Toulouse victorious over Featherstone in clash of the top two

A top of the table clash between two unbeaten sides in the Betfred Championship commenced as Featherstone Rovers faced Toulouse Olympique at the Millennium Stadium in one of the most eagerly awaited Championship fixtures.

After securing their first-ever 1895 Cup Final victory against York City Knights at Wembley just two weeks ago, James Webster’s side returned to league action last week against Bradford Bulls. Rovers left Odsal with a narrow 36-30 away win and their 13th consecutive win of the season. But this weeks game against the French side is the biggest test of the season so far with Sylvain Hughes’s side also unbeaten with nine wins from nine.

A game that had been hyped up all week definitely lived up to the high expectations in the opening half. Just the six points in the opening 40 minutes but a game that provided so much more. If you love Rugby League for its high intensity, big tackles and opening expansive rugby this was the game for you.

The opening 15 minutes was very frantic. Both sides exchanged sets with defences on top. As 1st faced 2nd in the most important fixtures to decide who would sit top of the Championship, it was clear to see how big of a game it was with the tackle that went flying in from both sets of players.

It took until the 18th minute before the first and only points of the half. Dominic Peyroux crashed onto the short ball to open the scoring. That was as good as it got in terms of field position for the visitors as they were forced to defend repeat sets on their own line. As good as Rovers attack has been so far this season, they were unable to unlock the Toulouse defence.-Handling errors being their downfall.

Trailing 6-0 at the break it was clear to see James Webster’s team talk was still ringing in the ears of the Rovers players. A fast start from the home side saw relentless pressure on the Toulouse line but set after set the French side stepped up in defence and were able to provide a sucker punch of their own. Having defended three sets on their own line they were able to make their way upfield and extend their lead.

This time it was Justin Sangare who latched onto the short ball from Lloyd White to power over. The 12-0 lead didn’t last long though as falling behind either further spurred on the passionate Featherstone fans to get loud and behind their team even more. They finally saw their side pull a try back in the 56th minute. Fa’amanu Brown who had looked dangerous all game stepped past the defender before finding Kris Welham in support, he fed Gareth Gale who managed to avoid two onrushing defenders to score… Game on?

Unfortunately for Rovers fans, it wasn’t. Just five minutes later Toulouse responded, and it was a second try for Peyroux. 10 points behind with 18 minutes remaining left plenty of time for a comeback but as the clock ticked nearer to 80 the Fev players became more and more desperate forcing passes and offloads that weren’t on.

Tony Gigot kicked a drop-goal with eight minutes remaining to extend the lead to 11. The icing on the cake for Toulouse was a try for Remi Casty in the dying minutes to cap off a brilliant away win for the French side.

A first defeat of the season for Featherstone, they will look to bounce back next week against Batley Bulldogs. On the other hand, Toulouse unbeaten start to the season continues. Following the news that broke yesterday, we could still yet see both of these sides in Super League next season.