Toulouse Olympique cruised to victory against Halifax in France today, winning 28-6 to get their Qualifiers campaign off the mark, while leaving Halifax without a victory in their opening two matches of the campaign.
Olympique always looked comfortable, cruising to a 16-0 half-time lead through two tries by Italian international Chris Centrone and one from Paul Marcon.
In the second half they added further tries from Stan Robin and Anthony Marion before Halifax replied late in the game when Dan Fleming intercepted a Mark Kheirallah pass to score.
Toulouse demonstrated that they won’t be easy to beat in France, while Halifax now face an uphill struggle to make a significant impact in the Qualifiers.
Toulouse: Mark Kheirallah, Chris Centrone, Bastien Ader, Arthur Romano, Paul Marcon, Johnathon Ford, Stanislas Robin, Maxime Puech, Anthony Marion, Joe Bretherton, Sebastien Planas, Bastien Canet, Sam Rapira; Subs: William Barthau, Clement Boyer, Tyla Hepi, Paul Seguier.
Tries: Centrone 2, Marcon, Robin, Marion Goals: Kheirallah
Halifax: : Kieren Moss, James Saltonstall, Steve Tyrer, James Woodburn-Hall, Will Sharp, Scott Murrell, Ben Johnston, Jordan Baldwinson, Ben Kaye, Dan Fleming, Ben Heaton, Shane Grady, Simon Grix; Subs: Liam Cooper, Brandon Douglas, Jacob Fairbank, Bandon Moore.
Tries: Fleming Goals: Grady
A full report from this match with photos will feature in Monday’s edition of League Express, in all good newsagents and available online from 9.30pm on Sunday evening.