Toulouse boss keen to create Super League rivalry with Catalans

Toulouse Olympique head coach Sylvain Houles has outlined his vision for the future of French rugby league.

The club are among the favourites for promotion having finished in the Championship top three for the past two seasons, while they have started their 2020 campaign with five wins from five.

Since they returned to the RFL system in 2016, following a five-year stint in France’s Elite One Championship, they have become renowned for their exciting, expansive brand of rugby and even got the chance to test it against Super League opposition during the 2018 Qualifiers.

“When we played the likes of Leeds, Widnes, Salford – we contested those games. That was huge, it was so exciting,” recalls Houles.

That experience whet the appetite of everyone at Toulouse, not only because of the potential to grow their own club, but also rugby league in France as a whole.

Should they gain promotion, it would be the first time Super League would have two non-English teams from the same country in the competition, and presents the opportunity for a mammoth derby against their South of France counterparts, Catalan Dragons.

“For me there’s a vision to have for France,” Houles continued. “To create a huge event inside Super League, a little bit like what they do with the (Hull) derby.

“Like a healthy rivalry, but one where everyone in the South of France is waiting for those two or three games, where everyone fights to buy the tickets.

“That’s what we need to have in our heads.”

It’s an intriguing proposition, especially at a time where expansion and growth of rugby league is at an all-time high.

For the first time in history Super League is now transatlantic following the promotion of Toronto, while Catalans took their home clash with Wigan on tour to Barcelona’s Nou Camp last year.

And Houles believes a derby with the Dragons could be the latest innovation to bring new fans into the game.

“If we do this, I think we can attract sponsors, players, TV rights” he added. “All of our new players, for example, like Frank (Winterstein), Jy (Hitchcox), Lloyd White and Harrison Hansen, they’re buying into everything we’re trying to do.

“So we need to make sure everyone understands what we’re trying to achieve.

“France can have a buzz about rugby league again because of this rivalry.”