Widnes fightback from 14-0 down to draw against Catalans Dragons as Salford beat Warrington
It was terrible conditions in Perpignan
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Widnes Vikings came back from 14-0 down to secure a hard-fought 14-14 draw against Catalans Dragons in terrible conditions in Perpignan.
Catalans were without forwards Sam Moa, Julian Bousquet and Jason Baitieri, while Widnes were missing seven first-team players, including Alex Gerrard, Joe Mellor and Tom Gilmore.
The home side took the lead in the seventh minute when Richie Myler attacked down the left and fed Ben Garcia, who displayed soft hands to send Brayden Wiliame away to score. Luke Walsh continued his good early season form with the boot as he added the extras.
Catalans extended their lead in the 12th minute, Wiliame's tackle on Rhys Hanbury forced a knock-on which was kicked forward by Myler. He won the race to the ball and eventually touched down.
Walsh added the conversion to give the hosts a 12-0 lead and further extended their advantage with a penalty.
Widnes came back into the game four minutes before the break, two penalties giving them field position and Aaron Heremaia picked up five metres from the Catalans line before sending Patrick Ah Van charging over to score. Hanbury added the extra two points.
The visitors struck again eight minutes after the break. Chris Bridge sent a grubber kick to the in-goal area, the ball was fumbled by Thomas Bosc and pounced on by Tom Olbison, although Hanbury missed the conversion.
Both sides were guilty of handling errors at key moments and the score remained the same heading into the final 10 minutes.
Widnes attacked again and Bridge was held up just short, but Heremaia dummied right then put in a neat grubber to the in-goal area where the loose ball was touched down by Hanbury. He missed the conversion attempt.
Catalans applied pressure in the latter stages and despite having field position to attack the Widnes line, the conditions were such that when Walsh attempted a drop-goal the ball did not bounce once it hit the turf and the full-time hooter sounded.
In the day's earlier game, Warrington found themselves still without a win this season after they were sunk 24-14 by Salford at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Junior Sa'u scored twice for the home side to help them to their first win over Warrington in 10 meetings.
The centre has scored tries his last four games against Warrington and it was his touchdown seven minutes from time which finally settled a hard-fought contest.
Despite beating Brisbane Broncos in the World Club Series, Tony Smith's side find themselves at the wrong end of Super League and on Thursday face another tough assignment against champions Wigan.
Sa'u's decisive try came seven minutes from time as he dropped onto a grubber kick from Michael Dobson. The conversion from Gareth O'Brien along with a penalty two minutes from time sealed the win.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments