Sat 2nd Oct : Bet Fred Championship play off SF : Toulouse Olympique v Batley Bulldogs KO 16:15 local (15:15 BST) Sky Sports Mix

[gingerjon]

Toulouse are *still* 1/250 to win with Ray Winstone's favourite online bookie

[DavidM]

Halftime and still game on

[Scubby]

Great half from Batley. Expect Toulouse to kick on in the second half but you never know.

[dkw]

Cat beat an after the hooter boot it as high as possible...

[tim2]

Just now, Scubby said:

Great half from Batley. Expect Toulouse to kick on in the second half but you never know.

They certainly don't look like a team that's beaten everything in front of them away from home. Maybe having the big crowd and the expectation is getting to them.

[clogdance]

Well played Batley so far !

[glemiln]

Batley really need to hang in.  Rochdale were well behind in the 2016 final on Toulouse’s patch but won well. And the RFL only had blue ribbons, assuming that Toulouse would win! 

[The Phantom Horseman]

The official Toulouse account is channeling its best Bradford passive aggressive impression

Toulouse Olympique XIII @TOXIII

38' 3 fautes dans la même action, aucune sifflée, l'arbitre est sans doute somnambule

("3 mistakes in the same piece of play, the referee is probably sleepwalking")

[Niels]

Just now, Scubby said:

Great half from Batley. Expect Toulouse to kick on in the second half but you never know.

Yes they have played phenomenal. Whatever happens now they have had an amazing season.

It's great to see everyone here watching it and enjoying the game.

[Futtocks]

2 minutes ago, tim2 said:

They certainly don't look like a team that's beaten everything in front of them away from home. Maybe having the big crowd and the expectation is getting to them.

Definitely not a typical Toulouse performance by 2021 standards.

[Harry Stottle]

Just now, Futtocks said:

Definitely not a typical Toulouse performance by 2021 standards.

Not a typical game for them either, the opposition has not decided to roll over.

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 minute ago, Futtocks said:

Definitely not a typical Toulouse performance by 2021 standards.

They put in a very similar performance at Oldham and might have had their hands full against a more potent team.

[Fevrover]

15 minutes ago, tim2 said:

Indeed. Also, you don'tget into SL with your stadium! I expect them to win today but they need to better than this to win next week.

It was stipulated you had to have a certain standard of ground so you did at one point , but like you say you don't now.

[Mark S]

Come on Toulouse, having Batley anywhere near the top flight would make the sport a laughing stock.

[tim2]

2 minutes ago, Fevrover said:

It was stipulated you had to have a certain standard of ground so you did at one point , but like you say you don't now.

the point being, it looks more professional on TV when you have a decent stadium and of course you attract more and better supporters and sponsors, which is what really matters to the club's stability.

[Niels]

1 minute ago, Mark S said:

Come on Toulouse, having Batley anywhere near the top flight would make the sport a laughing stock.

It's these sort of comments that embarrass the sport. 

 

[Fevrover]

2 minutes ago, tim2 said:

the point being, it looks more professional on TV when you have a decent stadium and of course you attract more and better supporters and sponsors, which is what really matters to the club's stability.

Spot on.

[Just Browny]

Very good start by Toulouse leads to a try. They seemed to want to score off every set in the first half, whereas sometimes you need to put together 2-3 good sets to create a genuine tryscoring chance. 

[Harry Stottle]

Woukd have liked that sent upstairs.

[The Phantom Horseman]

Poor young Elliott Hall is having a Nathan Graham nightmare.

[Harry Stottle]

Hall as contributed to both tries for Toulouse this half.

[Just Browny]

Cruel but incisive.

[Harry Stottle]

Just now, Harry Stottle said:

Hall as contributed to both tries for Toulouse this half.

From hero to zero in a week

Edited October 2, 2021 by Harry Stottle

[Davo5]

Batley fullback having a nightmare 2nd half.

[clogdance]

Oh dear...