Snow joke for happy Tigers

Castleford put an end to their four-game losing streak with a hard-fought 20-16 triumph over Les Catalans at Stade Gilbert Brutus.

The Tigers trailed 10-0 at one stage in Perpignan before battling back with three successive tries to move ahead in a topsy-turvy contest.

A Casey Maguire try levelled matters but the visitors clinched just their second win of the campaign - both of which have come on the road - when Michael Wainwright touched down with 15 minutes remaining.

Defeat was tough to take for the Dragons after they had battled hard against the weather just to make sure the game went ahead on Saturday evening.

Around 40 centimetres of snow had to be cleared from the playing surface during the week, with players and fans pitching in during the operation.

Impressive start

Their efforts looked likely to pay off with two points when the hosts, boosted by registering their first victory of the campaign away at Salford the previous week, surged into a 10-0 lead.

Australian Chris Walker broke the deadlock after 14 minutes with the opening try of the game, though Gregory Mounis was unable to add the conversion.

A second try followed shortly after the half-hour mark through Jamal Fakir, the second-rower powering his way over from close range. This time Mounis managed to kick the extras, pushing Les Catalans into double digits.

However Castleford crucially struck back just before the interval when Mitchell Sargent grabbed a try that was successfully converted by Joe Westerman.

The Tigers - who handed a debut to Mike Cooper following his arrival on loan from Warrington - continued in the same vein at the start of the second half.

The impressive Rangi Chase went over to level the scores before Stuart Jones put them in front for the first time on the night.

Although the Dragons did make it 16-16 through hooker Maguire's effort, Terry Matterson's injury-hit side refused to be beaten on French soil.

Chase's kick towards the left corner wasn't dealt with by the home defence and the loose ball bounced kindly into the path of Wainwright, who dived over for what proved to be the match-winning score.

This time the Dragons could not dig themselves out of trouble, meaning they have now lost both fixtures they have played in front of their own fans in 2010.