Can Toulouse bounce back into Super League and stay there for the long term? That is the aim of head coach Sylvain Houles and director of sport Cedric Garcia.
TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE is a proud historic founder club of French rugby league and the dynamic duo behind its meteoric rise over the past two decades believe it is on the verge of its greatest-ever achievement.
Coach Sylvain Houles (below) and director of sport Cedric Garcia have been the double driving force behind the Olympians for 17 years and they believe they are at a fundamental moment in history for the club which was formed in 1937 and became champions of France on six occasions.
Having overseen entry into the English League One in 2016 and gained promotion through the championship to reach Super League in 2022 (and also endured the pain of relegation) Houles and Garcia feel they are ideally placed to guide the club into 2025 and a potentially permanent seat at Rugby League’s top table.
Toulouse earned a provisional guidance IMG grading score of 12.97 as one of the better Category B teams (ahead of Leigh, Castleford and Wakefield) and are in a suggested tenth position for possible inclusion in next year’s competition.
But as is common in rugby league, nothing is set in stone and the coach and director are focused intently on the task ahead, both doing their bit to improve the club’s grading, fully aware that other clubs are busy doing the same.
Houles is relieved that he has turned around his “worst-ever” start to a season which saw four defeats in the opening six games turn into seven straight wins and a draw (at the time of writing) and the Olympians are now breathing down the neck of Sheffield Eagles and Wakefield Trinity in the league table.
“Frustrating was the word,” he said. “In my 11 seasons as coach we had never started a season in that way and obviously wasn’t what we planned but I know why it happened and I knew how to fix it.
“In professional sport you won’t get a smooth ride all of the time and I like fixing things, I like having a plan in place and seeing the results.”
Houles isn’t looking for excuses for his side’s slow start, but there are some explanations. He added, “The long closed-season we had isn’t any excuse because we came back to playing in such great physical condition.
“Maybe as coaches we wanted to go too fast in those opening games. We kept 80 per cent of last year’s squad so we assumed that everything would click into gear immediately but it didn’t quite happen.
“Credit to the opposition though, they did their homework on us.
“Most had played six more games than us (due to their involvement in the 1895 and Challenge Cup competitions), we came in fast and fresh and they tried to slow us down. You can’t blame them, it’s a tactic that worked but we are now showing what we are really capable of.”
250 points scored and just 81 conceded in the seven games running up to a home 12-12 draw with Bradford Bulls has been the response from his players but Houles isn’t ready to hand out any awards just yet. He is fully aware of the challenge ahead which is not just on the pitch.
“We can only do so much as players and coaching staff,” he said.
“As we all know, selection for Super League next year will be based on other aspects of the club too, we will do our best and I know the club is working hard on improving every other area of our grading.
In charge of that challenge is director of sport Cedric Garcia.
Garcia has been alongside Houles all of the way, he believes Toulouse would be a huge asset to Super League and that Houles would bring a bright new approach to the competition.
He said: “If we’re allowed back into the top flight we will bring something different to the competition. We are seeing now that for the first time in a long time our squad is representing the image and imagination of our coach.
“Sylvain’s game plan is just to play footy, we all know what happened to us in Super League in 2022, we had to change everything after key players left on the eve of the season but now Sylvain has assembled a squad which is capable of playing his game plan.
“It’s a little different to what we usually see in the English game, there is a saying at Stade Toulousain (French rugby union giants who ground-share with TO) ‘Jeu de main, jeu de Toulousain’ which means ‘play the game with your hands’.
“This is what Sylvain likes, just play what’s in front of you, if you think you can create something from deep in your own half, just do it, trust yourself.
“Of course you need to be smart, you can’t just throw the ball around for the sake of it, but Sylvain wants to see the game that we originally brought into the championship in 2017, that is his vision.”
Garcia understands the unique calculations which will be made to assemble next year’s top tier but believes Houles plays the key role.
He added: “Events on the pitch are the most important factor and in that respect I don’t think this year is much different to any normal season, even though promotion will be decided on gradings. The sports side represents 25 percent of your points and your image is part of the package so if you’re a serious contender to make it into Super League you have to be the top championship club on the field.
“The only change, and it is a major improvement, is that whoever makes the grade can now plan longer term and there will be less pressure on immediate results for survival.”
Garcia said the club was working hard on boosting home attendances (another aspect of attaining grading points) adding: “We’ve only had a few home games so far, it’s difficult to build on that but the big games are coming now so I’m not too disappointed with 2,000 and 3,000-plus attendances so far, it isn’t too bad in the championship at this stage.”
Another aspect of IMG grading is junior and community work and Garcia believes Toulouse score highly there too.
He added: “The first team is the tip of the iceberg, this is a big club with junior sections who have all just finished their seasons in the French championship.
“We had our annual junior tournament last month with over 700 children playing rugby league, 60 teams from 19 different clubs, it is such a pleasure to see so many kids playing the game in the city.”
IMG award points for public relations and visibility and the Olympians have, for the first time, all of this season’s home games televised live by broadcaster Via Occitanie.
Garcia said: “If you want to be successful in any professional sport, you need to be on television, and the fact that our games are now available for everyone in France to view live is a huge boost for us.
“We had over 100,000 viewers for our first three games which was a great start, so many people being able to see us raises the profile of the club, the sport, and also gives our sponsors valued exposure.”
Points on the pitch, numbers on the terraces and gradings on the board – it’s a triple target for the Houles and Garcia double act but in their 17-year partnership at the helm of the club they have achieved every challenge they have faced against tremendous odds.
Who would bet against them making the grade next year?
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 499 (August 2024)
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