R League: Dragons spring surprise

Jul 30 2007 Western Mail

CATALANS Dragons coach Mick Potter described his team’s surprise Challenge Cup semi-final victory as a “shot in the arm” for French rugby league, while Wigan boss Brian Noble admitted the defeat left him at one of the lowest points of his career.

The Dragons defied odds of 9-1 to beat the one-time cup kings at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium and become the first French team in the competition’s 110-year history to reach the final.

“The people in Perpignan love their rugby league and this will be a shot in the arm for French rugby league,” said Potter, whose team meet holders St Helens at Wembley on August 25.

“Kids can look up and say I’d love to play at Wembley or play for a French team and play in marquee stadiums of the world.

“Even though we haven’t had a top season, this has given us a boost of confidence for the team but also a little bit of credibility in French sport.

“It’s fantastic for the players themselves to experience the new Wembley. It’s going to be phenomenal.”

The Catalans, who had lost 30-0 to Wigan in their Super League meeting last month, never looked back after scoring four tries in the first 18 minutes through Casey McGuire, John Wilson, Adam Mogg and Vincent Duport.

“Wigan came up with some uncharacteristic errors,” added Potter. “We maybe pressed the issue and forced a couple.

“We expected it to be very tight in the first half so to get away with that start was fantastic for our players.”

But the result represented another shattering blow to Wigan, whose four-point deduction for a salary-cap breach in the build-up to the match effectively scuppered their Grand Final hopes.

Noble said, “It’s not been a great week for the club, has it? It’s up there with my worst days in the game.

“I am very low. I am very dejected. I’m dejected for the Wigan club and the fans and the players in particular.

“We’ve every right to be disappointed with what we dished up today. I am despondent and some of the players are pretty shattered and why not?”

The Catalans have been made 7-1 underdogs with William Hill to topple St Helens, but Noble is warning the holders not to underestimate the French challenge.