Toulouse Olympique

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Toulouse Olympique
Cedric Garcia
ChairmanBernard Sarrazain
CoachSylvain Houles
CaptainHarrison Hansen
CompetitionChampionship
Uniforms
Home colours
Away colours

Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France.[1] Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship.

The club played in the

Championship at the end of that season. In 2012, Toulouse acquired fellow Toulouse side, Toulouse Jules-Julien Broncos XIII to act as their reserve side in Elite 2.[2] The side was re-branded as Toulouse Olympique Broncos
and moved up to Elite 1 when Olympique re-joined the English competition.

The club's historic stadium is the

stade Ernest Wallon
for the home matches of its professional team.

On 15 April 2021 Didier Lacroix, President of Stade Toulousain rugby union club and Bernard Sarrazain, President of Toulouse Olympique signed an agreement for Toulouse Olympique to play home games at the Stade Ernest-Wallon until the end of the 2029 season.[3]

History

Toulouse hosted the first ever French rugby league

ban on rugby league by the Vichy regime
in France.

Elite One Championship
in 1973 and 1975

In 1944, Toulouse reached the semi-final of the French Cup in rugby union. In the meantime the Arnauné stadium was confiscated by the State, like most of the assets of the French Federation of rugby league. Following liberation by the Allies and the restoration of the French Championship, the club were on the losing side twice when they met

AS Saint Esteve 10–9. Their 1976 cup final defeat by XIII Catalan
8–23 would be their last final appearance in either league or cup until the new millennium.

Before that in 1995 the club changed their name to Toulouse Spacers due to their link up with the local aerospace company in the town, keeping this name until 2002.

2000–08: End of trophy drought and Super League ambitions

In 2000 the club ended their long silverware drought when they won the championship title with a 20–18 victory over

Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield
.

2009–10: Entry to British league system

In 2006, the

2009 season, with a view to applying in the next round of franchising to be accepted to Super League in 2012.[5]
Offering no direct route to Super League at the time, Toulouse's spell in the Championship lasted three seasons.

In their first campaign, 2009, the season was acclaimed a success with them winning 9 games which included a record 5 match winning run this despite being beaten heavily on the opening round of matches live on television at Widnes Vikings 0–70.[6] The second season saw improvement but at the end of 2010 it was announced that the club would be withdrawing from the Championship and returning to the French league from the 2012 season onwards.

2011–15: Return to France

Toulouse returned to the French

Elite One Championship
in 2011. They failed to make the Grand Final in the 2011–12 and 2012–13 season. However they
Lord Derby Cup. This marked their first ever cup win in their then 77 year history. They then retained their league title when beating AS Carcassonne
20–12 in the 2014–15 Grand Final.

2016–present: Re-entry to British leagues

In 2015, it was announced that Toulouse Olympique would return to the

Elite One Championship when Toulouse Broncos who were in the 2nd tier were taken over by Olympique and renamed Toulouse Olympique Broncos
.

Toulouse went unbeaten during the

League 1 2016 season but lost in the promotion final to Rochdale Hornets. They entered the playoffs, beating Barrow Raiders to win promotion to the Championship
.

Toulouse finished the 2017 season with 15 wins and 8 loses from 23 games, finishing fifth in the league, missing out on the Super 8s by one place. Toulouse therefore entered the Championship Shield, winning it by beating Sheffield Eagles 44–14 in the final.[8] l

Toulouse finished the 2018 season in third place, behind Toronto Wolfpack and London Broncos, before finishing second in 2019, again behing Toronto Wolfpack. They lost to Toronto in the Grand Final.

The 2021 season was Olympique's first full season after the 2020 season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and final standings was based on win percentage as a COVID-19 precaution. Toulouse finished top of the table with 14 wins from 14 matches, winning the

Championship Leaders' Shield. This comprised 13 matches played in England and a forfeited match when London Broncos failed to travel as required to Toulouse.[9] Finishing top of the table, gave Toulouse home advantage in the semi-final, where they beat Batley 51–12.[10] This pitted them against Featherstone in the Million Pound Game the following week, which saw them win 34–12 thus earn promotion to the Super League for the first time.[11]

In August, Toulouse announced a new partnership with French club Gratentour XIII who would join Elite 2 for the 2021/22 season, and act as a feeder club.[12] Toulouse Olympique made their debut in the Super League at home to Huddersfield. They raced out to a 10-0 lead but were defeated 42-14.[13] On 19 March 2022, Toulouse recorded their first victory in the Super League, causing one of the competition's greatest upsets defeating three-time defending champions St Helens 22-20.[14] In round 18 of the 2022 Super League season, the club earned their first win in the Super League on English soil defeating Wakefield Trinity 38-26 at Magic Weekend.[15] In round 25 of the 2022 Super League season, Toulouse Olympique were officially relegated back to the Championship after losing to Catalans Dragons in the French Derby 24-14.[16] In the 2023 RFL Championship season, Toulouse Olympique qualified for the playoffs before ultimately reaching the RFL Championship final formerly known as the Million Pound Game. Toulouse would host the final where they had not lost all season but suffered a shock 18-14 loss against the London Broncos which denied them an immediate return to the Super League.[17]

