Match Report – Wakefield 24 – 38 Catalans

Winger Tom Johnstone grabbed three tries for the visitors in a 38-24 win, with Tom Davies adding two, and Matthieu Laguerre and Cesar Rouge crossing too; Adam Keighran kicked five of seven conversion attempts for the French club

Tom Johnstone ran in three tries to help Catalans defeat Wakefield

Tom Johnstone scored a hat-trick on his debut against former club Wakefield Trinity as Catalans Dragons opened their Betfred Super League campaign with an impressive 38-24 win.

The 27-year-old England winger had spent his entire career with Trinity before leaving to join the Perpignan-based team and his three clinical finishes underlined his quality.

Johnstone touched down twice in the first half and completed his treble early in the second period as the French visitors condemned new Wakefield head coach Mark Applegarth to a losing start.

Max Jowitt, Corey Hall, Matty Ashurst and Lee Gaskell scored for the spirited hosts but Johnstone’s treble and scores from Matthieu Laguerre, Tom Davies (2) and Cesar Rouge gave Steve McNamara’s men victory.

Story of the game

Wakefield handed debuts to former Catalans centre Samisoni Langi, hooker Morgan Smith, prop Renouf Atoni and loose forward Kevin Proctor.

Catalans were missing a host of players through injury, including full-back Sam Tomkins and half-back Mitchell Pearce but Johnstone, Adam Keighran and Manu Ma’u all made their bows for the French side.

Keighran was particularly influential at half-back but Trinity led inside the eighth minute when Mason Lino attacked Catalans inside the left channel. The playmaker showed intelligence to find Jowitt in support and the homegrown full-back stepped superbly through the Dragons’ defence to cross the line.

Adam Keighran was a big influence for Catalans on his debut

Lino landed the conversion to put Wakefield 6-0 up and the home side tested full-back Arthur Mourgue with a series of high kicks.

Catalans began to enjoy plenty of possession inside Wakefield’s 20-metre line and they hit back when a grubber kick led to Laguerre grounding the loose ball in the right corner.

Keighran could not convert from a difficult angle but it was his short kick which fell invitingly for Johnstone to touch down in the left corner for his first of the night.

Keighran added the conversion to give his new team a 10-6 lead but Trinity were back in front moments later when Ma’u knocked on and from there Hall collected a last-tackle pass from Smith to cross the line.

Lino added the extras to make it 12-10 but Johnstone was on hand to score before the interval after pouncing on a high kick.

Four minutes into the second half, Johnstone went over in the left corner to cap a fine move but Wakefield soon struck again when Lino’s pass put Ashurst in.

Yet Catalans scored their fifth try when Davies scored in the right corner and Keighran kicked a superb touchline conversion.

Davies notched again in the same spot soon after before Gaskell grabbed a late consolation score which saw Lino claim his fourth goal from as many attempts.

Matty Ashurst was among the try-scorers for Wakefield

There was still time for Catalans to score a seventh try when Rouge touched down and Keighran kicked his fifth conversion from seven attempts.

What they said

Catalans Dragons head coach Steve McNamara

“They were three class finishes but Tom has been renowned for it throughout his career. He actually does a lot of hard work and some of his yardage carries early on were really good.

“I didn’t want the quality of his performance to be determined by whether he scored a try or not, but to score three in spectacular fashion is one of the reasons why we signed him.”

Wakefield Trinity head coach Mark Applegarth

“We came up with some unforced errors and got burned. It stings, but Catalans are a quality team and will punish you for it.

“As a collective, we’ve got to learn and we invited a lot of undue pressure on ourselves, but the effort was there and, when you score 24 points, it should be enough to win a game of rugby league.”

What’s next?

Wakefield make the trip to the DW Stadium for their Round 2 match on Friday, February 24 when they take on Betfred Challenge Cup holders and last year’s play-off semi-finalists Wigan Warriors (8pm). Catalans are back at home the following day when they welcome promoted Leigh Leopards to Perpignan.