as well has given hope of a boom time for the sport in the country, and McNamara knows this is an opportunity his side cannot let slip away. But head coach Steve McNamara was quick to praise his French contingent, including captain Benjamin Garcia and hard-charging prop Julian Bousquet for their roles in helping Catalans clinch a historic League Leaders' Shield success and reach a first Grand Final. "In long periods I felt defensively we were able to tie them up, I didn't think it was necessarily a comfortable game for the Silver Ferns, but ultimately we need to tidy up our possession game. We can't give them too much ball and then not capitalise off it." Later, he said an official complaint about bullying in 2017 directly led to his subsequent release, for fear that he may continue to raise issues around his treatment.