Why Joel Tomkins feels 'pretty proud' of Catalans Dragons despite defeat to Wigan Warriors

The Warriors were simply too strong for the Dragons in the south of France on Saturday evening, with Matt Peet’s side claiming a comfortable 40-4 victory at the Stade Gilbert Brutus.

Catalans were forced into making a couple of changes late on, losing starting halfbacks Luke Keary and Theo Fages as well as loose forward Ollie Partington to injury 48 hours before the game. Meanwhile, winger Fouad Yaha was a late withdrawal in the warm-up, being replaced by Arthur Romano.

Speaking post-match, Tomkins said he was proud of his side’s effort against his former club Wigan in their final home game of the season.

"I feel pretty proud of them, to be honest,” Tomkins told Sky Sports. “We had loads of excuses that we could have taken this week, we lost our six, seven and 13 in Thursday’s training session, we’ve got over half our salary cap sat on the sidelines, and we played against the best team in the league – or up there with Hull KR – so I’m proud of the effort.

"In terms of effort, attitude and intent, we turned up, especially in the first 20 minutes of the first half. A couple of things didn’t go our way, two blatant knock-ons in the first 12 minutes that got missed, and we were on the back foot, so my overall feeling after that performance and my overall emotion is that I’m pretty proud of the boys.

"Obviously, I’m disappointed with some of the tries we conceded, but that’s just the quality that we’ve got out there at the minute. Next year, some of the boys and coaching staff we’re bringing in, we want to see a big change.”

The Dragons are in a period of transition, with Tomkins having been appointed as head coach on a permanent basis in July on a contract until the end of 2027. Meanwhile, the French club have also recently announced that 13 players will leave the club at the end of the campaign, with a plethora of new signings having already been announced. The club are also set to make a couple of additions to Tomkins’ backroom staff.

"I think with it being the last game at the stadium, the last game that a lot of players are going to play here, we tapped into that emotional side of the game,” Tomkins added. “It’s difficult, no doubt, I’m not going to stand here and pretend it’s not been a difficult 12 weeks.

"We’ve got 13 players leaving the club at the end of the season and it’s hard to motivate players sometimes when they know there’s nothing really to play for, we’re not going to make the play-offs and they’re not here next season, so it’s been a really difficult job to be honest with you, but I thought tonight they did themselves proud. I asked them to be able to look each other in the eyes after the game and leave everything on the field, and I think the majority of the players can do that tonight, so I’m proud of them.”