Ahead of the first of two Super League play-off semi-finals this weekend, we thought we’d delve into the archives and find a classic encounter between the sides involved in both play-off games this week.
And, despite only having a relatively short lifespan in Rugby League terms, Catalan Dragons provided the Rugby League world with one of the all-time great moments of drama back in 2012, as the Dragons stunned tonight’s opponents St Helens to win in the most dramatic manner possible.
Trailing 32-28 with little over a minute to go, the Dragons somehow managed to get a penalty right on the St Helens line. And, with the hooter having sounded, the Dragons went for broke to try and snatch at least a point from the game, running the ball.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zYp00iPzlI
When Scott Dureau hoisted the kick up to the far corner, Damien Blanch somehow managed to keep the ball alive in a manner that couldn’t be pulled back by the video referee. The play kept going, and the Dragons managed to brilliantly shift the ball wide – via a miraculous flick-on from Dureau himself – before Daryl Millard touched down in the corner.
As Sky Sports’ Phil Clarke said at the time, the video referee would have had to “go back to breakfast to have a look at this” – and it took over two minutes for the decision to be made. The try was given, and Catalan were level.
But that wasn’t the end of the drama, as Dureau had a touchline conversion to win the game for the Dragons. Amazingly, he slotted the ball between the uprights with relative ease, and fired the Dragons to a famous win.
The celebrations were incredible, and it was reminiscent of the Saints’ own dramatic win – that legendary ‘Wide to West’ try back in the early days of Super League.
Surely we can’t be in for a repeat of that tonight – can we?
