Playing against the likes of Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves, Hull FC and of course the Super League and World Champions St Helens week in week out is the dream of every European rugby league side and is one that can not only be done but done successfully as shown by the Leigh Leopards.
Toulouse Olympique had their chance in 2022 and even beat the likes of St Helens and Leeds Rhinos but eventually suffered relegation.
They were recently in a fight for promotion back to Super League but have had bigger issues beyond this to have to deal with than this because according to Ladepeche in France they were on the verge of bankruptcy.
However, fortunately, local authorities stepped in to save the club. Now the club have been taken over by Olivier Dubois who is the head of car company Autobuy.
He has now been appointed president of the club and they are set for three signings to boost their chances of reaching Super League in 2025.
According to Midi Olympique and Treize Mondial earlier this year, President Bernard Sarrazain will hand over his role as head of Toulouse Olympique but the current president of the Olympians is trying to pay off the debt before leaving because the club had a deficit of 500,000 euros following the Super League season.
There are still 200,000 euros to be found before March 31 next. Sarrazain has promised to save the club from bankruptcy before his departure.
These financial issues explain why Toulouse weren’t very active in the transfer market with only 19 players named in their 2023 squad at the start of the tear.
The first priority is to save the club but the Toulouse intend to be in Super League as soon as possible.
The French side are one of the favourites for promotion and even though Sylvain Houles started the year with only 19 players named.
With the French side having plenty of turnover very few retain their number from 2022, notably without the likes of Johnathon Ford, Romain Navarrete and Tony Gigot.
This is perhaps why the club have a dual registration agreement with Catalans Dragons.
Olly-Ashall Bott was set to wear number one after an impressive season but has struggled with injurt, whilst Lambert Belmas and Maxime Stefani, both in their second season.
The new signings they did make were Reubenn Rennie, Josh Ralph, Jake Shorrocks, Calum Gahan and Sitaleki Akauolo wear three.
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