The Wembley spotlight will belong to Catalans Dragons and Warrington in three weeks’ time but on this groundbreaking afternoon for the Challenge Cup semi-finals there is little doubting to whom the headlines belonged here.
At various stages last season it was not difficult to imagine a Super League without the Dragons in 2018. Steve McNamara was drafted in midway through last year to save Catalans from relegation and, while he ultimately achieved that, he had to do it via the drama of the Million Pound Game. Even in the opening months of this season the prospect of them winning a trophy seemed unthinkable.
Given their riches it is not necessarily the turnaround in Perpignan which is therefore most surprising but the speed in which it has taken place under McNamara’s tenure. As recently as six weeks ago the Dragons were still among the favourites to be relegated this year. Now they are Wembley finalists and, on this display, by no means outsiders.
Perhaps it would be easy to point the finger at the runaway Super League leaders and ask how far below their own standards they fell here but that would be doing the Dragons a disservice. For 40 minutes they produced a near-faultless performance which underlined the progression McNamara has overseen.
“It’s huge for French rugby league,” he said. “Going from the Million Pound Game to Wembley in a year is massive.” McNamara has long called for calm despite Catalans’ poor start this season. “I hear a lot about spirit but try seeing how close your group is when you’re not winning. That’s when you find out if you’re together or not.”
To break down a first half of near-perfection from Catalans in the opening game seems folly but, with the Dragons leading 15-0, the two tries in the six minutes leading up to the break were pivotal.
“We were desperate for half-time then,” the St Helens coach, Justin Holbrook, said. With the forward Morgan Knowles sent to the sin-bin, Tony Gigot and Ben Garcia both crossed.
That made it 27-0 and, despite the Saints’ remarkable track record with comebacks there was no turnaround here, even if there was some semblance of a fightback after the break. It means the Saints’ wait for a first Wembley appearance since 2008 must continue for at least another year, with this their fifth semi-final defeat since then.
When asked how difficult it would be to pick them up as they turn their attention to the Grand Final, Holbrook said: “I’m not sure, to give you an honest answer.” Tries to Mark Percival and Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook had hinted at a monumental comeback from the Saints but, when Sam Moa put the result beyond any doubt, Percival’s second was nothing more than consolation.
Catalans have two league games to navigate before Wembley and one of those will be against their fellow finalists this Friday. The final will be only the Dragons’ second appearance at Wembley – yet 25 August will be Warrington’s fifth final in less than a decade. It is a remarkable run which rarely seemed in any doubt of ending.
Like Catalans, it was a dominant display from Warrington, beating Leeds 48-12, which ensured their progress to Wembley. On the basis of the performances here, the final should be some spectacle. Warrington’s coach, Steve Price, said: “We’re 80 minutes away from creating history again.”
The focus now for Leeds turns solely to preserving their Super League status in the Qualifiers – and, judging by this display, it is not hard to argue they may yet be in serious trouble there. “It’s a concern. There are obviously some teams that will come after us,” said their director of rugby, Kevin Sinfield. Leeds led early on thanks to Ryan Hall’s try but Warrington soon assumed control.
By half-time Tom Lineham, Josh Charnley, Kevin Brown and Ben Murdoch-Masila had all scored and, despite Adam Cuthbertson’s try briefly threatening a comeback, four more tries, including Charnley’s second, soon made it clear that it would be Warrington, not Leeds, standing in the way of Catalans creating history in three weeks’ time.
