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Catalans Dragons v Wigan Warriors - Engage Super League XI Round 1. Saturday 11th February 2006. Kick Off 7pm (6pm UK) at Stade Aime Giral.

Well having not gone to France, tonight was the first time in seven years I've watched us play via Sky TV. I dunno what frustrated me more. Not being at the match tonight or Wigan's throwing away of this match. Taking the lead in the 70th minute should have propelled us to victory but a silly mistake from a kick off cost us dear. Wigan started with a forward pass after 10 seconds. Shocking start, Sean O'Loughlin being the guilty man. This gifted Catalans great field position which turned into a try in the corner for Mark Hughes with less than two minutes gone. Laurent Frayssinous conversion hit the post. Wigan then kicked the ball out on the full from the restart. You need to start a game well to set the tone for the rest of your performance. This was a shocking start. but they fought back well. On 7 minutes Brett Dallas somehow managed to touch down in the corner, despite three defenders trying to bundle him into touch. He was set up by David Vaealiki who did well to juggle a long pass from Mick Higham. Danny Tickle's conversion, like Frayssinous', hit the post Then Wigan gave them a double whammy on the next attack. Bang, bang, straight down the middle Iafeta Paleaaesina, who turned 24 on Friday, scored on debut as he finished a good break from Chris Ashton. Tickle converted to make it 10-4. Wigan just needed to slow the pace relax and take control, but no a stupid penalty gifted the Catalans the initiative as they drew level on 15 minutes. A last tackle grubber kick from Stacey Jones was not dealt with and prop Chris Beattie pounced. Frayssinous' conversion made it 10 all. Both sides had tries disallowed before the Catalans took the lead on the half hour. Jamal Fakir, who was close to signing for Wigan in the middle of last season, battered his way over for a try. It was poor Wigan defence, Pat Richards in particular was at fault as he went far too high! Frayssinous' conversion made it 16-10 to the French. Fakir's try obviously went to his head as soon after he scored referee Ashley Klein placed him on report for a high tackle on Wayne Godwin. Then seconds later he was shown the yellow card after giving Godwin a second high tackle. Not often you see a yellow for a high shot. I think he would have seen red had he been playing for a more established side! Anyway the sin binning worked to Wigan's advantage as they scored twice before half time. Dennis Moran jinked his way over for a try on 35 minutes before Jerry Seuseu battered his way over for his first ever Wigan try in stoppage time. Tickle converted both to send us in at the break leading 22-16. 22-16 up Wigan had a chance to come out second half and take control. But no, they lost the initiative again as the Dragons came out the stronger. Substitute winger Renaud Guige had a score disallowed for a double movement before making amends after 46 minutes by finishing some splendid handling by half-backs Jones and Rudder. And six minutes later, the crowd was on its feet once more when centre John Wilson got a wonder pass out of the tackle for right winger Justin Murphy to cross at the corner. Frayssinous planted the touchline conversion between the posts to make it 26-22 with 25 minutes left. Wigan began to panic. They didn't need to, but they did. Patience was needed but not forthcoming. Higham was held up over the line and O'Loughlin had the misfortune to somehow lose the ball in the act of scoring. It looked like it wasn't to be our night until Pat Richard broke away in the 70th Minute. He handed off the challenge of Guige to race over for the score. Tickle converted to make it 28-26 to Wigan. Tickle then added a penalty four minutes later and we once again had the game in our hands. But from the kick off after the penalty, Richards knocked on. Just when you don't want to give the Catalans a sniff, we gift them possession and good field position. They took advantage. First loose forward Ian Hindmarsh, brother of Australian Test star Nathan, cut through for his side's sixth try with four minutes to go. Frayssinous converted to make it 32-30. Wigan needed the football but another penalty allowed the Dragons to hold on. They even had the cheek to score again through Justin Murphy. Very scrappy try it was as well but nothing more than they deserved. Wigan should have won this but deserved nothing because as Ian Millward said after the game we were too inconsistent and just didn't take control of a match that that was ours. It's a big ask now to bounce back and beat Leeds next Friday.

Reaction to the Action

Ian Millward: "It was an experience. It was very pleasing for the journey of the game, short and long term. "There were some very disappointing calls. Some of the rule changes that were made during the game perplexed us. "But I don't want to use them as an excuse for us losing. We weren't consistent enough." Catalans Caretaker Coach David Waite: "For all those people in the last few years who believed in the venture, we have a team who've delivered. "It's a fairytale start for a new venture in a new country and I hope we can build on that. "The plaudits have got to go to the team and a little fella with number seven on his back (Stacey Jones)"

Team Sheets

- Catalans Position Wigan - 6 Laurent Frayssinous Full Back Chris Ashton 29 2 Justin Murphy Winger Mark Calderwood 2 18 Teddy Sadaoui Centre Pat Richards 3 3 John Wilson Centre David Vaealiki 4 4 Mark Hughes Winger Brett Dallas 5 16 Sean Rudder Stand Off Joel Tomkins 22 7 Stacey Jones Scrum Half Dennis Moran 7 8 Chris Beattie Prop Scott Logan 8 25 Julien Rinaldi Hooker Mick Higham 9 20 Adel Fellous Prop Iafeta Paleaaesina 10 10 Jérôme Guisset 2nd Row Harrison Hansen 19 22 Jamal Fakir 2nd Row Danny Tickle 15 12 Ian Hindmarsh L.Forward Sean O'Loughlin 13 - - - - - 1 Renaud Guigue Substitute Danny Orr 6 11 Pascal Jampy Substitute Kevin Brown 14 13 Gregory Mounis Substitute Jerry Seuseu 17 19 Alex Chan Substitute Wayne Godwin 18

