Barrow Raiders defeated Doncaster 46-6 last weekend to book their place in the Play-Off final – but coach Paul Crarey has called on them to be at their absolute best if they are to reach the Championship this afternoon.
Crarey said, “The score line surprised me, I thought it would be a much closer game. We were 18-6 up at half time with a big wind and momentum behind us going in to the second half.
“We dominated in possession and territory, we wore them down and scored some good tries. It was very pleasing to get the win and get to this weekend’s final.”
Last time the two sides met Barrow fell to a 44-22 defeat and Crarey would like a much stronger performance this weekend he said: “Toulouse haven’t seen the best of us yet. When we’ve played them before we’ve probably been about 50%, we didn’t complete sets and our kicking game wasn’t up to scratch.
“To beat a side like Toulouse you have to be at your best. We’ve got to go there with a belief that we can go there and get the win. We’re massive underdogs so there’s no pressure on us, all the pressure is on them.
“It would be a fantastic achievement for us to gain promotion this weekend. It would be a fitting to win this weekend after the run we’ve been on. Whether we do or don’t, the club has made massive strides this year.”
Toulouse Olympique bounced back from their surprise defeat to Rochdale Hornets to secure a 62-10 win over York City Knights. Coach Sylvain Houles said: “We have to give credit to the York players, James Ford and his staff for coming over to play. They were outstanding, never stopped and played a tough game.
“We have to bring the same intensity from the game against York in to this week’s game. The performance we put in last week gives us a lot more confidence going in to the game against Barrow Raiders, especially after the disappointment of losing to Rochdale.
“It’s a huge game for both teams and they’re going to come here and give a good show.
“Barrow are a well organised team both defensively and offensively with big forwards and we’ve played two tough games against them this season.
“We’re really going to have to be switched on and concentrate for eighty minutes.”
