Toulouse Olympique have two months to save their season and their future in Super League.
Coach Sylvain Houles has admitted that a string of home fixtures in June and July are crucial to the survival of the French club in their debut campaign in the top-flight.
Crucial months
“The next two months are critical for us, we have six games at home in June and July with only the Magic Weekend and Wigan to travel to,” says Houles.
“We focused upon this period as soon as the fixtures were announced and it was so important that we made the right recruitments for this period of games.
“If we manage to keep our squad fit and free from injury, we can look at these fixtures with a sense of confidence.
“Touchwood, we are looking good and it’s important that we start to turn our stadium into a fortress.”
The two-month campaign couldn’t have started with a more difficult challenge, St Helens were first up on Saturday and, despite a battling display from the Olympians, the champions gained revenge for their 22-20 defeat at Stade Ernest Wallon last month with 28-14 win.
“We were expecting St Helens to respond and they did, they are the champions, but it hasn’t affected our confidence,” insists Houles.
“In fact, the way we played for long periods against them only adds to our belief that we are heading in the right direction.
“We are a stronger team now than last month; we have been building and improving with every game.
“It is very different now, our previous game (a 17-16 defeat at Huddersfield) was our best performance of the season, it was like a top-four contest going set for set against a really good team.
Star recruits
“There was a sense of frustration among the players when we lost; they thought we should have won and we took that message into the game against Saints.
“For long periods in the game on Saturday we were in control and when we were at 8-14 in the second half the game could have gone either way.
“But I don’t need to tell anyone how good Saints are; they have obviously learned some lessons about us from last month.”
Houles believes the addition of NRL stars Corey Norman and Daniel Alvaro has instilled a sense of confidence into his squad, which has finally recovered from the pre-season shock losses of club captain Johnathon Ford and star fullback Mark Kheirallah due to Covid vaccination issues.
“Tough times make you stronger and we have faced a lot of adversity but we are proud of the way that we handled it. There is no individual bigger than the team; as a club we have certain values and we will stand by them.
“Even though it really hurt us at the beginning, our preparation was badly disrupted and with such a small squad I had to put players into the wrong positions because there was no real depth in the playing group.
“But we dealt with it as best as we could and at the same time it was important that we didn’t rush with our recruitment.
“The market was more or less closed anyway, there were no players available and, if there were, they were the wrong ones for us.
“We waited and waited until the right one came along and with it was a perfect opportunity for us when we were able to sign Olly Ashall-Bott, who has been really good for us.
“Then we had to wait again until we could get Corey Norman and Daniel Alvaro on board and they have had a huge impact already.
New dimension
“Daniel has brought real go-forward in our pack and great leadership with the way he performs. He’s not one who speaks much in training or on the pitch but his actions speak louder than words.
“Fellow players respond more to what their team-mates do on the pitch than what they have to say and Daniel really does the hard stuff and does it well; he has an incredible work-rate and that lifts a team.
“As for Corey, before St Helens, he’d only had one match, but against Huddersfield he brought some calmness and composure to our game, which is what we needed.
“His defence was strong and his kicking game was outstanding and he will grow and grow in the coming weeks.
“When you consider he hasn’t heard a French word in his life, he has picked up a lot at our training sessions and we’re all very excited to see what he will do in the second half of the season.
“He is really full-on and positive for us; he’s got a great personality and it is clear that he wants to fight for us and with us.”
Houles said the sudden influx of new players (including former Huddersfield and NRL star Nathan Peats to replace the injured Lloyd White) has given a new dimension to his team.
He said, “For the first time we have got depth in the halves and while Olly is our fullback we have options available to switch people around at specific times.
“With Corey, Tony Gigot, Lucas Albert and Olly we have some good tactical decisions to make which we couldn’t do at the beginning of the season.
“It will happen one day that Tony and Corey will be partners at six and seven, or any other combination, and that’s what we want; it’s a good situation for us.”
Out for the season
Toulouse hooker Lloyd White is facing season-ending surgery on a back injury which could threaten his plans to play for Wales or Jamaica in this year’s World Cup.
The 33-year-old former Widnes number nine has been struggling with a spinal hernia for some time but the problem flared up during Toulouse’s recent home game against Wakefield and the decision was made to treat the condition.
“It’s a tough one for Lloyd but he’s a tough guy and he will be okay after treatment but unfortunately it rules him out for the rest of this season,” explains Houles.
“We have been monitoring it but it was clear that he needs an operation and we wish him the very best in his recovery.
“Some players continue their careers after such procedures and some decide not to; Lloyd is 33 now and it will be up to him what we wants to do when he has fully recovered.”
White had been named in the provisional training squad for Jamaica in the World Cup, despite previously playing for Wales at international level thanks to his joint-nationality, although he now faces a race against time to be fit for the tournament.
Toulouse have moved quickly to find a replacement hooker in former Huddersfield and NRL star Peats, who had just returned home to Australia after a season in the French Championship with Albi when the offer of a two-year deal with Toulouse came up.
“Nathan is a very experienced hooker and we are pleased he has agreed to join us,” says Houles.
“Because of Lloyd’s injury we needed another hooker and Nathan has been playing in France but he also has Super League and NRL experience, playing for New South Wales, so he will bring a lot to our squad.
Perfect fit
“He knows so many of our players already, having either played with them in Australia or the UK. He’s played with Corey, Daniel, Matty Russell, Joe Paulo, Mitch Garbutt and Olly and he was also at school with Dom Peyroux, so he doesn’t need much time to settle in; it’s like he was already part of the team.
“He knows France, I’ve seen a lot of him over here and he is a perfect fit for us.”
Just two wins so far from 14 rounds have got most pundits predicting a swift return to the Championship for the Olympians, but their coach says relegation is the last thing on his players’ minds.
“We know where we are, we know what we need and we’re not that far off.
“We’ve got a little more clarity and we can reflect on the adversity we had at the beginning of the season and learn from it.
“It has been difficult but finally we are there; we have everything we need on and off the pitch and we know clearly what we need to do now.
“The players and staff have a clear vision; our goal is to stay in Super League and we know how to do it.
“It has been showing in our recent performances, with the win against Wakefield and the late defeat against a very good Huddersfield side.
“We have been competitive in every game we have played this season but at some stages I only had 17 players to select from.
“All that has changed and the next two months will see a change in our results.”
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