YORK KNIGHTS 8 TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE 10
JACOB KILBRIDE, LNER Community Stadium, Sunday
FIVE penalty goals from the boot of Jake Shorrocks inspired Toulouse to a shock Championship Grand Final triumph at York and provide a potentially decisive boost to their promotion aspirations.
Rewind to a week ago and Toulouse found themselves 16-0 against Bradford in the play-off semi-finals.
The Blue and Whites showed incredible grit and fortitude to prevail 24-20 on that occasion and again displayed such characteristics in abundance here.
Having fallen short in the last two Championship Grand Finals since their relegation three years ago, Toulouse have done all they can in the race for Super League, which expands to 14 teams from 2026.
After an astonishing 20-match unbeaten streak and having already claimed the League Leaders’ Shield and 1895 Cup, York failed to find the composure or quality at the final hurdle, though should not overshadow the incredible job done by Mark Applegarth since his arrival as coach last year.
For both sides, the wait now begins on whether the club grading and the independent panel will deem them worthy of a place in Super League. In isolation, if this hard-fought contest is anything to go by, both clubs would certainly add value to the competition.
Toulouse enjoyed the lion’s share of the early territory and were given a leg-up when a late shot from Jesse Dee on Jake Shorrocks allowed the Olympique halfback to knock over a 35-metre penalty goal.
Wily veteran Paul McShane showed just why he has been shortlisted for the Championship Player of the Year with a clutch play to charge down a Shorrocks kick inside his own 20.
From there, the Knights shifted the ball to the right edge and Toa Mata’afa touched down Liam Harris’ pass.
Harris was wide from the attempted conversion and, to make matters worse, Mata’afa and Brenden Santi conspired to allow the restart to bounce back into Toulouse hands.
That gifted the field position for Shorrocks to the level the scores from the tee when Lambert Belmas was held down at the ruck.
The Knights looked the most likely to find a second try but their lack of discipline continued to be their undoing. Santi hit Joe Cator with a high shot, allowing Shorrocks to nudge the French outfit back in front for a 6-4 half-time lead.
Attacking brilliance had been at a premium but arrived when McShane exchanged passes with Connor Bailey from dummy-half before looping a wide pass over the top for Kieran Buchanan to spin over.
Decisively, Harris’ touchline conversion dragged wide.
York failed to kick on, instead inviting pressure through cheap errors. Galeano knocked-on his kick return and when the ball was stolen from Cator in front of the sticks, Shorrocks slotted over another penalty goal.
Toulouse broke clear in midfield when Cator’s offload to Hands put Olly Ashall-Bott in the clear. The fullback kicked to the right corner before copping a reckless late challenge from Mata’afa.
Shorrocks remained perfect with the boot to send his side into a 10-8 lead with less than a quarter of an hour to go.
Now chasing the scoreboard, the composure and execution from York’s game eluded them. Kicks went out on the full, errors were made on play one and, at the death, a last-ditch right-side shift saw Buchanan’s pass find the sideline.
The final-hooter sparking a stunned silence from the home crowd and jubilant scenes from the away dugout.
GAMESTAR: Nimble and fleet-footed fullback Olly Ashall-Bott was a constant thorn in York’s side in backfield, making valuable metres and breaking clear late on to win the decisive final penalty.
GAMEBREAKER: Jake Shorrocks held his nerve with a steely conversion 10 metres in from the touchline to put Toulouse back ahead with a quarter of an hour left to seal the Grand Final victory.
MATCHFACTS
KNIGHTS
36 Toa Mata’afa
34 Ben Jones-Bishop
3 Kieran Buchanan
20 Oli Field
35 Scott Galeano
6 Ata Hingano
7 Liam Harris
8 Jack Martin
9 Paul McShane
25 Bailey Antrobus
11 Jesse Dee
12 Connor Bailey
13 Jordan Thompson
Subs (all used)
10 Brenden Santi
20 Sam Cook
31 Kieran Hudson
33 Mitch Clark
Tries: Mata’afa (12), Buchanan (51)
Goals: Harris 0/2
OLYMPIQUE
1 Olly Ashall-Bott
5 Paul Marcon
26 Romeo Tropis
3 Reubenn Rennie
2 Paul Ulberg
25 Thomas Lacans
7 Jake Shorrocks
8 Lambert Belmas
35 Brendan Hands
17 Rob Butler
4 Mathieu Jussaume
11 Maxime Stefani
13 Anthony Marion
Subs (all used)
10 James Roumanos
15 Joe Cator
16 Joe Bretherton
28 AJ Wallace
Goals: Shorrocks 5/5
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-2, 4-2, 4-4, 4-6; 8-6, 8-8, 8-10
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Knights: Paul McShane; Olympique: Olly Ashall-Bott
Penalty count: 6-8
Half-time: 4-6
Referee: Tom Grant