Diehard Dragons shock Saints

Vincent Duport puts Saints under pressure

Catalan Dragons claimed a sensational last-gasp victory over St Helens to go top of the Super League for the first time in their seven-year history.

The French side trailed 26-8 midway through the second half but roared back to win 34-32, scoring the match-winning try through Daryl Millard with the last play of the game.

Saints made a fast start with some sparkling rugby and led 20-8 at half-time, with no hint of the dramatic turnaround to come.

It took them just three minutes to open the scoring, with winger Jamie Foster gathering the ball from Lee Gaskell's grubber kick to touch down.

The Dragons levelled when prop Remi Casty shrugged off the attempted challenge of Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook to touch down, but Saints were always the more inventive side in the first half.

Lomax jinked his way through the Catalan defence to get prop Anthony Laffranchi over on 15 minutes and Gary Wheeler took Paul Wellens' pass to beat three defenders to score a third try.

Foster, whose three missed kicks ultimately cost his side both points in last Sunday's 36-36 draw against Hull KR, converted all three tries and also kicked a first-half penalty but Scott Dureau kept the visitors in touch with a penalty on the stroke of half-time.

Dominance

Saints quickly confirmed their dominance four minutes into the second half when 20-year-old right winger Tommy Makinson scooped up a pass from Michael Shenton by his ankles to cross for his side's fourth try.

Foster's fifth goal made it 26-8 but the French side were far from finished and set up a tense finish with a scoring burst of three tries in eight minutes.

James Roby and Makinson combined with a terrific last-ditch tackle to deny Millard but, when the Dragons moved the ball the full width of the pitch, Steve Menzies got winger Damien Blanch over on 57 minutes.

That was enough to inject renewed confidence in the Catalans side as they struck with two more tries in as many minutes.

Foster dropped Millard's kick to gift centre Vincent Duport a touchdown and Dureau finished off a break by Blanch to cut the gap to just four points.

Wheeler then looked to have come to Saints' rescue, intercepting Dureau's pass to score his second try.

However, former Saint Leon Pryce sent second rower Setaimata Sa over for a fifth Catalan try and, with the last move of the match, the visitors somehow kept the ball alive, swinging it the full width of the pitch for Millard to touch down at the corner.

That levelled the scores and, after a lengthy delay while video referee Steve Ganson scrutinised the movement, Dureau kept his nerve to land the winning goal from the touchline.