Hull cling on for victory

Hull FC claimed an entertaining 36-34 win over Catalan, but only due to Thomas Bosc missing a last-second conversion.

With seven minutes to go, the home side led 36-22, but the Dragons fought back to almost steal a share of the points.

Both sides attacked well, with Kirk Yeaman (2), Richard Whiting, Tom Lineham, Ben Crooks, Richard Horne, and debutants Jordan Thompson and Jordan Rankin all scoring for Hull, whilst Damien Cardace grabbed a hat-trick for Catalan.

Zeb Taia (2), Elliott Whitehead and Morgan Escare were the French side’s other scorers, who were leading 16-12 at half-time.

This was mainly down to Hull’s slow start, and in the second-half, last season’s Challenge Cup runners-up found their form.

The pick of their tries was undoubtedly Rankin’s lung-bursting breakaway from deep inside his own half, which capped an impressive first outing for the former Gold Coast playmaker.

Both head coaches will look back ruefully at missed kicks, with Hull failing to pull away due to six misses out of eight, whilst Bosc’s 80th minute miss proved to be the only difference between the two sides.