Despite winning the Championship Grand Final, Toulouse Olympique had to rely on an off-field decision to determine if they would return to Super League. Now they are back, and determined to stick around this time.

IN MOST previous years, the journey to Super League has been a relatively simple one – win the Championship title, gain promotion and instantly start planning for life among the big boys. 

But this is rugby league, and we all know that means change, so even when Toulouse finally won a second Championship Play-Off Final at the third attempt, they were forced to play a waiting game before finding out if one of the coveted spots in an expanded Super League was theirs.

That ten-day wait ended with the announcement that an independent panel had chosen Toulouse to be one of two teams, along with York Knights, to be added to Super League for 2026. Bradford Bulls also make a return to the top flight after coming tenth in the IMG points table.

It also marked the end of a three-year hiatus from Super League for Toulouse following relegation at the end of 2022 – their lone season in the top flight coming after a Million Pound Game win over Featherstone in a 2021 season still feeling the effects of the Covid pandemic. That 34-12 win was just the 15th game they had played all season, in a year where the lopsided final tables were decided based on win percentages.

They have come close to a return each year since, losing the Play-Off Final in both 2023 and 2024 – firstly 18-14 to London after having gone the rest of the season unbeaten, and then 36-0 to Wakefield, who finished the season 13 points clear at the top of the league.

But a 10-8 victory over York finally sealed the prize they were after, and prop Joe Bretherton is confident that the side can add some French flair to the competition and shock a few teams next year.

“It was a great feeling when that final hooter went at York,” Wigan-born Bretherton told Rugby League World.

“We’ve had a bit of a turbulent season and we probably should have won more games than we did, but everyone was just buzzing to get the win.

“After the experience we had in the final last year, we needed to go out and rectify that, plus you don’t want to start that omen of being in three finals and having three defeats in row.

“We’ve put in a lot of hard work. There has been a lot of investment put in by the club over the last few years, and a lot of the lads had their own reasons for wanting to go out and win that final as well, so it was a special day to be part of.

“Credit to York as well, they also proved that they should be Super League, which they are. But that win solidified the thoughts that we are a Super League club, we are ready for it, and we can come though the tough matches and grind out wins, which is something you see among top teams in Super League.

“We learnt a lot of lessons from the last time we were in Super League. We probably went a bit stiff and lost our way a little bit, but everyone knows that free-flowing Toulouse system we play now and it’s embedded in the group so I’d like us to bring a bit of French flair and something that’s a bit off the cuff and a bit different. 

“But at the same time we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and if it takes five drives and a kick for 80 minutes to win a game. We understand that and we’ll do it.

“We know it’s going to be a bit of a jump from playing in the Championship, but we’re ready and raring to go. We have lads who have already played in Super League and keeping the squad together for the last three years has been massive for us as we’ve had a relatively stable group of players, whereas before we always had a bit of turnover. As much as it was good to constantly have some fresh faces coming in, it’s been great to build that group and culture and hopefully that will put us in good stead going forward.”

Victory against the Championship table-toppers in North Yorkshire also signified the latest step in a different sort of journey, with Bretherton quick to recognise the difference local businessman Olivier Dubois has made since he took over the club in January 2024.

Having joined the club in 2018 – initially on a month-long loan deal but staying put since – Bretherton has seen first hand just what a difference Dubois’ investment has made, which for him, made victory that little bit sweeter.

“When I first got to the club we had a gym that was in a tent and we were driving banged up old cars,” recalls the 30-year-old, who now calls the south of France home.

“But year-on-year the investment has grown, we’ve got better sponsorship, we all drive new cars and the houses and apartments the guys are living in are getting better and better. 

“We’ve got a brand new training centre now as well, and that can be a game changer for the club, as we can use it to attract more talent.

“There are still a lot of us at the club who remember that tent and it shows how far we’ve come as a group when you look at what we have now. It reminds you that if you keep working hard, good things come to you.

“Hopefully we can now climb the Super League ladder and show that we’re a club that should constantly be in there. When the IMG points come out next year we don’t want to have to worry if we’re in the 14 or not – we don’t want to need a independent panel or points to prove we should be in there – we just want to win games.

“As players, we understand the amount of investment that’s been put in, and that just allows us to do our job and play. The club are always trying to make it feel special for us and at the end of the York game we could see how happy Olivier was to see that his investment is starting to pay off.

“We definitely have something to offer to Super League and the good thing is we have room to grow so we aren’t going to be stagnant. So as long as the club keeps progressing off the field as well as on it, we will enjoy natural and organic growth, and hopefully stay in that league.”

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 514 (November 2025)