Steve McNamara not getting carried away as Catalans hit the top
Fouad Yaha (5) of Catalans Dragons celebrates his try with team mates
Catalans Dragons coach Steve McNamara insists his side will not be getting carried away by their latest try rout.
The French club went top of Super League thanks to a 58-0 victory over injury-hit Wakefield at the Totally Wicked Stadium and have now amassed 98 points in their last two matches.
“Someone just mentioned that we’re top but we’re only seven or eight games in,” McNamara said.
“It’s nice to win and that’s the third week of travelling. We’ve done a good job the last couple of weeks.
“We’re realistic. We played well from the start but we were aided by the fact that Wakefield picked up a few injuries.
“They were under the pump, they were down to one player on the bench, so we’re not getting carried away.”
Winger Tom Davies and second rower Matt Whitley both scored hat-tricks as the Catalans ran in 10 tries without reply.
Davies had to wait six months to make his Catalans debut after arriving in Perpignan with a leg injury but has quickly made his mark, with five tries in his first three appearances.
His tryscoring feat was witnessed by England coach Shaun Wane watching from the empty stands who will have been even more impressed by Davies’ former Wigan team-mate Sam Tomkins’ spectacular return from suspension.
A two-match ban turned into a five-month nightmare for Tomkins but, like Davies, he made up for lost time as he tormented the Trinity defence all evening with his trickery.
“Sam is world class,” McNamara said. “The amount of try passes put on today was tremendous, it’s great to have him back.
“Tom had an horrific injury but he’s come back now and he gives us real strike on the edge.”
The Dragons were without centre Israel Folau, who stayed behind in Perpignan following the birth of his first child on Wednesday, but is expected to return for next Saturday’s Challenge Cup sixth-round tie against Wakefield.
McNamara said: “We were close to bringing him but it’s a really important time for his wife and new-born, especially on their own.”