| Betfred Super League |
|---|
| Catalans Dragons (8) 12 |
| Tries: Yaha 3 |
| London Broncos (12) 30 |
| Tries: Abdull, Williams 2, Kear, Dixon Goals: Dixon 5 |
Bottom side London Broncos made it back-to-back Super League victories with a superb win over Catalans Dragons in Perpignan.
Fouad Yaha scored a hat-trick for the French hosts but they were unable to convert early second-half pressure.
Broncos led 12-8 at the break, Jordan Abdull and Rhys Williams going over.
Elliot Kear scored against the run of play to extend their lead, with tries from Kieran Dixon and Williams giving the visitors breathing space.
Broncos coach Danny Ward said: “We had to deal with a bit of adversity today when Matty Gee pulled out. Literally, he came in following the warm-up and was no good so Matt Fleming got thrown in at the last minute and we had to play Ryan Morgan in the back row.
“And we’ve got a couple of lads out there suffering from sunburn after being in the pool yesterday. They were proper Brits abroad.”
It was only the London side’s second away win of the season – having lost their past 14 meetings with Catalans – and follows up their shock golden-point win over leaders St Helens last weekend.
Injury-hit Catalans missed the chance to move back up to third in the table, while Broncos are now level on points with 10th-placed Leeds and Hull KR – who shocked Warrington earlier on Saturday and go to Broncos on Thursday.
Kear’s try, from Abdull’s cute low kick, came on his 250th career appearance and seemed to knock the stuffing out of the home side, whose tails had been up.
Impressive half-back Abdull also teed up Williams for his first score as Broncos showed great resolve at times to keep their noses in front.
Yaha’s 75th-minute hat-trick try provided Catalans’ only points of a frustrating half, which saw them collapse in the last quarter.
Ward added: “We’re not the flashest team on paper and we might not be spending as much as other teams but we’ve got a good attitude and they’re working hard.
“We’re not getting carried away, it’s just another win, we’re still bottom of the table, but it keeps the pressure on the teams above us.”
Catalans Dragons: Gigot, Romano, Mead, Langi, Yaha, Tomkins, Smith, Bousquet, Da Costa, Simon, Jullien, Garcia, Casty.
Interchanges: Goudemand, Maria, Baitieri, Kasiano.
London Broncos: Walker, Dixon, Morgan, Kear, Williams, Abdull, Smith, Battye, Cunningham, Krasniqi, Pitts, Fleming, Yates.
Interchanges: Butler, Richards, Ioane, Fozard.
