TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE 50 HUNSLET 6
PETER BIRD, Stade Ernest Wallon, Saturday
TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE looked imperious as they swept aside an enthusiastic Hunslet side struggling to come to terms with the Championship.
“It’s a big step-up from last season but we challenged well and were beaten by a good side on the day,” explained head coach Dean Muir.
Toulouse started brightly and opened their account in the fifth minute with the first of four Benjamin Laguerre tries.
Following a goal-line drop-out, sharp cross-field passing involving hard-working prop Rob Butler and skipper Anthony Marion ended with a dive into the right corner from winger Laguerre.
Jake Shorrocks made it six from the touchline, although the scores were levelled seven minutes later when a hopeful grubber to the left corner on the last from Billy Jowitt was allowed to run out by French centre Paul Marcon only to be pounced upon by Jimmy Watson, who nipped in to score as the hapless Marcon looked on.
Jowitt kicked well from the touchline to even up the scoreline but that’s about as good as it got for the visitors as the hosts dominated possession and rarely looked in trouble. Hunslet stuck to their task but couldn’t match the French quality.
The end of the first quarter saw a blistering 75-metre run from Toulouse fullback Olly Ashall-Bott bamboozle the South Leeds team as they watched him score under the posts with the easy kick to follow from Shorrocks, his second of five in total.
Four minutes later, hooker Calum Gahan found Butler five metres out who added a four-pointer unopposed, then captain Anthony Marion and Shorrocks combined well to feed Laguerre only seconds from the break and give the hosts a healthy interval lead of 22-6.
Although the same French domination followed after half-time, Hunslet thought they had done enough to open the second-half scoring eight minutes in only to be adjudged held-up by Mathieu Jussaume and Marcon close to the line.
Hunslet got stuck in and worked hard to keep Toulouse at bay but caved into the French pressure on 56 minutes as the promising young centre Romeo Tropis found left winger Paul Ulberg in space ten metres out to score with ease.
Five minutes later, a kick through on the last from Shorrocks to the right corner bobbled around with Marcon able to palm the bouncing ball into the path of centre Jussaume to cross as the bemused Hunslet defence looked on.
Hunslet created chances but their hopes were dashed by indifferent handling which further fuelled Toulouse attacks. With the game won, Olympique upped the pace as the visitors tired.
Ulberg touched down for his second in the left corner on 63 minutes, while lively winger Laguerre scored another two tries under the posts.
A Kevin Larroyer yellow card and a final try by Marcon compounded the Parksiders’ misery as the 50-point mark was reached in the final minute.
Happy Toulouse coach Sylvain Houles said: “It was a solid performance to follow up the excellent Bradford result. The rhythm of the play looks promising.”
GAMESTAR: Benjamin Laguerre scored an excellent four-try haul, taking his season tally to eight in four games.
GAMEBREAKER: The Paul Ulberg try just before the hour mark to seal the points.
MATCHFACTS
OLYMPIQUE
1 Olly Ashall-Bott
2 Paul Ulberg
28 Romeo Tropis
5 Paul Marcon
19 Benjamin Laguerre
13 Anthony Marion
7 Jake Shorrocks
10 James Roumanos
9 Calum Gahan
17 Rob Butler
4 Mathieu Jussaume
11 Maxime Stefani
15 Joe Cator
Subs (all used)
14 Baptiste Rodriguez
8 Lambert Belmas
25 Thomas Lacans
21 Ellis Gillam
Tries: Laguerre (5, 38, 70, 75), Ashall-Bott (20), Butler (24), Ulberg (56, 68), Jussaume (61), Marcon (80)
Goals: Shorrocks 5/10
HUNSLET
16 Greg Eden
21 Coby Nichol
30 Noah Booth
3 Alfie Goddard
1 Jimmy Watson
6 Lachlan Hanneghan
4 Billy Jowitt
31 Kevin Larroyer
34 Mason Corbett
17 Keelan Foster
11 Ethan Wood
19 Liam Welham
32 Matty Fletcher
Subs (all used)
8 Harvey Hallas
13 Jordan Syme
22 Harry Gilmore
26 Ethan O’Hanlon
Tries: Watson (12)
Goals: Jowitt 1/1
Sin bin: Larroyer (72) – dangerous play
Rugby League and League Express Men of the Match
Olympique: Benjamin Laguerre; Hunslet: Jordan Syme
SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-6, 12-6, 18-6, 22-6; 26-6, 30-6, 34-6, 40-6, 46-6, 50-6
Penalty count: 6-4
Half-time: 22-6
Referee: Matt Lynn
Attendance: 5,390
