TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE chief executive Cedric Garcia has said that the club’s 2026 season was very positive.
The French club surprised and impressed this season, finishing eighth on the Super League ladder with ten wins.
That accolade was even more impressive when considering that Toulouse, along with York Knights, received just half of the central funding of the rest of their Super League rivals.
The likes of Olly Ashall-Bott, Mathieu Jussaume and Benjamin Laguerre made their mark as Olympique proved their worth.
And it’s fair to say that Garcia looks back fondly on the season just gone.
“On the whole, 2026 was very positive,” Garcia told League Express.
“Being back in Super League, we enjoyed every minute; we worked hard, we learned and, in the end, it is great to finish eighth.
“That’s especially true considering that between the travel costs and the reduced TV money, we had £1 million less than the other clubs.
“We have a young squad (an average of less than 26 years old) and most players had no or very little previous Super League experience, so we are very proud of how they made the step up.”
Much has been made of the future of Toulouse within the top flight, however, as the IMG gradings continue to be a point of debate.
Toulouse finished 13th in the IMG rankings last year, but London Broncos have been heavily linked with a return to Super League and Toulouse head coach Sylvain Houles threatened to quit if the French side were relegated.
As Garcia looks forward, he also addressed Houles’ comments.
“For 2027, we want to improve, it’s as simple as that. As I said, our squad is young and we believe our players will become better, game after game.
“Sylvain saying he would quit is a way of telling everyone that we did everything to stay in Super League and that he wouldn’t understand if we were to be relegated.”
