'Our worst performance of the season' - Hull KR boss pulls no punches after Catalans thrashing

The Challenge Cup semi-finalists came back down to earth with a bump in a one-sided clash in Perpignan.

Peters said: “That was our worst performance of the season.

“We knew what they would bring and we had a plan but we got beaten in every area.

“Catalans were very good but the tries we conceded were disappointing. We didn’t stick to our defensive principles tonight.

“They’re a very good side but not to be in the match at all is the most disappointing part.

“It’s a tough trip but it’s something we want to overcome, if you want to be the best you have to beat the best teams.”

Peters did not blame the absence of star scrum-half Mikey Lewis, who missed out on the trip to France with a training-ground injury.

The coach added: “Mikey had a glute issue at training, nothing too serious but he couldn’t make the trip.”

Catalans found their fire again after a 34-6 cup loss to Huddersfield and returned to the top of the Super League table as Michael McIlorum inspired their win.

Catalans went ahead with first-half tries for McIlorum, Matt Ikuvalu and Tom Davies.

Scrum-half Theo Fages crossed before the break with the only response from the Robins a try for winger Joe Burgess.

Rovers stemmed the tide in the early stages of the second half but then lost substitute forward Matty Storton to a sin-binning after dangerous contact on Dragons winger Tom Johnstone.

The defence held for long periods but could not stop Johnstone stretching over on the left 10 minutes from the end before Tariq Sims added gloss to the scoreline.

Dragons coach Steve McNamara said: “We were clearly disappointed with our performance last week against Huddersfield and we’ve had a lot of soul-searching.

“But I thought the players and staff internally dealt with it really well and prepared superbly for the game.

“We beat a very good team tonight, they weren’t at their best but we were a large part of that. We had a game plan and executed it really well.”

McNamara save special praise for veteran hooker McIlorum, who was named man of the match at Stade Gilbert Brutus.

He added: “Michael McIlorum is a huge part of our club, he defies his age and logic in his fitness and performance levels.

“He lives his life extremely well and you see the benefits in how he runs around. He came in fresh after his injury and he made a huge difference for us.”