Report

Toulouse Olympique leapfrogged round seven opponents Featherstone Rovers in the league with a 34-26 victory at the Big Fellas Stadium. Olympique may have some critics who think their away form still leaves a lot to be desired but this victory, which has put the French side second in the table, will have quietened those folk. Toulouse were 22-12 up at the break following a first half brace from Mark Kheirallah as well as four pointers thanks to Rhys Curran and Tyla Hepi. Featherstone’s four pointers came courtesy of back-row pair Frankie Mariano and John Davies.

Stan Robin and Ian Hardman exchanged tries in the second half before Featherstone cut the deficit to just two points as Chris Ulugia bagged a brace. Toulouse forward Bastien Canet was sin-binned a minute before Ulugia’s second try and Featherstone will have been optimistic of taking the lead during the latter stages of the tie but the visitors held firm. Despite having a numerical disadvantage, Sylvain Houles’ side increased their lead as Kheirallah completed his hat-trick with eight minutes remaining. As Canet came back on the field, Richard Moore was going off after he was shown yellow for punching. Kheirallah wrapped up the win with a last minute penalty goal. A big victory for Toulouse, who have certainly shown their worth in the early stages of the season.