2023 Squad

2023 Toulouse Olympique Squad
First team squad Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coaches

Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)

Updated: 19 October 2022
Source(s): [1]



2022 transfers

Gains

Player Club Contract Date Ref
England James Cunningham Huddersfield Giants 2 Years October 2021 [18]
France Gadwin Springer Featherstone Rovers 1 Year November 2021 [19]
Scotland Matty Russell
Leigh Centurions
 1 Year November 2021 [20]
England Chris Hankinson Wigan Warriors 2 Years November 2021 [21]
France Lambert Belmas FC Lézignan XIII 1 Year November 2021 [22]
France Lambert Belmas FC Lézignan XIII 2 Year June 2022 [23]
England Olly Ashall-Bott Huddersfield Giants 1 Year February 2022 [24]
Australia Corey Norman St. George Illawarra Dragons 1 Year April 2022
Italy Daniel Alvaro St. George Illawarra Dragons 2 Years May 2022
Australia Nathan Peats RC Albi N/A May 2022

Losses

Player Club Date Ref
France Bastien Ader
Limoux Grizzlies
 September 2021 [25]
Australia Jy Hitchcox
Leigh Centurions
 October 2021 [26]
Remi Casty
 Retired October 2021 [27]
Cook Islands Johnathon Ford Featherstone Rovers January 2022 [28]
France Mark Kheirallah Featherstone Rovers February 2022

List of seasons

Season League
Lord Derby Cup / United Kingdom Challenge Cup
 Top try scorer Top points scorer
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos Play-offs Name Tries Name Goals
1937–38 French Rugby League Championship Unknown Unknown ? — Unknown
1938–39 Unknown RU
1939–40 Unknown ?
1940–41 Unknown ?
1941–42 Unknown ?
1942–43 Unknown ?
1943–44 Unknown ?
1944–45 Runners-up ?
1945–46 Runners-up ?
1946–47 Unknown ?
1947–48 Unknown ?
1948–49 Unknown ?
1949–50 Unknown ?
1950–51 Unknown ?
1951–52 Unknown ?
1952–53 Unknown ?
1953–54 Unknown ?
1954–55 Unknown ?
1955–56 Unknown ?
1956–57 Unknown ?
1957–58 Unknown ?
1958–59 Unknown ?
1959–60 Unknown ?
1960–61 Unknown ?
1961–62 Unknown RU
1962–63 Unknown ?
1963–64 Runners-up RU
1964–65 Champions ?
1965–66 Unknown ?
1966–67 Unknown ?
1967–68 Unknown RU
1968–69 Unknown ?
1969–70 Unknown ?
1971–72 Unknown ?
1972–73 Champions ?
1973–74 Unknown ?
1974–75 Champions ?
1975–76 Unknown ?
1976–77 Unknown ?
1977–78 Unknown ?
1978–79 Unknown ?
1979–80 Unknown ?
1980–81 Unknown ?
1981–82 Unknown ?
1982–83 Unknown ?
1983–84 Unknown ?
1984–85 Unknown ?
1985–86 Unknown ?
1986–87 Unknown ?
1987–88 Unknown ?
1988–89 Unknown ?
1989–90 Unknown ?
1990–91 Unknown ?
1991–92 Unknown ?
1992–93 Unknown ?
1993–94 Unknown ?
1994–95 Unknown ?
1995–96 Unknown ?
1996–97 Unknown ?
1997–98 Unknown ?
1998–99 Unknown ?
1999–00 Champions ?
2000–01 Unknown ?
2001–02 Unknown ?
2002–03 Unknown Unknown ?
2003–2004
Elite One Championship
 18 12 0 6 602 286 42 3rd None Played ?
2004–2005
Elite One Championship
 18 15 0 3 668 310 47 2nd None Played ? SF
2005–2006
Elite One Championship
 20 16 0 4 830 268 52 2nd None Played ? R4
2006–2007 Elite One Championship 20 15 1 4 643 333 51 2nd Lost in Semi-final ? R3
2007–2008 Elite One Championship 20 8 0 12 353 518 36 7th Lost in Round One ? R4
United Kingdom Transfer to British rugby league system
2009 Championship 20 9 0 11 556 582 30 10th Did not qualify — R3
2010 Championship 20 8 0 12 486 649 27 8th Did not qualify R4
2011 Championship 20 4 0 16 358 663 15 10th Did not qualify R3
France Transfer to French rugby league system
2011–2012 Elite One Championship 18 12 0 6 442 352 42 5th Lost in Quarter-final ? R3
2012–2013
Elite One Championship
 Unknown Unknown ? R4
2013–2014
Elite One Championship
 Unknown Champions W —
2014–2015
Elite One Championship
 Unknown Champions ?
United Kingdom Transfer to British rugby league system
2016 League 1 14 13 1 0 702 184 27 1st
Grand Final – Runners-up
Play-off Final – Winners
 — R6
2017
 Championship 23 15 0 8 720 466 30 5th
Championship Shield
– Winners 		R4
2018
 Championship 23 16 1 6 900 438 33 3rd Did not qualify —
The Qualifiers
 7 3 0 4 156 190 6 6th
2019
 Championship 27 20 0 7 877 446 40 2nd Lost in Preliminary Final
2020 Championship[a] 5 5 0 0 180 48 10 1st None Played
2021 Championship 14 14 0 0 698 124 28 1st Won in Grand Final
2022
Super League
 27 5 0 22 421 745 10 12th Relegated
2023 Championship 27 19 0 8 834 385 38 2nd Lost in Grand Final

