Catalans Dragons end Warrington Wolves' unbeaten start with 38-18 triumph

Scott Dureau: Kicked seven from seven as Catalans beat Warrington

Warrington’s unbeaten Super League run came to an abrupt end as they were beaten 38-18 by Catalans Dragons in Perpignan on Saturday afternoon.

The home side ran out comfortable winners, with Zeb Taia and Michael Oldfield helping themselves to two tries each while Willie Tonga and Vincent Duport also breached the Wolves defence to score.

Trailing 18-0 at the break, Tony Smith’s side started the second period well and were back within a score of the Dragons thanks to tries from Joel Monaghan and Gary Wheeler, Gareth O’Brien kicking the extras on both occasions.

However, any hopes of a comeback were dashed by two tries in three minutes from Taia before the sides traded scores before full-time.

Warrington came into the match in confident mood after victories in their first two games of the 2015 Super League season but, after a fairly even start, it was the Dragons who made the breakthrough.

Tonga finished off a well-worked move by crossing in the corner and touching down under the posts in the ninth minute. Scott Dureau converted for the first of his seven successful kicks, on a day where both kickers ended the match with a 100 per cent success rate.

The lead became a commanding one courtesy of two tries in a matter of minutes just before the half hour mark as first Oldfield and then Duport went over. Warrington were unable to muster a response and so the scoreline stayed 18-0 until half-time.

The Wolves flew out of the blocks after the restart though and were soon right back in the game. Monaghan weaved his way through for the first before some quick thinking from Wheeler saw him steal the ball just yards from the try line and score unchallenged.

With the gap cut to just six points and more than 30 minutes still to play Warrington sensed an opportunity. However, their momentum was slowed somewhat as Catalans pushed forward again and a Dureau penalty gave them a slightly larger buffer.

Roared on by the Stade Gilbert Brutus crowd, the Dragons soon seized complete control of the match once more as Taia twice found gaps in the Wolves defence to put the result seemingly beyond doubt, the score reading 32-12 with less than 20 minutes remaining.

There was no sign of a Warrington surrender though and with a little over 10 minutes to go, Joe Philbin gave them a glimmer of hope.

The hosts would have the final say, however, as Oldfield leapt highest to claim Dureau’s cross-field kick and score to seal a second home win of the season for Laurent Frayssinous’ side.