Dragons tied up by Bulls

Farrar: broke the deadlock

Catalan Dragons and Bradford battled each other and the elements in an error-strewn 8-8 draw at a rain-soaked Stade Gilbert Brutus.

Both sides managed a converted try apiece in the first half as they fought out the fourth tied scoreline in the 2011 Super League season so far.

Scott Dureau and Patrick Ah Van traded penalties after the break and although both sides had their chances, neither could find a winning score.

A torrential downpour during the opening 40 minutes had already ruined the game as a spectacle, though the Bulls will be the happier of the two teams with the final result, as they put an end to a three-match losing run.

Bounced off

Looking for a fifth straight win, the Dragons had already had a try from Dureau chalked off by the television official by the time they broke the deadlock.

Ben Farrar bounced off the sizeable Ah Van on the left wing to reach the line after 13 minutes, with Dureau adding the extras to make it 6-0.

As the heavens opened the error count soared, though Bradford did hang onto the ball for long enough to level matters before the break.

Hooker Heath L'Estrange - who had started the contest on the bench - forced his way over from dummy half next to the posts, leaving Ah Van an easy kick.

To keep everything even both teams also spent 10 minutes with only 12 men on the field - Paul Sykes was sin-binned for the visitors for holding on in the tackle while Dragon Sebastien Martins saw yellow for a seriously high shot.

Yet although the weather improved by the time the second period got underway, the quality of the rugby on show did not get any better.

Glorious chance

Sebastien Raguin blew a glorious chance for the Dragons when he foolishly opted to kick, rather than keep the ball in hand, in a three-on-one situation out wide on the left.

Dureau did edge the Dragons in front though with a 48th-minute penalty from in front of the uprights, though Bradford soon levelled matters through Ah Van.

The Bulls winger slotted over a comfortable kick after a break from Sykes - who had been recalled at stand-off in place of the injured Brett Kearney - saw Gregory Mounis sin-binned for not releasing the tackled Shad Royston.

A steal in a two-man tackle gave Ah Van the chance to put Bradford's noses in front for the very first time with 12 minutes remaining - only for the normally dead-eyed goal-kicker to slice his effort well wide to the right.

Dureau twice attempted drop goals in the closing minutes while Sykes had a go himself for the visitors, though his attempt barely got six feet off the sodden turf. In the end, neither side could say they deserved much more than a point.