St Helens’ match-winner Jonny Lomax spoke after the club’s 14-13 win over Catalans Dragons, a first in Super League since 2018.
Whilst Saints did win in Perpignan in 2022 in the Challenge Cup, it’s been a long time between drinks for a Super League win away against Catalans with the last one coming back in 2018.
Sky Sports pundits Jon Wilkin and Kyle Amor were playing that day, highlighting just how long ago it was, but current St Helens captain and yesterday’s game-winner Jonny Lomax also found himself on the scoresheet back then.
Lomax knocked over two drop goals to help secure the win leading Saints boss Paul Wellens to jest that “the old fella came up trumps“, when speaking post-match on Sky Sports.
The St Helens number seven also spoke on Sky Sports and offered big praise to the 700 or so Red Vee fans who had made the trip to the Stade Gilbert Brutus.
“It’s fantastic to see,” he said.
“It’s not been a happy hunting ground over the last few years but the fans keep showing up in great numbers and offer the fantastic support that they do so it was good to give them that win.”
St Helens man explains key to ending Super League drought in France
Enjoy your night Saints fans! ♥️
A MASSIVE thank you to the Saints fans who went across to France, you were superb all night long 👏 #COYS pic.twitter.com/bTsnopTMDN
— St.Helens R.F.C. (@Saints1890) March 29, 2025
It was a win that moved St Helens to third in Super League and sets them up nicely for their Challenge Cup quarter-final against Warrington Wolves, particularly given the hard-fought and intense nature of the game.
Speaking on the lack of recent success and perhaps what was different this time, Lomax picked out the club’s travel plans as key to the win with Saints opting to fly out early.
He explained: “I think when you come to Catalans, first and foremost they’re a fantastic side. They’ve got a lot of quality and a lot of experience and when you couple that with travel, which can sometimes be difficult too.
“I feel as though we’ve done it well this time. The travel has been good, everyone has been together, and we’ve had a chance to enjoy time with each other. Sometimes that breeds more connection and we’ve been able to come away with the win, and a hard-fought win at that.”
The hard-fought nature wasn’t simply because Saints were facing a tough Catalans team but also because they had to play the conditions with the wing ripping through the Stade Gilbert Brutus.
On that, Lomax said: “The wind was very challenging today and I think you saw that with both sides, certainly going one way and then you’ve got the other problems going the other way, where you don’t want to kick it too far.
“It was definitely a challenge but thankfully we’ve got it over the line and somehow managed to win it with the drop goal.”
