kiggy

Tough first half to be honest, York were on top for the last 15mins of the 1st half. There will be some sore bodies this morning in the TO camp Good to see a nice group of York supporters had made the trip. I watched the Saints Penrith game in the morning and I couldn't help thinking how on earth Toulouse managed to beat Saint's last season. The gap between the two sides seems enormous.

Agree with all of that. The depth in the pack is work in progress. They have eyes on a few players, but it has been a waiting game to see which SL players would be sidelined after pre-season matches and those that would agree a season long loan to come to France. Greg Richards was the first he won't be the last. A couple of NRL guys they were talking to decided to stay in Oz. Myself...I would prefer the team to grow the younger elite players this season. They haven't had the money available to make a statement with the team but the feeling within the squad is good, they seem very happy at the moment. By letting go those players who were not pulling their weight, or who thought themselves more important than the team/club has been a breath of fresh air. I'm quite surprised that Pélissier has buckled down to the task in hand mind you as he can be difficult. Keeping this small squad fit will be a challenge. They seem focused at the moment Let's see who gets to play on Saturday, Skoundri i hope, some exciting times ahead!

I'm hoping he and Shorrocks gel. Long way to go though.

Isn't this just a switch from BEiN sports? Are they waiting to see how these 6 matches go before making a.decision on the 2nd half of the season?

I am hoping that Skoundri will get a run out soon. Brochon did OK against Newcastle but with OAB back i'm not sure he will get another chance for a while. Ben Laguerre is due for surgery on his shoulder as (apparently) they don't let these things go anymore, so he will be out for 3 months. It is looking good for the French game though, it was just a shame the two French lads went off to play in the UK (Cozza I think and Lacans).

TO finally converted a try! Brochon did OK, scored a try and then was promoted to goal kicker and didn't miss one. An odd game though after the speed of the first game against Barrow it all seemed a bit flat tonight, they didn't seem to get out of 2nd gear for most of the match. A small crowd didn't help, holidays/freezing cold/French match on TV might have been a cause but I hope the numbers pick up as it was poor tonight. Sita's entrance was fun. Although he wasn't on the pitch for very long. York are next, one of the only championship teams to have already played at the Stade.

TO Elite are a bit depleted as they had to shuffle a few up to the top team for today's match. I'm only in Toulouse for today as it would have been good to see the game tomorrow with Mitch Garbutt leading Saint-Gaudens

Indeed. Exciting times for the young lads. I hear that Robin will start at full back tomorrow.

Hopefully Waïl or Robin will get a run out. I'm looking forward to seeing the new players 1st hand on Saturday (no3 son's American girlfriend is coming along with us....special treat for her to see what a proper game looks like!). Guy is back and will play on the wing as Latrell isn't ready, and yes, Ben will be out for a while. I heard it was necessary for surgery so that probably means 3 months out. Olly will be back for the York match.

5 Elite players named in the 21, which is good news

I think that is similar for TO, 2nd half of the season is loaded more in favour of home matches.

Batley also add the 1st conversion of the new season...well done!

Shame for the young lad, I thought he showed a lot of promise. 2 scores is a good start. He will have a scan next week. OAB will be out for the obligatory 12 days. Maybe Latrell will be ready soon. TO don't need to lose more from the squad this early. I'm not sure what the rules are about using elite players, but if they are forced to, and allowed to, bring in 3 to 4 young French lads into the Pro setup then that can only be a good thing for the French game. Promising game for me though, it seems like a completely new team, finally banishing the shadow of Johno and Killer that was hanging over them last season. I thought it would take more time to gel, the 2 halves look good. If they can stay fit enough to keep bringing the speed of the SL game into the championship then they shouldn't have too many problems. Still, it's not the 1st game of the season that matters too much, it's the last one that counts.

It's difficult knowing how much to say without giving too much away. Teams set up with an eye on who they will be playing on the day (it's those little 1% margins that sometimes make the difference!). So, I have to be careful what information I can give as I'm never sure how much is out in the public domain already.

Calum will be out for a few months, Latrell still has knee problems they are managing but should be back soon. They should have a full 18 for Barrow, and a few others back soon (Sika who came back not very fit, and Guy who missed a lot of training due to a back injury).

Don't read too much into this list, I know of at least 2 who won't be playing, although they should be ready for Newcastle next week.

I don't know which position they have been using Laguerre in training. I can only think that Brochon can adapt, he does have a little (very little) big game time but they see that he has the ability to step up. Plus, he and PJ have been playing regularly so fitter than the rest of the squad at the moment.

Add Brochon, Lima and Laguerre to that list. Gahan won't be available. Akauola may not be match fit yet, he arrived back in poor condition.

Ben Laguerre has finally made it official and joined TO full time. Brochon and Lima will be next. I think officially they have to wait until the end of the Elite season to sign but they are going to Barrow for the opening match so I don't know if that is an indication that they will also sign to become Professional.

I had forgotten about James, another one who had to leave TO because of family pressures. Nice guy though.

Sorry... I answered Archie and just realised you had already done a better job of it.

Bernard did announce, maybe internal only to the club, that he was handing over some time ago. There is someone in line to take over but I think they are waiting for the debt to be cleared before announcing new names, i did ask who they were but I got a dunno in response. You also have to remember that clubs are run as companies in France and there are stricter rules about running a company at a loss.so I think there is some legal stuff to clear it all going on. They are changing some sponsors, I know Lacharrette, who supply the cars, are being changed but I don't know how much a "proper" sponsor they are.

Offloading Gigot was a must, he caused a lot of problems. Showing Pélissier the door would be a big Brucie bonus. Hansen is the captain this year and probably should have retired 2 seasons ago, but he still gives 110%, and could be invaluable when the youngsters join at the end of the elite season.

I agree for the most. They knew from the start it was going to be a bottom table struggle, 3 more wins and it would have made things very interesting. I also know how much of a problem it was, behind the scenes, trying to attract quality players when Catalans are the proven team in the area. It's not just the players mind you, 2 players have left this year because of family/partner pressure.

I believe, and so do others at the club, that with Ford on the pitch they wouldn't have lost those games when they were winning or close, and lost it in some stupid 20 minute second half period. I've been asked to do some data analyses to see if we can use what we learnt from the SL experience for better game management. Although with a new group of players it's going to take a while to see how we can best use them. There were some SL games where they were just not in it, but some others, the fine margins made a difference.