Castleford 14-40 CatalansControversial
Australian takes Super League centre stage againWhen the chips are down and a team are facing the most ferocious criticism, it is usually the truly great players who inspire comebacks that can go on and define a season. Time will tell whether this result turns out to be that significant for Catalans Dragons, but it is hard to imagine they would have recorded their first win since the Super League restart without Israel Folau.
Last weekend Folau took the headlines when he was the only player to opt against taking a knee pre-match. While he did the same this week, and two of his Catalans teammates in Sam Moa and Benjamin Garcia followed suit, the latest round of headlines accompanying world rugby’s most divisive figure were all about his supremacy on the field.