Honours

Title in 1973. From left to right: Orféo Balsarin, Maurice de Matos, Roger Garrigue, Charles Thénégal and Henri Justal.

Leagues

  • Elite One Championship
Winners (6): 1964–65, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1999–2000, 2013–14, 2014–15
Runners-up (5): 1944–45, 1945–46, 1963–64, 2004–05, 2005–06
Winners (1): 2021
RFL Championship Leaders' Shield
Winners (1):[b] 2021[29]
Championship Shield
Winners (1): 2017
Runners-up (1): 2016
League Leaders:
Winners (1): 2016
Promotion Play-offs
:
Winners (1): 2016

Cups

  • Lord Derby Cup
Winners (1): 2013–14
Runners-up (5): 1938–39, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1967–68

Notes

  1. ^ The 2020 Championship was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Statistics shown are those at time of abandonment and are not official.
  2. ^ The 2020 RFL Championship was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. Toulouse Olympique were in first place at time of abandonment.

References

  1. ^ "Operational Rules". RFL. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  2. ^ "TO reserve side Broncos in final". www.ladepeche.fr.
  3. ^ "TO and Stade Toulousain sign partnership agreement". www.ffr13.fr. 15 April 2021.
  4. ^ http://www.to13.com/histoire [dead link]
  5. ^ "The Rugby Football League". Archived from the original on 3 August 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
  6. ISBN 978-1-901347-21-0
    .
  7. ^ "Toulouse in League One next season". BBC Sport.
  8. ^ "Résumé TO XIII v Sheffield - Finale Championship Shield - 30.09.2017" – via www.youtube.com.
  9. ^ "London criticise RFL over Toulouse forfeit". www.skysports.com.
  10. ^ "Match report Toulouse 51 Batley 12". www.to13.com. 2 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Match report Toulouse 34 Featherstone 12". BBC Sport.
  12. ^ "Gratentour becomes reserve side for TO". www.to13.com. 13 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Toulouse Olympique won't be easy pickings for any one in Super League, says Huddersfield Giants' Jake Wardle". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk.
  14. ^ "Super League: Toulouse claim historic victory over St Helens; Wakefield Trinity defeat Warrington Wolves". www.skysports.com.
  15. ^ "Saints, Toulouse and Leeds all win on Magic Weekend". www.skysports.com.
  16. ^ "Toulouse Olympique officially relegated from Super League". www.loverugbyleague.com.
  17. ^ "Championship Grand Final: Toulouse 14-18 London Broncos - Capital club back in Super League". www.bbc.co.uk.
  18. ^ "James CUNNINGHAM signe au TO". 19 October 2021.
  19. ^ "Springer returns to Toulouse". www.superleague.co.uk.
  20. ^ McAllister, Josh (6 November 2021). "Matty Russell makes Super League move". LoveRugbyLeague.
  21. ^ Ibbetson, Stephen (9 November 2021). "Toulouse Olympique confirm signing from Wigan Warriors". www.totalrl.com.
  22. ^ "Houles looking for one more signing". www.totalrl.com. 14 November 2021.
  23. ^ "TO sign Lambert Belmas". www.to13.com. 1 June 2022.
  24. ^ "TO sign Olly Ashall-Bott". www.to13.com. 23 February 2022.
  25. ^ "Bastien ADER joins Limoux XIII-Limoux XIII Facebook site". Facebook. 20 September 2021.
  26. ^ "Jy Hitchcox breaks silence on new move". www.seriousaboutrl.com. 19 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Remi Casty retires after TO reach SL". www.skysports.com.
  28. ^ "Johnathon Ford leaves TO". www.to13.com. 26 January 2022.
  29. ^ "Toulouse clinch Championship League Leaders' Shield". LoveRugbyLeague. 8 September 2021.

External links

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