Round 14
Celtic Crusaders 18 l. Les Catalans Dragons 30

2009 engage English Super League Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: United Kingdom > National > First Grade Competition: engage English Super League

Catalans end Celtic's winning run
Sun May 24, 2009
Source: www.superleague.co.uk

Catalans Dragons ended their engage Super League drought and denied Welsh outfit Celtic Crusaders a home victory.

The Crusaders had recorded their first league win of the season over Bradford Bulls in Yorkshire last Sunday but the Dragons had their own reasons to get victory in Wales.

The French outfit lost the three Super League matches leading into their latest fixture and needed to win to get them back on course and climb above 12th-placed Bulls.

And, at half-time, they were closing in on completing the job as they lead 22-6 to dominate the opening 40 minutes.

The Crusaders went ahead after six minutes when centre Josh Hannay finished off a tap penalty under the Catalans' posts taken by hooker Lincoln Withers.

The expectations of a decent home crowd for back-to-back wins after months of waiting for a home success rose but they were soon brought down with a large bump.

Catalans had the Crusaders in all sorts of problems, as second row Cyrille Gossard put in a tremendous performance in support of his front-line men.

Seconds after the home converted try, stand-off Greg Bird dived over from a quick move near the Crusaders' posts and a conversion from scrum-half Thomas Bosc levelled matters.

Three times, the video referee was called into action to decide on Catalans' tries.

He said no to Clint Greenshields and Jerome Guisset but, after Olivier Elima had put the Frenchmen in front for the first time, centre Adam Mogg's touchdown, when he chased a kick into the home goal area, was awarded.

It was deserved too as the Dragons were in charge for the first half hour.

The Crusaders finally found a bit of fight but replacement David Tangata Toa missed a try near the end of the period.

But Catalans put themselves 22-6 in front and the Crusaders in trouble on the interval whistle when replacement Shane Perry was put in by Bosc for the scrum-half to add his third conversion.

Home coach John Dixon must have had a few sharp words with his side at the break because they came out with guns blazing, leading to a try from loose forward Jason Chan which Hannay converted to take them to within 10 points.

The game was held up for five minutes after a heavy fall by Catalans' Julien Touxagas saw him stretchered off with a back injury.

More discipline from the Crusaders got them right back in the match.

Just before the hour, a cross-kick by Jace Van Dijk inside the Catalans 25, which was caught by Luke Dyer, set Jordan James over for a third try and a Hannay conversion put them just four points behind.

They nearly levelled when Mark Bryant went over the line but dropped the ball in the act of scoring.

But Catalans gained the edge again and the comeback from the Welshmen failed.

Steven Bell ran in a try on the left wing after sustained pressure with 12 minutes to go, leaving the Crusaders needing two scores to win.

They never looked likely to get them as they ran out of steam, leaving wing Cyril Stacul to add a final Catalans touchdown with a 50 metre run to the corner right on the final hooter.


Super League's first ever international (with no English)
Fri May 22, 2009
Celtic Crusaders against Catalans Dragons on Saturday at the Brewery Field (kick-off 6pm) is no ordinary engage Super League match.

Not only is it the first EVER European Super League to be played with no English clubs, as the duo are Wales' and France's only Super League sides, the match will have a distinct international flavour about it.

The Dragons have 12 French internationals in their first team squad and will rightly form the backbone of their full international side who have a date against England on June 13th. They include national captain Jerome Guisset who has won 33 caps for France.

The Crusaders' first team squad are in a very similar situation. As many as seven Welsh internationals could take to the field on Saturday including players like Jordan James, who hasn't missed a Wales match since he scored a try on his debut against Russia in 2003, and Mark Lennon, Wales' fourth highest points scorer since 1991, only trailing Iestyn Harris, Jonathan Davies and Lee Briers.

This Saturday is only Catalans Dragons' second visit to Wales. However this game is just the latest in a long line of encounters between Wales and France in rugby league.

Our senior sides have met no less than 37 times since rugby league was introduced into France in 1934.

The French and Welsh were both at their strongest before World War II. Wales won the three-nation European Championships in 1936, 1937 and 1938 with France becoming champions in 1939.

