TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE will be lean and mean in the opening rounds of the season as they return to the second tier with a new approach.
Coach Sylvain Houles (above) admits his squad could be strengthened after an exodus of players since their relegation from Super League.
This might mean a defensive mode for the first few games instead of the normal free-flowing attacking style.
Asked if he was happy and fully prepared for the big opener at Barrow on Saturday, February 4, Houles responded: “Yes and no.
“With the World Cup, we had a few players coming back late and the depth of our squad is not where I would like it to be.
“We are still trying to recruit another player, but in terms of togetherness, energy and enthusiasm, we are ready.
“Our new scrum-half Josh Ralph arrived last week, so it will take a little time for him to pick up our system and plan, but we have some smart players and coaching staff and we will get there.
“We might not be able to play the kind of rugby that we would want initially, but there are not many teams in the competition that will be ready straight away. It always takes time.
“We will be playing differently from what we have seen in the past from Toulouse; we’ve made a lot of changes.
“It took me a long time to reflect on last year and I’m happy we have had a thorough overhaul of everything.
“We will do everything we can to get back into Super League and this time stay there.
“We’ve got Josh partnering with Jake Shorrocks in the halves and Olly Ashall-Bott at fullback and that will be our spine.
“Josh is 25, which is a really good age where he has experience and ambition, and you can see from his first training sessions that he is smart and knows his role.”
This article comes from this week’s issue of League Express. You can take out a subscription by going to https://www.totalrl.com/league-express/
