The Catalans Dragons concept is facing perhaps its greatest challenge since the club’s accession to Super League 11 years ago and Steve McNamara was shown first-hand here the enormity of the task awaiting him less than a week after taking charge.
The capacity of the former England coach to make meaningful changes to a side that look in increasing danger of a relegation battle will have been minimal; the fact he began French lessons on Thursday suggests it may be some time before his labour bears fruit.
“It’s been a whirlwind to be honest,” he said. “I arrived late Tuesday afternoon, took a practice session on Wednesday and a captain’s run so there was not a lot I could implement.”
Catalans do not have time on their side in their struggle to avoid the Qualifiers and a fight against part-time sides such as Featherstone for a place in Super League next year. This dispiriting defeat, against a Warrington side in a similar predicament, illustrated that.
McNamara was adamant there were some positives, but the Dragons are now four points adrift of eighth-placed Wigan and the table does not lie at this stage of the season. Catalans, for all their resources and all their star power, are in trouble.
“It’s out of our hands,” McNamara said when quizzed on his side’s chances of escaping trouble. “My concern for us is just to keep improving. It wasn’t the highest-quality game but I saw a side which showed much more resilience than what I’ve seen from afar.”
This defeat not only raises the prospect of the Dragons being in the Qualifiers, but also of the first all-French contest in the English leagues, should Toulouse finish in the Championship’s top four.
Defeat for Warrington, last season’s Grand Finalists, would have left them five points shy of Wigan and odds-on to be in the Qualifiers, but they have at least some hope of avoiding that fate, even if they, too, were not at their best.
The game had all the hallmarks of two sides fighting for their lives and a semblance of form as the latter weeks of the season approach. There were errors aplenty and a palpable nervousness to proceedings. “We’re picking the games off and we picked today off,” said the Warrington coach, Tony Smith.
His side led 12-10 at the break thanks to tries from Benjamin Jullien and Ryan Atkins, with two Kurt Gidley penalties either side of half-time, followed by Atkins’s second, opening up an eight-point lead which, given what was at stake, felt significant.
The Dragons were wasteful with ball in hand to say the least, and while Richie Myler’s second try did raise the possibility of a grandstand finale, Warrington put the Dragons out of their misery when Andre Savelio crossed in the dying moments.
Warrington Dagger; Johnson, Hughes, Atkins, Penny; Patton, Gidley; Hill, Dwyer, Cooper, Jullien, Philbin, Westerman Interchange Clark, Sims, Savelio, Wilde.
Tries Jullien, Atkins (2), Savelio Goals Gidley (4)
Catalans Gigot; Broughton, Thornley, Duport, Yaha; Walsh, Myler; Moa, Aiton, Casty, Anderson, Garcia, Baiter Interchange Margalet, Bousquet, Simon, Da Costa.
Tries Broughton, Myler (2) Goals Walsh (2)
Referee Phil Bentham. Attendance 9,878
