Catalan Dragons 30 Hull FC 4: We were second best, blasts unhappy Hull boss Gentle

The Black and Whites arrived in the south of France with nine wins from 10 games and a brilliant victory over Leeds under their belts. And, with Catalan unable to name Dream Team scrum-half Scott Dureau, they would have fancied their chances of carrying on their run and cementing their place in the top eight.

But the game did not go to plan for the visitors and Gentle was far from happy with his players’ display.

“We were second best in all departments tonight and they were just too good for us,” he said.

“Our completion rate was horrendous, terrible – whichever you want to call it. There wasn’t one part of our game that we were on top of and the scoreline reflects that.”

Gentle went on to praise the hosts, saying: “They were very good tonight, but we gave them plenty of opportunities.

“They’re a very talented side and always have the ability to hurt us and if you keep putting your chin out, you’re going to get hit. And we did that plenty of times.”

Hull also had absentees of their own – Tom Briscoe and Mark O’Meley were injured and Ben Galea pulled out sick – and were made to feel the pinch early on as Freddie Vaccari nipped in at the corner.

Thomas Bosc, deputising for Dureau in the halves and as a kicker, added the extras but Hull hit back instantly as Tom Lineham, their on-song winger, dotted down.

Daniel Holdsworth was unable to add the extras, though, and while they did not know it at the time, that was the end of Hull’s scoring.

Morgan Escare, the full-back who has illuminated Super League so much in his breakthrough season, added a second score when he spied a gap and went for it, before sloppy play from the visitors presented Vincent Duport with a chance he did not pass up.

With Bosc faultless with the boot, the lead edged out to 18-4 at the break and shortly after it the Dragons touched down for a fourth time.

Hull did not help themselves by kicking out on the full from the restart and destructive forward Kevin Larroyer smashed his way through the middle of them.

Bosc again added the two points and when Duport repeated his earlier trick with seven minutes remaining, it rounded things off and gave Bosc the chance to finish with five goals from as many attempts.

Catalan coach Laurent Frayssinous was full of praise for his young players following the emphatic home win.

“It’s a good result for us,” he said.

“I’m very happy. I’ve been waiting for a big performance from us against a top-four side at home for a long time.

“Tonight we got it, especially defensively – we were pretty good with that.”

He continued: “Our bench is now becoming an impact for us like they were at the start of the season.”

Frayssinous said: “Eloi (Pelissier), Morgan (Escare) and Kevin (Larroyer) have all stepped up in recent weeks but tonight we saw that they are becoming Super League players.

“They have to keep working hard on their consistency and the quality of their performances, but I’m very happy after tonight,” he added.

Catalan Dragons: Escare, Blanch, Duport, Millard, Vaccari, Pryce, Bosc, Simon, Henderson, Casty, Menzies, Taia, Mounis. Substitutes: Pelissier, Larroyer, Fakir, Paea.

Hull: McDonnell, Lineham, Crooks, Yeaman, Crookes, Holdsworth, Heremaia, Watts, Houghton, Green, Ellis, Westerman, Pitts. Substitutes: Lynch, Whiting, Johnson, Bowden.

Referee: R Silverwood (RFL).