Men

2026 Season Review: Toulouse Olympique

7 hrs

Nothing Toulouse. Fantastic French side exceed expectations.

Toulouse Olympique have undoubtedly been one of the success stories of the 2026 season.

Promoted from Betfred Championship but with reduced central funding due to the expansion of the top flight, little was expected of Sylvain Houles’ squad outside the walls of the club itself.

But come the end of the season Houles’ side sat in eighth position with 10 league triumphs after a campaign of excitement and overachievement.

As with the other newly-promoted clubs they got off to a flying start, stunning Wakefield Trinity on their own ground before backing that up against Castleford the following week.

Seven straight defeats followed which hinted at a slide down the table, before wins against Hull and Huddersfield regained some confidence within the squad.

But it was in July that Toulouse really stood tall.

It started with a stunning 60-18 demolition of French rivals Catalans on Magic Weekend in Castres, before winning 46-0 at St Helens the following week and then edging out York at home.

“To score 60 points and get our first win against Catalans, it’s been pretty magical,” Houles said after the Dragons victory.

“It’s a big win for us. We’re very young in Super League but it’s games like this that give you confidence that we can compete at this level.

“The guys put in a lot of effort and they wanted to show what we were about with it being Magic Weekend. We wanted to be magical and I thought we were.”

Further wins against Hull KR, Bradford and Hull FC followed before the end of the campaign, ensuring Houles side finished about the Dragons and five other Betfred Super League sides.

The Toulouse coach had heroes right across his squad.

Prolific back rower Mathieu Jussaume emerged as one of the stars of the whole competition and deservedly became the club’s first ever selection in the annual Dream Team, and the only player selected outside of the top six.

Olly Ashall-Bott was a nightmare for opposition defences from full-back, Australians Brendan Hands and Henry O’Kane were excellent in the pack and club stalwart Anthony Marion a steadying influence in the middle.

Half-backs Thomas Lacans and Jake Shorrocks helped make the side among the most attractive to watch in the competition, while centre Romeo Tropis was one of the most exciting young players in the league.

Wingers Paul Ulberg and Benjamin Laguerre were able to benefit on the flanks along with utility Luke Polselli, with the team’s attacking style catching the eye throughout.

What was arguably as impressive as anything was the number of players that stepped up from the Championship with Houles who made an impact at the higher level.

It will be fascinating to see how they continue to develop from here.

TOP TEAM-MATE

It was a real break-out year for back rower Mathieu Jussaume at the top level, and he proved to be one of the most damaging wide runners in the whole competition.