MARK APPLEGARTH hailed York Knights’ character as they fought back to beat Catalans Dragons 28-16 and claim their first win at the French club.
The Knights recovered from a slow start to trail 16-12 at the break, with an inspired second-half then keeping their hosts scoreless as they earned the eighth win of their maiden Super League campaign.
“I thought we were beaten to the punch in terms of the territory battle early on and we showed some great character to get back into that at half-time,” admitted Applegarth, whose side initially had no reply to two early Léo Darrélatour tries.
“But what can I say about that second half? Especially when we went down to twelve.
“There were a couple of massive tackles from Toa (Mata’afa) there.
“We’ve had the character and that spirit all year, and once we get that rugby IQ and some game smarts about us to turn those tough games into easier wins, I think that will push us onto that next level.
“I’m really proud of that group tonight. After the year that we’ve had, you can see how much it meant to everyone.”
Applegarth has built his team on the foundations of effort and hard work, traits he believes were in abundance in Perpignan, particularly after Jesse Dee’s sin bin late on.
“There’s been periods this year where we’ve been slightly disjointed but the connection (tonight) is what we’ve been talking about,” he explained.
“Covering your mates’ mistakes, showing up and making sure that we don’t come up with an excuse and we come up with a solution.
“There were some massive plays from us tonight and you only get that when you’re connected as a group and playing for each other.”