Whisper it but, although this was perhaps the least glamorous game on Super League’s opening weekend, it was arguably the most important.
Both these sides came desperately close to relegation last year – Catalans survived only via the Million Pound Game while Widnes secured their Super League status in the final round of the Qualifiers – and it is not unreasonable to assume that for whichever side won here the memories of a difficult 2017 would be quickly forgotten.
It was not a happy day for the Catalans’ coach, Steve McNamara, who lamented the way in which his side had their “backsides kicked”, while Denis Betts was far happier with his Widnes team after this 42-12 victory.
The Vikings, Super League’s surprise package in 2016 when they led the way at Easter before falling away, had beaten the drum this pre-season about how the struggles of an injury-hit campaign last year would leave them better prepared to handle the rigours of another 30-game season in 2018.
Time will tell if that proves correct but this certainly was a fair way to start.
Yes, you can only beat what is in front of you and the challenge Catalans posed became increasingly diminished as the game wore on, a worry in itself for the French side.
And yes, it is wise not to get too carried away but Widnes scored seven tries of impressive quality. Already last season will feel a long time ago for the Vikings.
“We’re the only people who think this group can do anything this year – we can compete,” said the Widnes coach, Denis Betts, whose team were level at the break after a stubborn showing from a new-look Catalans side.
McNamara had lamented the fact the Dragons had 15 representatives at the World Cup, meaning they had only three weeks together as a group in preparation for this opening fixture.
Ultimately his fears were confirmed and there was proof that the Dragons’ old habits may be more difficult to iron out than McNamara first realised. Quite simply, they fell apart in the second half – conceding 15 penalties in all, as well as five tries – which left the former England coach unimpressed.
“To get our backsides kicked in the fashion we did in the second half is not good enough,” he said.
Tries from the debutants David Mead and Benjamin Jullien had put the Dragons 12-6 ahead midway through the first half before the outstanding Joe Mellor – a player on whom Widnes’ top-eight hopes will rely heavily this season – levelled the scores at 12-12.
While the first half was a fairly even affair, the second period was markedly different. Tries from Krisnan Inu – a former Catalans player – and Chris Dean put the Vikings in control and, as the game spiralled away from the Dragons, so too did their discipline. That allowed Widnes to score three more tries in the final 10 minutes, by Patrick Ah Van, Charly Runciman and Stefan Marsh.
Castleford, who appeared in the Grand Final last season, may have been heartened by the thought of facing Widnes at home on Sunday after a heavy defeat at St Helens on the opening weekend. Suddenly that looks a much tougher proposition than perhaps first envisaged.
