Huddersfield Giants coach Ian Watson feeling the pressure but sees the positives in defeat at Catalans Dragons

The Giants trailed 22-0 at half-time in Perpignan but almost pulled off an unlikely turnaround when they fought back to within four points of their opponents, only to fall just short.

The result means Huddersfield have lost seven of their last eight games and Watson is struggling for answers to his side’s current slump.

“Of course I feel the pressure, there’s pressure everywhere in this competition, we have it all of the time,” Watson said.

“But the resolve and determination shown by my players after the interval, when we came back from 22-0 down to come so close to winning it, means we’re not as bad a team as some people think.

“I’ve just told the players that the resolve we showed in the second half is the Huddersfield way, that’s the team we want to be known as.

“We fell well below that in the first half with silly errors and our discipline wasn’t good enough, and that’s been our problem all season.

“We have to learn our lessons because when we do the right thing we are more than a match for anyone.”

First-half tries from Tom Davies, Theo Fages, Arthur Romano and Tom Johnstone left the visitors reeling as Catalans returned to point-scoring action after five recent defeats.

However, scores from Harry Rushton, Ashton Golding and Luke Yates after the interval put the Giants back in the frame, but they could not quite finish the job.

Catalans head coach Steve McNamara was breathing a sigh of relief after seeing his side almost throw it away in the second half.

“It was a really good performance from us in the first half, well-connected and dominant. Completion rates and execution were great,” he said.

“It was a team that was flowing and in sync with each other and it showed the type of team we can be.

“Unfortunately, the second half showed the type of team we can be too, and that we have been in the last six weeks in lots of areas.

“We got the basics wrong, our completion rate was ridiculously low and our last-play options were poor.

“Huddersfield got some momentum and our old habits returned. We were a bit nervous, a bit anxious but ultimately we did enough to win the game.”

Catalans Dragons: Mourgue; Davies, Romano, Ikuvalu, Johnstone; Abdull, Fages; Navarrete, McIlorum, Bousquet, Sims, Seguier, Garcia. Substitutes: Nikorima, Satae, Dezaria, Maria.

Huddersfield Giants: Lolohea; Halsall, Marsters, Naiqama, Wallis; Russell, Clune; Hill, Milner, Greenwood, Hewitt, Rushton, Yates. Substitutes: Golding, Wilson, Savelio, Ikahihifo.

Referee: Liam Moore.