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TO Squad for 2022


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In one way it adds to the interest that Toulouse haven't really strengthened their squad much (on paper anyway) in the off-season. The two things that stood out to me last season was how "together" they were as a squad, and how well they seemed to be coached. Certainly defensively they were really solid and a big improvement on previous years.

There hasn't been much talk really about Houles because he's been in charge there for 10 years but is there a chance he has quetly progressed into a really top coach? Not that you can tell a huge amount just from interviews but he always impresses me when you hear him speak and he really had the team playing towards a common goal last season.

They probably look the weakest squad on paper and I think they will miss Casty as he was immense last year, but it wouldn't surprise me if they had a season similar to that of Danny Ward's 2019 London team, who managed to eke out 10 wins with a squad that probably looked of similar quality on paper.

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45 minutes ago, Jughead said:

I appreciate they come up quite late in the calendar year and the issues with covid and travel but that’s a weak squad and my favourite for relegation. 

You’d expect the promoted team to be favourites to go down and I too expected them to sign more new players, but hats off to them for backing the players who’ve been with them a number of years in the Championship. They are rightly favourites for the drop but will give it a good fight and I’m sure Wakefield and Salford are worried. 

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As much as i want to see Toulouse do well in SL I have to agree with others, and think they will struggle with that squad.

A lot of those players are really going to have to step up another level.

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I read the interview with Houles a few weeks back and he was confident they could do the job, he talked about the team growing as a squad and the couple of acquisitions they`ve made as being enough to be competitive this year, he certainly sounded convincing. Yet a lot of people on here question his optimism and It sounds like with fair reason.

I also read the thread that ran on here around the same time that questioned why they hadn`t signed anyone of note and all sorts of reasons were proffered, a lot revolving around the lateness of their inclusion into Super League as to why they didn`t make any significant signings.

To be honest I thought a lot of it was just making excuses, the thing that came out of it for me is that Toulouse obviously don`t have the money that I and others assumed they had especially when I had looked at their list of sponsors. They could have easily been talking to three or four above average quality players all year on the proviso they were going up, it`s certainly not like there isn`t a swag of unsigned players down here, even now.

There`s no questions it was quite the list of sponsors but perhaps they aren`t putting the money in that we assumed that companies of that size would. But it does seem odd to me why would they take any chances at all of being relegated if they could afford not too.

 

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They didn't really replace Casty with a new experienced pack leader as I'd expected so they will definitely need the likes of Garbutt/Navarette/Sangare/Springer to collectively have good seasons. Peyroux is still a quality player but I'm not too sure Dixon/Bretherton will frighten too many SL sides on the other edge. Will be interesting to see how Marion makes the jump to SL, between him and White they'll have plenty of ball playing options at lock to add variety.

Kheirallah and Ford are untested at SL level and the wrong side of 30 now but have demonstrated their ability in the championship for years, overall the spine has some depth and isn't where they're likely to struggle. Outside backs are again quite inexperienced at SL level, I wouldn't be surprised if Jussaume and Schaumkel thrive though. Big fan of Matty Russell as well despite him being a bottom SL/top of Championship player in recent seasons.

Definitely favourites for the drop, Salford/Wakefield looking likely to be the only other contenders. Salford have outside backs that could be as good as most in SL on their day with decent enough halves too, forward pack leaves a fair bit to be desired I'd say. Wakey look decent in their first 17 but there's not a lot left to cover those guys in the rest of the squad, potentially a concern when a few of those first 17 have had well documented problems with injury in the past.

As Phantom suggested above Houles will be deserving of plenty of plaudits come end of season if he manages to keep TO up.

 

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1 hour ago, ShropshireBull said:

Plus why spend all that money to get there and not give it a proper go.  

Just hope they are more competitive than Leigh who were left out to dry.  Some clubs might find playing in Toulouse a tougher ask than Leigh.  

Who would go to play in France on a one year deal? Hence they had to offer multi year deals to the lads that got them up, a similar situation to Leigh in 2016 but that was on the back of beating SL sides in the 8’s. Can they win more games than Salford will be the ask

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10 hours ago, ShropshireBull said:

Plus why spend all that money to get there and not give it a proper go.  

Just hope they are more competitive than Leigh who were left out to dry.  Some clubs might find playing in Toulouse a tougher ask than Leigh.  

Toulouse will be giving it a proper go, what a disrespectful comment. They are just putting faith in the squad they had in the Championship, similar to London did in 2019, London were completely written off that year but almost stayed up and were only relegated on points difference. Leigh signed 19 new players for the 2021 season, it didn’t work out too well for them. 

I’m not saying Toulouse will stay up, they are rightly favourites for relegation, but they have a chance and will certainly be giving it a go. They will definitely win more than the 2 games Leigh won last year and I expect win a similar number to the 7 games Salford won last year.

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Toulouse were brilliant against the Bulls last season. Metaphorically, kicked sand in our faces.

 

They might struggle up front in Superleague but their creativity in attack will be a breath of fresh air.

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11 hours ago, sweaty craiq said:

Can they win more games than Salford will be the ask

It's like the two blokes running away from the bear.

Do I need to run faster than the bear?

No. I just need to run faster than the other bloke.

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life. (Terry Pratchett)

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I like Toulouse, i hope they do well and shake SL up, i said the same about Toronto and we know how that ended. I still stand by my comments that they aren't the saviour of SL like a few on here made them out to be last year when Leigh got the nod over them.

I enjoyed the ride with Leigh in 21,  but it was nowhere near as much fun as when we earned it in 2017 and we knew we just didn't have the squad to compete but it was fun being the plucky underdog for a year.

The biggest thing was competing for 40 minutes and then folding, there were plenty times we were in a game at HT and then got blown away second half. This is the problem i foresee Toulouse having, in the Championship they have been out of sight after 40 minutes and in the SL you just don't get that. Injures & suspensions seem to be much more prevalent in SL too.

I just cant see any other team losing as much as Toulouse will. 

SL teams will have a field day running at Gigot & Ford who had the worst defence i had ever seen in the Championship for a pro player.

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Toulouse under Sylvain Houles play a style of expansive rugby which at times can blow teams away. We (Hull KR) went there in 2018 in the middle 8's and were in front 0-19 after 25 minutes. Everything looked pretty easy.

Toulouse then switched into their expansive style, absolutely everything they did came off and I'll be honest we just couldn't cope with them. Toulouse finished 34-23 winners and played a brand of rugby which was quite sensational.

So I don't think you'll find many Rovers fans writing them off. 

Injuries are the key. Mitch Garbutt is a tremendous player but last year with Toulouse only playing once every 2 or 3 weeks was ideal for him. His previous few seasons in Super League he missed more games than he played and I'd be very surprised if his knees hold up for too long.

I expect Toulouse to go quite well at home, it certainly looks a tough task for Rovers to go there on Easter Monday after the Good Friday derby. Any team turning up there less than 100% may well find themselves being run ragged.

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I am really looking forward to seeing what Kheirallah and Ford can do with ball in hand in SL. Like others, a bit disappointed with recruitment but hoping to cheer on TOXIII at least a couple of times in 2022.

Also hoping that Sangare continues his development towards becoming the best middle in the Northern hemisphere. 

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