McNamara confirms Tomkins precaution

Catalans Dragons Head Coach Steve McNamara has confirmed fullback Sam Tomkins only came off for protection.

Tomkins sat out the final five minutes of their Challenge Cup win over Wakefield Trinity, and McNamara confirmed he was fine, and the action was taken to protect him.

He said: “He has been incredible for us. He covered so much ground for us. We almost brought him off after our last try, but he wanted to stay on and make sure the game was done.

“He’s fine, we just wanted to protect him for the last five minutes.”

McNamara also confirmed that the squad had seemed to come through the match unscathed, as there was no obvious injury concerns.

He added: “Rugby League is a terribly tough game. We watched the Saints/Leeds game before. When your team is not involved, you really appreciate a bit more the intensity and the way people go about each other.

“I’m sure there are plenty of bumps and bruises on both sides, but that is rugby league. We will dust ourselves off and go again in seven days. We are all good.”