Championship Talk: French Flair

fevnut's blog is absolutely delighted to have received permission to bring you a regular column from Gareth Walker.

Gareth is a top rugby league journalist who has one very exceptional distinction. He chooses to write about matters pertaining to the Championship and League One.

Although this blog is devoted to Featherstone Rovers it is always good to read opinions about matters relevant to us, but not specifically about us. We hope you enjoy reading Gareth's column each week.

French flair

AFTER a stuttering start to the season, Toulouse underlined their credentials as genuine promotion contenders with last weekend’s head-turning demolition of Toronto.

Sylvain Houles’ side had been widely expected to challenge the Championship’s very best again this season, having beaten Super League clubs Hull KR and Widnes in last year’s Qualifiers.

But they kicked their 2019 campaign off with defeats to Leigh and the Vikings, and a comfortable win over Rochdale and two-point victory at Swinton barely masked an underwhelming start.

But Houles’ side then ground out a gritty 14-0 win at Bradford Bulls, before taking Brian McDermott’s Wolfpack to the cleaners in the second half in France.

Undefeated Toronto looked to be cruising towards their expected win when they built a 16-6 half-time lead.

But the visitors would not score again, as Toulouse ran in 40 unanswered pointed to finish as 46-16 winners.

The other major boost for the club was the 6,103 crowd at the city’s Stade Ernest Wallon, hinting at the potential should they play more matches there in future.

That won’t be possible this season due to fixture scheduling and the installation of a new hybrid pitch - but with question marks still hanging over Toulouse’s long-term base, they may need to find a more permanent alternative if they are to realise their long-held Super League ambitions.

On the field seems to be heading in the right direction again.

Coach Houles has had his share of injuries to date - they were still missing six players against Toronto - but has more depth to his squad in 2019 after a host of close season recruits and minimal departures.

Of those arrivals, Dean Parata, Brendan Santi and Ben Evans all played their part in the Wolpack win.

But it was the creative trio of Mark Kheirallah, Johnathon Ford and Stan Robin that earned the main plaudits for the second half rampage.

       

Not only did the result enhance Toulouse’s title prospects, it also dismantled any notion that the Wolfpack - who have by far the competition’s most expensive squad - will simply run away with  this year’s competition.

McDermott’s men had to recover from 17-0 down at Dewsbury the previous weekend and will be under no illusions now about the quality again evident in the Betfred Championship.

With Featherstone beating Sheffield the day after Toulouse’s big win, the competition is without an unbeaten side just six rounds in - a clear indication of how wide open it could become.

With bumper crowds a weekly occurrence, there is much for the Championship to be positive about at present.