come to London for games.
“You’re coming to one of the greatest cities in the world and just being here you get that feel that something special could happen here for the game.
“I love coming here, whichever ground we’ve played at in London it’s always been a fantastic experience.
“We’ve got to find a way of making a team successful in London. They’ve got a great stadium and a good coach. They will have to find a way of fighting through this season, I really hope they are successful and wish them all the best.
“Catalans Dragons are also an expansion team and we know through experience that it is very important to start winning and build upon the back of that.
“We’ve seen the IMG gradings and London are probably struggling a little with that but there’s something about this club.”
McNamara was pleased with his side’s second win of the season, adding: “It could have been a potentially tough night for us so it was essential to get that good start.
“London defended their try-line for a large part of the game and we were held up over the line for what seemed like a record number of times.
“It was wet and a bit greasy and difficult to handle some of those kicks so to keep our defensive line intact is really impressive.”
The win in London ended a successful week for McNamara, who will now stay with Catalans until at least the end of 2026.
McNamara said: “It’s been a great journey so far and hopefully there is a lot more to come.”
