Hull FC will head back home to East Yorkshire empty handed this evening, despite a valiant effort, where they went down swinging in a 26-12 defeat to Catalans Dragons at Stade Gilbert Brutus
Having fallen behind early on through tries from Jayden Nikorima and Matthieu Laguerre, Hull made a real contest of it after Fa’amanu Brown dotted down to make it two tries in two games.
An early second-half try from Jack Walker breathed real life into the Black & Whites, but Arthur Morgue and Tom Davies sealed the victory for a tenacious Catalans outfit.
Team News
Hull FC made just one change to their starting 13 from the side that edged past London Broncos six days ago, with Herman Ese’ese returning from a two-match ban to replace the suspended Jack Brown.
Tex Hoy and Will Gardiner came back into the seventeen on the bench, in the place of Charlie Severs and Jack Charles.
Dragons Head Coach Steve McNamara opted to switch his fullback for the visit of the Airlie Birds, as Jayden Nikorima took on the number one role ahead of Arthur Morgue.
Meanwhile, the hosts also welcomed centre Matthieu Laguerre back in a like-for-like switch with Arthur Romano.
Michael McIlorum remained suspended, so Alrix Da Costa continued in the hooker role.
The Match
Before Hull had had a touch of the ball, they found themselves behind on the scoreboard. Inside the opening minute, Mike McMeeken made a break from just inside the FC half and found the supporting Nikorima on the inside.
After a glimpse of the Dragons’ line ten minutes in, Hull gifted possession back to the hosts with a seven-tackle set. Having then conceded a penalty for the markers not being square, Catalans probed the Hull right edge and a short pass from Nikorima put Laguerre through a gap.
But Hull showed character and guts to get back into the game when Jordan Lane grubber kicked through for himself. Nikorima couldn’t tidy up the loose ball and Brown was on hand to pounce – the try was confirmed after a lengthy referral to the video referee, Aaron Moore.
After an arm-wrestle of a tie for the next ten minutes, where both sides went close with kicks in the slippery conditions, Jordan Abdull’s attempted penalty goal struck the post after Ligi Sao interfered at the ruck.
Catalans were awarded another penalty from a slightly closer distance when Jack Ashworth made accidental head-on-head contact with Satae just five minutes from the break. The referee Jack Smith sent Ashworth to the sin-bin and Morgue was on target from the kicking tee.
There was an opportunity for the visitors to reduce the deficit from eight points to six, when Da Costa was penalised for a tackle off the ball on Brown, but McIntosh was slightly wayward with his attempt.
HALF-TIME: Catalans Dragons 14-6 Hull FC
Whilst still playing with 12-men at the start of the second-half, Hull continued to defend bullishly. First, Tom Johnstone’s dart for the corner saw the winger held up, before Lewis Martin intercepted a pass out wide to Tom Davies to deflate some significant pressure.
At the other end of the field, once Hull had returned to their full complement of players, Tex Hoy’s ball out wide deflected twice before finding Jack Walker, who had a walk-in at the right corner. McIntosh’s successful conversion got the Black & Whites back to within two points of their French counterparts.
After building some significant pressure on the Dragons, especially through a Danny Houghton 40/20, the Black & Whites couldn’t poke their noses ahead with the field position. After a couple of errors, the momentum swung back in the favour of Catalans, and the elusive Morgue escaped the clutches of a couple of Hull defenders to score.
More pressure on the Hull line eventually took its toll, despite several heroic efforts from the visitors to keep them at bay. But nobody could get close to Tom Davies when he got on the end of Theo Fages’ looping pass to the right wing.
FULL-TIME: Catalans Dragons 26-12 Hull FC
Squads:
Catalans Dragons: Jayden Nikorima, Tom Davies, Matt Ikuvalu, Matthieu Laguerre, Tom Johnstone, Jordan Abdull, Theo Fages, Romain Navarette, Alrix Da Costa, Julian Bousquet, Tariq Sims, Mike McMeeken, Benjamin Garcia; Jordan Dezaria, Arthur Morgue, Chris Satae, Paul Seguier
Hull FC: Jack Walker, Lewis Martin, Darnell McIntosh, Carlos Tuimavave, Matty Russell, Morgan Smith, Fa’amanu Brown, Herman Ese’ese, Danny Houghton, Ligi Sao, Jayden Okunbor, Nick Staveley, Jordan Lane; Jack Ashworth, Joe Bullock, Will Gardiner, Tex Hoy
Scorers:
Catalans Dragons: Nikorima, Laguerre, Morgue, Davies | Abdull (2/3), Morgue (3/3)
Hull FC: Brown, Walker | McIntosh (2/3)
Rowe Freight Man of the Match: Danny Houghton
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