I apologise!

May 26 2008 by Chris Roberts, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

EMBARRASSED Giants coach Jon Sharp has issued an apology to the fans for his side’s Super League no-show in the South of France.

Over 500 claret and gold supporters made the 900-mile trip to Perpignan only to see their side thrashed 48-0 by Catalans Dragons.

The Frenchmen raced in for eight tries and had a further two disallowed, while the Giants never looked like scoring.

And Sharp admits it simply wasn’t good enough.

“I was totally embarrassed by what the players put in,” said the Galpharm chief.

“And I would just like to apologise to the fans, who also included members of my family, who had put in so much of their hard-earned money to see something like that.

“Their support in Perpignan was absolutely fantastic, and they deserved so much more from their team than that.

“I’m so disappointed for them.

“And, as well as feeling very embarrassed by how the team played, I’m also devastated.

“I genuinely thought that after last week’s great win over Hull KR we had turned the corner.

“But, unfortunately, the way we failed to put strong back-to-back performances together is indicative of the season we are having.

“Our practice had been good, just like it had been the week before, and the gameplan was similar, although not identical to the one that had been so effective against Hull KR.

“And there was certainly nothing in our build-up to suggest anything like this may happen.”

He added: “We knew exactly what to expect from Catalans, and we prepared accordingly.

“But when it came down to it we just didn’t deal with it.

“In fairness, one or two of our blokes ran their blood to water.

“Unfortunately, there were others who carried the ball soft and didn’t fancy the fight.

“I obviously won’t be naming names, but as their head coach I find that bitterly disappointing.”

Giants – Pages 37, 38 & 39.