Catalans Dragons v Leigh Leopards verdict as Leopards hold on despite late Dragons comeback

Game one of Magic Weekend saw Catalans Dragons and Leigh Leopards face off in Newcastle’s St James Park.

Leigh boss Adrian Lam was forced into making numerous changes with David Armstrong, Gareth O’Brien and Jack Hughes amongst the absentees. Ben McNamara moved into the halves to partner Lachlan Lam but Tesi Niu did return to the centres in a much-needed boost for the Leopards.

Catalans head coach Steve McNamara only made one change to his side despite Sam Tomkins making the 21-man squad. He didn’t make the matchday line-up so Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet continued at fullback. Fouad Yaha was brought in on the wing as Tommy Makinson was dropped.

Here’s our verdict of Leigh Leopards v Catalans Dragons in game one of day one of Super League’s Magic Weekend.

Leigh Leopards come out on top in hard-fought encounter against Catalans Dragons

It was the Dragons that got off to the quickest start. Theo Fages kicked up and over for Matthieu Laguerre to collect and get himself over the tryline. Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet got the conversion for a 6-0 lead after just six minutes.

Aispuro-Bichet was next in on the try-scoring action as the 19-year-old pushed his way through five Leigh defenders from 30m out to go over close to the corner.

Leigh responded with a superb Edwin Ipape effort as he evaded five Dragons defenders to score under the posts. Ben McNamara was on kicking duties for the match to reduce the deficit to 12-6.

Following a Catalans penalty, Leigh once again came back as McNamara grabbed a try to add to his points tally for the afternoon. He burrowed in from dummy half to score next to the sticks. Converting his own try, it gave the Dragons a slender 14-12 lead going into half-time.

In the second half, it was Catalans who again started off the half the strongest of the two sides. Reimis Smith scored down the left as Leigh’s defence couldn’t contain the centre’s strength. Aispuro-Bichet missed his first conversion of the match for an 18-12 lead.

The Leopards tried to close the gap on the scoreboard once again as Ethan O’Neill leapt up on the end of a Lachlan Lam kick. Whilst his celebration left something to be desired, his effort to jump up to score was a much better attempt. McNamara’s conversion brought the score to 18-18.

Following a penalty for Leigh, that took them ahead for the first time in the match at 20-18. Owen Trout extended the Leopards lead after some dodgy Catalans defence, allowing the prop to share some impressive footwork to score next to the posts. McNamara added the two and gave Leigh a 26-18 lead.

Catalans halfbacks combined next for Luke Keary to score his first try in Super League. Theo Fages dinked a neat kick over the top of the Leigh defence, where Keary ran onto the ball to score. Aispuro-Bichet converted the try as the Dragons closed the score to just two points at 26-24. Leigh held on to take the two Super League points but a coming-together at the final whistle brought a sour ending to the game.

Good day for

Fans of attacking rugby. Whilst the defence for both sides left a little to be desired, both teams threw the ball about and there were some great attacking kicks that led to many of the tries. A 26-24 scoreline never reflects a solid defence for either team but a good game, especially for the neutrals.

Bad day for

Defensive efforts. Both sides leaking more than twenty points meant for an open game but if you’re a traditionalist, there were far too many missed tackles from both Leigh and Catalans, which led to tries.

Star man

Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet had another great performance whilst standing in for Sam Tomkins at fullback. Many thought the Dragons would struggle when they let Arthur Mourgue move to Hull KR but the 19-year-old has stepped into the fullback role well. He still has some work to do in his defensive efforts but he looks superb in attack.

Teams for Leigh Leopards v Catalans Dragons

Leigh Leopards XIII: Bailey Hodgson, Darnell McIntosh, Tesi Niu, Andrew Badrock, Josh Charnley, Ben McNamara, Lachlan Lam, Joe Ofahengaue, Edwin Ipape, Robbie Mulhern, Ethan O’Neill, Owen Trout, Isaac Liu.