Lipowicz Double As Catalans Pile Misery On Hull KR

21 March 2026


148 Comments


Catalans (14) 26


Tries: Lipowicz 2, Navarrete, Marc Goals: Sexton 5


Hull KR (6) 20


Tries: May, Burgess, Amone Goals: Lewis 4


Reigning Super League champions Hull Kingston Rovers suffered a 3rd defeat in their opening 4 games as Catalans Dragons earned an 26-20 victory in Perpignan.


The Robins swept all before them last season, taking all three domestic prizes before beating Brisbane Broncos to become world champs last month, however the French side were exceptional as 2 tries from Zac Lipowicz and one by Romain Navarrete had them 20-6 ahead at the 60-minute mark.


It seemed like Rovers, despite an unconvincing display screen, were transporting their method back towards victory as tries from Joe Burgess and Tom Amone and Mikey Lewis' penalty levelled the ratings.


In a dramatic finale, Catalans increased the other end and 19-year-old Lenny Marc raced over for a winning try which enhances them up to seventh location.


It looked like Rovers were discovering their feet after losing their two opening games of the league season to York Knights and Leeds Rhinos, as they beat Huddersfield Giants in both their league fixture and recently's Challenge Cup conference.


That proved to be a false dawn, however, as they showed protective weak points, bad discipline at key minutes and a lack of the flair which swept all before them last season.


Catalans, who have a habit of blowing hot and cold, were exceptional even though they lost 3 forwards to injury, requiring the usage of their 18th man Harvey Wilson, and then saw influential scrum-half Lewis Dodd limp off.


Rovers had actually begun well enough as May, in his 100th Super League look and betting his previous club, bounced off a tackle and stepped over the line.


But Catalans established supremacy and deservedly levelled when Dodd broke and Lipowicz extended out to touch down after being taken on brief of the line.


The Dragons lost excellent prop Josh Allen and his replacement Julian Bousquet to head injuries and after that Matthieu Laguerre to an ankle issue in quick succession but it did not disrupt their circulation as Sexton's penalty and his conversion of a 2nd shot for Lipowicz had them 14-6 up at half time.


The home side even rode the loss of Dodd to extend their lead through Navarrete, but as their over-worked forwards tired the Robins started to get on top.


Oliver GIldart released Burgess to race away for his 150th Super League attempt, Amone touched down May's grubber and Mikey Lewis slotted a penalty to square it up and a KR return win looked unavoidable.


When Jack Broadbent raced down the middle, it seemed to be the gaining moment but he unwisely tried to offload, Dragons gained back possession and when they released one last attack teen Marc triggered mass celebrations by racing clear of the Robins defence to score.


'A lot of errors and charges' - reaction


Hull KR head coach Willie Peters informed BBC Radio Humberside:


"We made it hard for ourselves but you have to pay credit to Catalans. They're a gutsy team who work hard for each other and they discovered a method at the back end.


"But when I look at our performance, so many errors and penalties which put us in a poor position.


"What I took pride in was the method we combated back, we put ourselves back in the game however at the back end we were looking for the quick fix as we wanted the game so bad on that one play and it occurred, not just on Jack [Broadbent's] play at the end, but throughout the video game.


"My job now is to examine it, check out it and take ownership but when you're playing, gamers play the game.


"They put themselves in a position to win but there was a period where we did discover some circulation, hold the footy and ask some questions, and when it was time to protect our line we did. We didn't do that for long enough durations."


Catalans: Staines; Cotric, Laulu-Togagae, Faatape, Marc; Sexton, Dodd; Allen, Da Costa, Navarrete, Lipowicz, Laguerre, Garcia.


Interchanges: Satae, Bousquet, Leeming, Chan, Wilson (18th man).


Hull KR: Broadbent; Davies, Hiku, Gildart, Burgess; Lewis, May; Sue, Litten, Hadley, Whitehead, Batchelor, Minchella.


Interchanges: Amone, Luckley, Whitbread, Leyland.


Referee: Jack Smith.


Hull Kingston Rovers


Catalans Dragons