Catalan Dragons 30 Bradford Bulls 10: Double sets from Dragons prove downfall as Bulls fade after break

Catalan came from behind for the third consecutive home game to clinch a fifth victory.

Dragons trailed 10-0 after half-an-hour but managed to get themselves back into the game just before the break and eventually ran out comfortable winners in Perpignan.

“In the second half, they had a lot of double sets and they scored off the back of them,” said Cummins. “We didn’t see the ball.

“We showed in the first half that, if you have good ball, you can test the Catalans but those double sets really took it out of us in the second half because we only had three props.

“We started to chase the game and force the ball and that makes it a really tough game to play.”

Catalan coach Laurent Frayssinous said: “I am happy that we had the character to come back from 10-0 down again but there were different circumstances this time.

“Against Wakefield and Widnes we were not in the games mentally but this time Bradford started really well and we had to play well to stay with them.

“I want to give credit to my forwards, who I thought were excellent. I felt that, once we got on a roll in the second half, we got on top of Bradford.

“I have to give Louie Anderson a big rap. He ran some excellent lines and defended really well on the edge.”

Prop Julian Bousquet scored his first Super League try and 22-year-old full-back Morgan Escare touched down twice in eight minutes after the break to mark a memorable debut.

“Morgan has a massive amount of pace,” said Frayssinous. “He grew in confidence in the second half and you could see what he can do.

“With William Barthau having played last week, both give us good options when we get injuries and that is something we never had before.”

Bradford made a dream start with tries from winger Elliot Kear and second-row John Bateman – Jamie Foster converting the first – giving them a 10-0 lead after 30 minutes, but they faded after the break.

The home side got themselves back into the game with a try six minutes before the break from Bousquet, the prop powering his way over from Bosc’s pass. Bosc added the conversion.

The second half was a one-sided affair, with Catalans having all the ball and running in five unanswered tries.

Catalan Dragons: Escare, Blanch, Menzies, Millard, Pala, Pryce, Bosc, Simon, Henderson, Casty, Taia, Anderson, Baitieri. Replacements: Elima, Pelissier, Bousquet, Fakir.

Bradford Bulls: Kearney, Kear, Whitehead, Purtell, Foster, Addy, Sammut, Scruton, L’Estrange, Manuokafoa, Bateman, Olbison, C. Walker. Replacements: Diskin, Donaldson, Murphy, Sidlow.

Referee: R Silverwood (RFL).