Tony Gigot set to be Catalans Dragons' full-back over Morgan Escare
Sunday 24 January 2016 15:45, UK
France international Morgan Escare appears to have lost his regular role as Catalans Dragons' starting full-back to Tony Gigot.
Escare has been nigh on ever-present for the Perpignan club over the last three Super League seasons but coach Laurent Frayssinous is set to go with Tony Gigot at full-back after handing him the No 1 shirt when their squad numbers were confirmed.
The versatile Gigot spent most of the 2015 season playing at centre in the absence of Vincent Duport, who injured his shoulder in April and was forced to miss the rest of the campaign.
"Tony Gigot has been spending a lot of time at training at full-back and I think he did well against Huddersfield," Frayssinous said after the Dragons were beaten 26-16 by the Giants in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.
"I'm not saying he's better than Morgan but he's doing a better job defending the way we want to play. Morgan will still have some game time at full-back."
Frayssinous has made extensive additions to his squad for 2016, after finishing a disappointing eighth last season, bringing in a mixture of big names and local youngsters.
Richie Myler, Jodie Broughton and Paul Aiton bring plenty of Super League experience while Glenn Stewart, Dave Taylor, Justin Horo and Pat Richards all come in from the NRL.
And Frayssinous believes increased competition for places will improve his side this season, as he added: "Last year we had just 22 to 25 players, which was one of the mistakes we made.
"Now we train with at least 37 boys and young players like Thibault Margalet, Hugo Perez and Stan Robin will stay with us instead of the reserve grade.
"We'll not make the same errors we made in the past. This season we not only have quality but also quantity in our squad.
"I used to give the numbers according to the players' wishes and habits but, with the large number of new faces in the squad, I decided to change this system.
"Squad numbers this season give an idea of our starting 17, although the players will be chosen by their performances and fitness."
