Catalans Dragons (10) 26

T : Jodie Broughton, Justin Horo, Fouad Yaha 3
G : Thomas Bosc 3

Widnes Vikings (0) 10

T : Matt Whitley, Patrick Ah Van
G : Lloyd White

Fouad Yaha scored a 17-minute second-half hat-trick as Catalans Dragons ended a run of five straight defeats with a 26-10 First Utility Super League Super 8s victory over Widnes Vikings at the Stade Gilbert Brutus.

The visitors, who beat Catalans 32-4 in the last match of the regular season, were in contention at 10-6 early in the second half until Yaha crossed three times.

The victory moved Catalans to within two points of fourth-placed St Helens in the Super League table.

Catalans advanced into a 10-0 lead at half-time following tries from Jodie Broughton, a length-of-the-field effort, and Justin Horo, the latter converted by Thomas Bosc.

Widnes closed the gap to four points just seven minutes into the second half as Matt Whitley latched onto a superb kick from Kevin Brown.

But Yaha scored in the corner, then touched down a Bosc kick and completed his hat-trick to take the game out of Widnes' reach at 26-6 with 12 minutes to play.

The Vikings showed plenty of heart, especially after losing two players to concussion, with Patrick Ah Van taking a fine pass from Brown to score a consolation try late on. 

Team sheet

Dragons : Gigot, Broughton, Garcia, Duport, Yaha, Carney, Bosc, Taylor, Pelissier, Casty, Stewart, Horo, Baitieri
Subs: Anderson, Aiton, Bousquet, Mounis

Widnes : Hanbury, Thompson, Runciman, Marsh, Ah Van, Brown, Mellor, Burke, White, Buchanan, Dean, Houston, Cahill 
Subs: Manuokafoa, Leuluai, Whitley, Heremaia

Referee: Robert Hicks

Attendance: 7 341

Man of the match : Jodie Broughton