TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE 30 BARROW RAIDERS 12
PETER BIRD, Stade Ernest Wallon, Saturday
TOULOUSE fought back to eventually overcome a brave Barrow side who led for the majority of an enthralling game.
Winger Andrew Bulman scored a double in the first half-hour but the Raiders faded in the final quarter.
Their coach Paul Crarey said: “We looked good for much of the game but couldn’t maintain the momentum.”
The Raiders got out of the starting blocks quicker and piled on pressure early doors as the hosts were unable to get any meaningful possession.
Bulman dived in the right corner in the third minute from a well-weighted pass out wide from Luke Broadbent and Brad Walker kicked well from the right touchline.
Four minutes later Walker elected to kick a penalty from 30 metres out, but his attempt just faded to the left.
Toulouse should have opened their account in the tenth minute as a sharp pass from Anthony Marion was spilled a few metres out by centre Paul Marcon.
And they were relieved when a Walker high ball on 16 minutes was touched down by Josh Wood, as the hooker was judged to be in an offside position.
The French enjoyed good possession forcing four goal-line drop-outs, each of which were well defended by a dogged Raiders defence.
The visitors doubled their tally just before the half-hour with an exact replica of the first try, Broadbent and Bulman combining well in the right corner and Walker again finding an excellent touchline four-pointer.
But it was becoming a more even contest and the hosts reduced the deficit to six points, eight minutes before the break, with young academy centre Romeo Tropis making a 30-metre carry and then finding Olly Ashall-Bott in space close to the line with pace, with Jake Shorrocks converting for 6-12.
Barrow again looked the more lively early in the second half, but Toulouse competed well.
They let slip a golden chance on 53 minutes as Ashall-Bott decided to go for glory with the try-line beckoning and was tackled with Paul Ulberg free to his outside.
Benjamin Laguerre however made amends two minutes later, diving in the right corner. Shorrocks just pulled the kick – his only miss – to keep Barrow ahead by two.
Toulouse got more into the game as the minutes ticked away and the Raiders seemed to show understandable signs of fatigue.
Their lead was finally overturned on 66 minutes as a 30-metres break from Ulberg was finished off left of the posts by Reubenn Rennie, who seemed surprised to find himself in so much space.
A couple of minutes later, both Barrow centre Curtis Teare and Toulouse loose-forward Joe Cator received yellow cards for fighting.
Toulouse looked the stronger and the game was secured with the impressive Tropis crashing over in the left corner with eight minutes remaining. Shorrocks slotted home well from the touchline.
There was still time for Olympique to cement the victory two minutes from the end with Paolo Dall’asta picking up a rebound on a goal post to score his first senior try.
Shorrocks added the extras and then finished the scoring with a penalty in front of the posts as the hooter sounded.
Toulouse coach Sylvain Houles was satisfied with the outcome, saying: “They frustrated us and played well but our patience paid dividends.”
GAMESTAR: Winger Paul Ulberg showed great pace, strength and desire which inspired the Toulouse team.
GAMEBREAKER: The Romeo Tropis try in the left corner with eight minutes left secured the points.
MATCHFACTS
OLYMPIQUE
1 Olly Ashall-Bott
2 Paul Ulberg
25 Romeo Tropis
5 Paul Marcon
19 Benjamin Laguerre
25 Thomas Lacans
7 Jake Shorrocks
8 Lambert Belmas
13 Anthony Marion
17 Rob Butler
16 Joe Bretherton
3 Reubenn Rennie
15 Joe Cator
Subs (all used)
14 Baptiste Rodriguez
10 James Roumanos
21 Ellis Gilham
18 Paolo Dall’asta
Tries: Ashall-Bott (32), Laguerre (55), Rennie (66), Tropis (72), Dall’asta (78)
Goals: Shorrocks 5/6
Sin bin: Cator (67) – fighting
RAIDERS
1 Luke Cresswell
30 Tee Ritson
18 Curtis Teare
4 Luke Broadbent
2 Andy Bulman
6 Brad Walker
7 Ryan Johnston
10 Ramon Silva
9 Josh Wood
31 Kavan Rothwell
11 Ellis Robson
24 Jarrad Stack
3 Matt Costello
Subs (all used)
22 Alex Bishop
12 James Greenwood
15 Tom Wilkinson
16 Charlie Emslie
Tries: Bulman (3, 28)
Goals: B Walker 2/3
Sin bin: Teare (67) – fighting
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-12, 6-12; 10-12, 16-12, 22-12, 28-12, 30-12
Rugby League and League Express Men of the Match
Olympique: Paul Ulberg; Raiders: Jarrad Stack
Penalty count: 8-3
Half-time: 6-12
Referee: James Vella
Attendance: 3,555
