Challenge Cup: Catalans thump battling Batley 40-4
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 06/05/16 11:15pm
Catalans booked their place in the quarter-finals with a 40-4 victory over part-timers Batley in a physical Challenge Cup tie.
The Dragons' seven-match winning run in Super League was ended by Hull FC last week but they ran in seven tries against their spirited Championship hosts to launch their Wembley bid in style.
The 2007 finalists won the territory battle in the first half despite having to contend with the Mount Pleasant slope but only had converted tries from Fouad Yaha and Vincent Duport to show for their efforts.
The Dragons had done the hard work running up the hill in the opening 40 minutes, though, and they were out of sight within seven minutes of the restart courtesy of Duport's second try and Richie Myler's simple finish.
The home crowd must have feared a repeat of the 74-12 rout Batley suffered at the hands of Catalans in their only previous meeting in 2010 after Dave Taylor and Tony Gigot crossed but they were brought to their feet by Alex Brown's try.
Gigot went over again 10 minutes from time and Pat Richards added his sixth goal but the Bulldogs were far from disgraced as they did the second tier proud.
Batley, the first winners of the Challenge Cup in 1897, enjoyed good field position in the early stages but Catalans hit the front after five minutes when Justin Horo collected a loose pass from Cain Southernwood and gave Yaha the chance to sprint 80 metres up the slope to score under the posts.
The enthusiastic Bulldogs continued to take the game to their French visitors despite the setback and were matching them blow for blow in defence.
Some of the Dragons players were noticeably struggling with the steep incline but Duport earned his team-mates a rest after taking a pass from Louis Anderson and dummying his way to the line with Batley short on numbers out wide.
Richards slotted his second goal from the touchline to give Catalans a 12-0 lead 15 minutes from the break.
The Dragons were worthy of that lead after spending large parts of the first period in the Batley half and when they had to defend their own line following a high tackle by Willie Mason on Alex Rowe, they did so with intent.
There was a sense Catalans would cut loose after the break and it took them only five minutes to increase their lead through Duport, who shrugged off a couple of attempted tackles to touch down from another Anderson assist.
The Dragons were starting to enjoy themselves and they were in again when Duport raced clear after taking Mason's pass and gave Myler an easy finish.
There was no stopping Taylor after he took Lucas Albert's pass on the outside shoulder of his defender and Gigot got his name on the scoresheet following a break straight through the middle from Myler.
Batley refused to go away and, during their best spell of the half, gave the home fans something to cheer when Brown took Chris Ulugia's pass to score out wide.
Normal service resumed as Gigot went over from Julian Bousquet's offload and that was the last score as Batley were left to concentrate on climbing the Championship table.
