Tomkins leads Catalans to comfortable win at Castleford

Betfred Super League

Castleford (0) 4

Try: Senior

Catalans (14) 26

Tries: Pangai Junior, Da Costa, Yaha, Tomkins Goals: Tomkins 5

Sam Tomkins led from the front in his first Super League game this season as Catalans Dragons cruised to victory over a poor Castleford Tigers side.

Tomkins, who turns 36 on Sunday, contributed 14 points, with a try and five goals, as the French side made it three wins in a row in all competitions.

Catalans coped far better with some atrocious conditions at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle to secure their first success in England this term.

As well as Tomkins, tries came from Tevita Pangai Junior, Alrix Da Costa and Fouad Yaha as they picked up the two points to stay ninth in the table.

But for Castleford, whose sole try came late on from Innes Senior, it was a fourth defeat out of five as they remain 10th.

Tomkins had retired at the end of 2023 only to reverse his decision last July before committing to another full season in Perpignan this year.

But after picking up a hamstring injury in the Challenge Cup last month, he had missed the first four league games of the season.

However, after the recent departure of France star Arthur Mourgue to Hull KR, Tomkins' return was vital for head coach Steve McNamara.

The full-back showed his experience in heavy rain as the French side took control of things with two tries in quick succession.

First, prop Pangai Junior bulldozed his way through tackles to touch down for his first Super League try before, from their next attack, hooker Da Costa spotted a gap from dummy-half and a quick burst took him over.

Senior thought he had immediately got the home side on the board but it was ruled as no try for a double movement by referee Liam Rush.

The Tigers used their captain's challenge, but video referee Chris Kendall upheld the on-field call.

And poor discipline further hampered their hopes of getting back into things as they gifted Catalans two penalties with Tomkins knowing the importance of keeping the scoreboard ticking over as conditions worsened.

Sam Tomkins has played for Catalans Dragons since the 2019 season

Long-serving France winger Yaha touched down a cute grubber kick from teenager Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet after the break before Tomkins provided the crowning moment.

He may have veteran status now, but the dummy, sidestep and burst of pace to get over for a try had all the hallmarks of the ex-England captain's enduring quality.

The only blot on his afternoon was ending the match in the sin-bin after getting a yellow card from the last play of the game.

For Castleford, Senior's try arrived with a little over 10 minutes remaining and concluded a difficult afternoon.

And even in these early weeks it is only the struggles of the two sides below the Tigers - Salford Red Devils and Huddersfield Giants - which is keeping them away from the bottom.

Castleford Tigers head coach Danny McGuire said:

"We're not doing some things how we want to. We have moments where we look like a good team and moments where we don't know what we're doing.

"They handled the conditions better. Their game management, the simplicity.

"They used their big bodies down the middle and kicked into corners. We had opportunities to go in front, but we've no resilience to defend our line."

Catalans Dragons head coach Steve McNamara said:

"We adapted really well to the conditions. We controlled it well. It was important to score first to get the scoreboard going.

"That's as heavy rain as I've seen in the game for a long time, consistently for 60 minutes and particularly in the first half.

"We just had to find some field position, get some points, get in front on the scoreboard and that would make your day easier.

"Thankfully it was us who managed to do that early in the game and then I felt we controlled it."

Castleford: Hoy; Simm, Cini, Wood, Senior; Asi, Milnes; Singleton, Robb, Lawler, Simbiken, Mellor, Horne.

Interchanges: Rimbu, Griffin, Mustapha, Namo.

Catalans: Tomkins; Yaha, Laguerre, Smith, Cotric; Keary, Aispuro-Bichet; Pangai, Da Costa, Bousquet, Garcia, Whitehead, Partington.

Interchanges: Romano, Satate, Navarrete, Dezaria.

Sin-bin: Tomkins (80)

Referee: Liam Rush.