Score Sheet

Catalans Dragons 38-30 Wigan Warriors Tries (7): Mark Hughes Laurent Frayssinous Jamal Fakir Renaud Guigue Justin Murphy 2 Ian Hindmarsh - Tries (5): Brett Dallas Iafeta Paleaaesina Dennis Moran Jerry Seuseu Pat Richards Goals: Laurent Frayssinous 5/7 - Goals: Danny Tickle 5/6

Scoring and Incident Pattern

01mins:14 Catalans 04 Wigan 00 Try: Mark Hughes - Catalans 04 Wigan 00 L.Frayssinous Missed Conversion (0/1) 06mins:27 Catalans 04 Wigan 04 Try: Brett Dallas - Catalans 04 Wigan 04 D.Tickle Missed Conversion (0/1) 10mins:53 Catalans 04 Wigan 08 Try: Iafeta Paleaaesina - Catalans 04 Wigan 10 Conversion: Danny Tickle (1/2) 14mins:22 Catalans 08 Wigan 10 Try: Laurent Frayssinous - Catalans 10 Wigan 10 Conversion: Laurent Frayssinous (1/2) 28mins:55 Catalans 14 Wigan 10 Try: Jamal Fakir - Catalans 16 Wigan 10 Conversion: Laurent Frayssinous (2/3) 33mins:56 Catalan Dragons Sin Bin Jamal Fakir (High Tackle) 34mins:26 Catalans 16 Wigan 14 Try: Dennis Moran - Catalans 16 Wigan 16 Conversion : Danny Tickle (2/3) 39mins:24 Catalans 16 Wigan 20 Try: Jerry Seuseu - Catalans 16 Wigan 22 Conversion : Danny Tickle (3/4) Half Time Catalans Dragons 16 Wigan Warriors 22 45mins:51 Catalans 20 Wigan 22 Try: Renaud Guigue - Catalans 20 Wigan 22 L.Frayssinous Missed Conversion (2/4) 52mins:24 Catalans 24 Wigan 22 Try: Justin Murphy - Catalans 26 Wigan 22 Conversion: Laurent Frayssinous (3/5) 69mins:25 Catalans 26 Wigan 26 Try: Pat Richards - Catalans 26 Wigan 28 Conversion : Danny Tickle (4/5) 72mins:43 Catalans 26 Wigan 30 Penalty Goal: Danny Tickle (5/6) 74mins:40 Catalans 30 Wigan 30 Try: Ian Hindmarsh - Catalans 32 Wigan 30 Conversion: Laurent Frayssinous (4/6) 77mins:50 Catalans 36 Wigan 30 Try: Justin Murphy - Catalans 38 Wigan 30 Conversion: Laurent Frayssinous (5/7) Full Time Catalans Dragons 38 Wigan Warriors 30

Other Information

Referee: Ashley Klein (London) Attendance: 11,122 Weather: Dry Night.

Television

Match Milestones

Mark Calderwood made his Wigan debut. Pat Richards made his Wigan debut. Scott Logan made his Wigan debut. Mick Higham made his Wigan debut. Iafeta Paleaaesina made his Wigan debut and scored his first Wigan try. Danny Tickle reached 500 points in his Wigan career with his 1st goal. Jerry Seuseu scored his first career Wigan try in his 27th appearance. Danny Orr failed to start a match for the first time in his Wigan career.

League Table at Conclusion of Super League 11 Round 1

- Team P W D L F A Diff Pts 1 St Helens 1 1 0 0 40 16 +24 2 2 Hull FC 1 1 0 0 42 18 +22 2 3 Salford City Reds 1 1 0 0 24 6 +18 2 4 Les Catalans Dragons 1 1 0 0 38 30 +8 2 5 Leeds Rhinos 1 1 0 0 20 12 +8 2 6 Bradford Bulls 1 1 0 0 20 14 +6 2 7 Wakefield Wildcats 1 0 0 1 14 20 -6 0 8 Wigan Warriors 1 0 0 1 30 38 -8 0 9 Huddersfield Giants 1 0 0 1 12 20 -8 0 10 Warrington Wolves 1 0 0 1 6 24 -18 0 11 Harlequins 1 0 0 1 18 42 -22 0 12 Castleford Tigers 1 0 0 1 16 40 -24 0 Round 1 Results Fri 10 Feb Castleford Tigers 18 Hull FC 42 10,188 Sat 11 Feb Harlequins 16 St Helens 40 8,213 Sat 11 Feb Catalan Dragons 38 Wigan Warriors 30 11,000 Sun 12 Feb Leeds Rhinos 20 Huddersfield Giants 12 16,119 Sun 12 Feb Warrington Wolves 6 Salford City Reds 24 10,845 Sun 12 Feb Wakefield Wildcats 14 Bradford Bulls 20 9,157