SAINTS coach Keiron Cunningham expressed his frustration at losing in Catalans and having to go without scrum half Luke Walsh.

The Star’s senior sports writer Mike Critchley caught up with him to ask the questions.

MC: Luke Walsh’s surgery means it is back to Jon Wilkin and Travis Burns then?

KC: They are both competent halves. I feel for Wilko because he is going to have to play out of position again. He will do it because he is a great club man, but he was building some good stuff with Burnsy and Walshy and he was looking good on that left edge. But we will be fine, it is only for a month or so.

MC: From the start of the season you have lost quite a few of those that can play in the halves. No doubt you thought you were adequately prepared?

KC: That’s your squad for you and that is why you have to balance your salary cap. We have had some unfortunate losses with Jonny gone for the season and Wello struggling with his hip, Lance decides to retire then there’s a shortage of bodies.

MC: Last Saturday in Perpignan, the team’s first 20 minutes made it tough for themselves and that bit you later on?

KC: I have watched the game three times and even when we scored our last try and go to 26-all if we go to correct game management we go on to win the game.

The set after that try was a great set. After we kick the ball it was a great defensive set and then got the ball back on our 40. What we did at the end of that set was the most important thing and we came up with a poor kick option, then penalty (which wasn’t a penalty).

Out of the 13 penalties given against my side more than half of them were not penalties. Or, if you are going to give penalties then do the same to both side.

Every time we got a foot in the door, created a little bit of impetus and started playing really quick – a Catalans player would lie down on the floor and stop the game.

In the 67th minute there is a point where Oliver Elima lies on the floor because Big Al has run over him and then the ref stops the game.

At that moment we were lined up on the right hand side to score but the ref stopped the game. We stopped it for a minute and 10 seconds while Willie Tonga gets his wrist strapped. Three times in the game Catalans lay down and the ref stopped the game.

It frustrates me that the referees are not accountable. The RFL is making millions every year why not put something back into refereeing structures. Thy are talking about changing substitutes, but what about sorting the middle of the field, sorting the ruck out and the referees out.

MC: What about the things that went wrong on Saturday that the team was responsible for?

KC: The first 20 minutes was not pretty. There was a lot of things that I picked up. I said to my players before the game if you can go set-for-set with Catalan you will win the game comfortably because they are leaking 28 points a game – they are not a great defensive side. But every time we built pressure we let it off by giving a penalty away or dropping the ball.

The team travelled and prepared really well and I thought to hang in hang in there like they did and then get the try to level nine minutes. Got to give them credit for that because it is not an easy trip, but the frustrating thing as a side is we had so many opportunities to win that game on numerous occasions and you have to do that. It was a big two points for us over there. In the big games you have to take those points and your game management has got to be really good and you have to do the right things.

MC: It was a shame because the tries that Saints were really well worked and executed.

KC: They were beautiful tries – we never have any problems attack. We have strike all over the field, even with the absences, we know we can score points.

It was the defence at times from certain individuals. Some of our junior players struggled and let us down at times.

It sounds harsh but the more times they make that trip then the more they are hardened to it. Some of juniors really struggled and that hurts some of the senior players.

MC: Zeb Taia seemed unstoppable?

KC: He is a great player but we knew they would chuck a lot at us, with Carney and Dureau in the halves, but we just game them too much of the ball.

Those four tries will have done Adam Swift some good and help him find consistency.

I have been happy with where Swifty has been at the past four weeks. I think he has really turned the corner and his defence, the way he swings at the back of the field and his attention to detail has been better than Tommy at times. Both wingers have been going good.

MC: And again some nice play from Jordan Turner – and a real shame you had to lose him so early?

KC: It really hurt me that. That was a big one because Josh Jones had gone on in the middle and really tightened it up for us. To move him when I had to really hurt the side because I had to move Jones from the middle, where he was locking things up really tight.