This was mainly thanks to France's strong domestic competition and grass root development. By 1939 there were 200 amateur rugby league clubs in France. The same year three leading rugby union clubs - Narbonne, Carcassonne and Brive - switched to rugby league.

However, during the Second World War, the sport was banned by the Vichy government, an act which the sport has struggled to recover from.

Germany invaded France in May 1940 and divided France into occupied France and a pro-Nazi Vichy France which roughly corresponded to the rugby-playing heartlands. Some of the French Rugby Union's senior administrators took advantage of their close relationship with the new regime to have rugby league outlawed as a "corrupter" of French youth. Rugby league's funds, players, stadiums and even kit were confiscated.

Although the ban on rugby league was lifted after World War II, they were prevented from using the word rugby in its title from 24 April 1949 until 26 June 1991, having to use the name Jeu a Treize (Game of Thirteen, in reference to the number of players in a rugby league side).

After the war the French game was re-established and they became one of rugby league's major powers. The first Rugby League World Cup was held in France in 1954 with the host nation losing to Great Britain in the Final in Paris, while the 1951 and 1955 French tours of Australia are still regarded as two of the strongest touring sides ever.

France visited Wales first in 1935 when they lost 41-7 in Llanelli. Since then, the French have had the slight upper hand. In the 37 meetings, Wales winning 16 and the French 21 with 555 points scored by Wales and 552 by France.

In addition, a France A side toured in 2007 with Wales A historically winning 22-18 on a very wet day in Aberavon.

Catalans Dragons' two games in Wales both took place at the Millennium Stadium and both were against London-based side Harlequins as part of Millennium Magic in 2007 and 2008.

In 2007 the two sides fought out a classic. After a poor start, the Dragons came back into the match and led 28-18 going into the final quarter. But a late rally by Quins and a fine display of place-kicking by skipper Rob Purdham, who knocked over six goals in total, saw the Londoners home 32-28. Andy Smith, Jon Wells, Chad Randall (2) and Paul Sykes scored the tries for Quins with Clint Greenshields, Stacey Jones (2), John Wilson and Andrew Bentley going over for the French and Tomos Bosc converting four times.

However, last year the Dragons gained their revenge. Justin Murphy's superb one-handed take from Thomas Bosc's chip earned Catalans a thrilling 18-16 win. Bosc had earlier set up Jason Croker for the opening score before Michael Worrincy and Scott Hill powered over to put Quins in front at half-time. Chris Melling's try looked to have sealed it for Quins until Julien Touxagas pounced on Danny Orr's mistake to run in 90 yards to score.


TEAM NEWS
The 17 Crusaders that won for the first time at Bradford Bulls last week have all regained their places while back from injury duo Darren Mapp and Aled James are the two additional men who make up the 19.

James is one of six full Welsh internationals named by John Dixon while Catalans' boss Kevin Walters could select up to eight men who have played for France giving the tie a distinct international flavour.

The Crusaders are on a high following their 30-24 victory over the three-time World Champions on Sunday but now know they have to put in a good performance to earn their first home Super League win.

Catalans are in a very similar situation to Bradford. Just four wins on the board this season puts them two places above the Crusaders and a win for the Welsh side will mean that there will be just a four point gap separating the two teams.

Jamal Fakir is still out on a long-term injury but Cyril Gossard and Olivier Elima return. Cyril Stacul is also selected due to Dimitri Pelo picking up a knock in their 28-32 defeat at home to St Helens last week.

Celtic Crusaders (from): Chris Beasley, Anthony Blackwood, Mark Bryant, Neil Budworth, Darren Mapp, Jason Chan, Mark Dalle Cort, Luke Dyer, Josh Hannay, Ben Flower, Aled James, Jordan James, Ryan O'Hara, Mark Lennon, Damien Quinn, David Tangata Toa, Matt Smith, Lincoln Withers, Jace Van Dijk.

Catalans Dragons (from): Jean-Phillipe Baile, Stephen Bell, Andrew Bentley, Greg Bird, Thomas Bosc, Dane Carlaw, Remi Casty, Vincent Duport, Olivier Elima, David Ferriol, Cyril Gossard, Clint Greenshields, Jerome Guisset, Casey McGuire, Adam Mogg, Gregory Mounis, Shane Perry, Cyril Stacul, Julien Touxagas.

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