By STEVE MASCORD
COACH Steve McNamara says Catalans’ existence is under threat from British rugby league and he is not convinced the majority of club owners want them in the competition.
The Perpignan-based club, this year forced to pay the travel costs in incoming teams in an arbitrary change to their participation agreements that could be regarded as a noose-tightening exercise, posted their first win of the season on Saturday, 11-0 over Leeds.
Speaking earlier to rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads, McNamara was asked if the measures against the club meant to him that Catalans were under threat.
“Yep, yep.
“I do as a coach. I’m very disappointed with the scenario right now, the financial situation that we’re in, in terms of the extra obligations that have been put on is.
“The club have been fairly balanced in terms of their response to that and that’s fine.
“But from myself as a coach, I just don’t get it. I just don’t see it. I don’t understand it.
“People can explain it as many times as they want and give me the reasons for it. What the Catalans Dragons have brought to Super League in the last 20 years – it’s our 20th year this year – has been in my opinion sensational – right from before I was coaching there.
“What that adventure into the Super League …. You can look at what it’s brought financially or not financially, it should be judged on more things than that.
“For me, I feel the pressure that it being put on our organisation, our club, massively from all the other clubs in the competition.
“And we need to get out there and play strongly this year and be strong and make sure we need to stand some of the pressures that we’re under.”
However, it is understood the worm may be turning for the Dragons in the shape of NRL involvement in running the elite European competition.
English hostility towards Catalans – and even Toulouse – is certain to be dead-batted by Australasian officials who definitely want them involved in an NRL-run European competition. British clubs are thought to have been made aware in Vegas that French involvement was not just regarded as preferable at League Central – but mandatory.
Asked if he was confident, NRL aside, the club would be in the competition in five years, the coach responded: “Yeah, yeah.
“Because of the will and the determination and the strength of the people in the organisation and the game in that part of France in particular. We’ll push on from it. It’s not easy. This is not easy.
“You put this financial burden on any other club in the competition, any other club … there are some clubs that have got some fantastically rich owners.
“We’re not in that position. Bernard (Guasch) and the owners help support our club but we aren’t in a situation where this is easy for us at all. We’re having to fight and challenge and work our way through this and we need to repay the strength of our people who are helping fund this by our performances on the field this year.
“We’re not a member of the council so we don’t get a vote on things. A lot of people don’t understand these things, maybe they don’t need to understand it because they’re not supporters of the Catalans Dragons.
“But I think if you asked nearly every supporter of the game … I might be wrong here but I think they all support the concept of Catalans Dragons being in the competition.
“Maybe some club owners don’t.”
McNamara said the club would be keen to speak to the NRL, even though British club owners seem to have put themselves at the front of the queue. “I’m sure we’d interested in having that conversation as a club.
“It’s interesting you talk about that and the NRL and the concept of Vegas. Catalans have not been mentioned once about going to Vegas. Why not?
“Why would a French team not be there? Honestly last year there was a load of French fans who took a plane and went across there. If we part of that concept, a different flavour …. Yeah, we’re Super League but the French part of Super League.
“I’m all for that type of stuff. I’m at a club now that’s part of an expansion project.
“If the NRL can come and expand our competition, expand our competition, to a level that we currently can’t get that competition, then I’m all for it.”
Asked if he believed the majority of Super League club owners supported their involvement, McNamara said: “Not sure, I’m not sure.
“At this stage, I really don’t know. I don’t want to get too much into the political side of it.
“Our club is always faced with challenges and we accept that being outside of the country. But these additional pressures being put on us are, in my opinion, unacceptable.”
Asked if he saw many friends of the club when he looked around the British game, McNamara said: “If I’m being honest….
“When Catalans first started out and we were OK as a team but we probably weren’t challenging, we were probably everyone’s second favourite team.
“When that concept changed in 2018, when we went to Wembley, we won the Challenge Cup and became a real threat to the competition – and we’ve been a real threat to the competition since then in terms of our quality of play and what we’ve managed to achieve – a couple of grand finals and everything else.
“I think that turns the tide. I think that changes people’s opinions when you become a real threat – and we’re a real threat, no two ways about that.
“If people want to try to reduce our threat by putting pressures on us in different areas, we have to respond to that.”
Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix