COACH MAC: NO REGRETS
Catalans on brink after decision to go for it
CATALANS coach Steve McNamara has defended the decision to go for broke against Widnes last Saturday – despite it costing home advantage in the Million Pound Game.
The Dragons were awarded a kickable penalty in the dying stages of their dramatic 12-10 defeat, which secured the Vikings’ Super League safety.
A draw would have seen the French side face Leigh in Perpignan this Saturday – but they gambled on scoring a try that would have preserved their top-flight status.
Widnes’ defence held firm, and McNamara’s side must now travel to Leigh this week in the sport’s most controversial fixture. McNamara said: “We wanted to stay in Super League at the first attempt. We had a great opportunity and the time was right to go on and score. “It is a tough situation – we couldn’t play safe and try to get a home game next week, we had to try to win the game. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t do that.” Former England coach McNamara (left) has now won just five of his 12 games since taking charge at the Dragons in June – three of those against Championship opposition in the Qualifiers. It means the French club’s 12-year stay in Super League is under real threat from a Leigh side that won comprehensively at the Stade Gilbert Brutus last month. McNamara added: “We understand all of the external pressure but we try to remove that and focus on our performance.
“If I said to you that you go to work tomorrow, make one mistake and that’s your career finished, how would you perform?
“It makes you tense, but all of the coaches in this competition have been trying to reduce the pressure on their group.”
The Dragons will be boosted by the return of the vastly experienced Greg Bird, after he successfully reduced a four-match suspension to three earlier this month.
But Leigh – promoted from the Championship last season – are also set to welcome back a host of key figures that missed Friday’s 41-6 win at London, including captain Mickey Higham.