SPEEDY stand-off Scott Rhodes reckons York City Knights can quickly bounce back from Sunday's disappointment when they face their enticing French challenge next week.

The Knights, beaten 24-22 by Batley Bulldogs on the opening day of the Arriva Trains Cup campaign, face French Elite One champions Villeneuve Leopards in the Powergen Challenge Cup at Huntington Stadium next Sunday.

It will be the third time in four years that the Leopards have visited York in the Cup, having beaten York Wasps in 2001 and 2002. But Rhodes is confident the Minster City will triumph this time.

"We've got to concentrate on our own game and if we get our performance right for 80 minutes any team at this level will struggle against us," he told the Evening Press. "We can compete against any team without a doubt.

"I don't know anything about Villeneuve to be honest but we will watch a few videos of them and pick up a few things."

As for Sunday's display by the Knights, Rhodes said it was a game of two halves.

"I thought in the first half we were exceptional and did not give Batley a chance," he explained. "We defended well and got in their faces and our attack was really good as well.

"In the second half we tried to over-complicate things and did not complete our sets but Batley did and they snatched it at the end. It was a poor second half for us."

Rhodes was central to the incident that led to the crucial sending-off of Knights prop Craig Forsyth, but did not see much of the actual melee. The 23-year-old had been tackled into touch when the fracas sparked off.

"I was on the floor when the fighting started and I didn't really see what happened," he said.

"They took advantage of the extra man, though. It made a difference in the end. A lot of our lads were really tired. But all credit to Batley, they came strong in the second half.

"At the end of the day, though, if we played like we did in the first half there would not have been a problem."

He added: "I'm still confident we can progress (in the Arriva Trains Cup), especially with the team we've got. It's coming together pretty well with a lot of new faces.

"There is a lot of competition for places and everybody is looking over their shoulder and working hard.

"We know Batley will be perhaps the hardest team in the group and we should have beaten them. But we've still got to go to their place and can win that."

Updated: 11:01 Tuesday, February 03, 2004