Leeds Rhinos vs Toulouse Olympique preview

 Despite being just 10 rounds into the current season this Friday’s clash against Toulouse could be a season defining game for both teams. The two teams find themselves at the bottom of the table and are separated by a solitary point picked up by the Rhinos against Huddersfield. This will also be the first opportunity for the players to stake their claim for a spot in new coach Rohan Smith’s plans.

Under head coach Sylvain Houles Toulouse have struggled in their first year in the top flight with their solitary win coming in a shock defeat of the previously all conquering St Helens side at home in Toulouse. What has characterised their performances this year are bursts of attacking brilliance followed by poor defence that has seen the team concede the most points in super league. This cycle was seen from the team’s first competitive game as they raced out to a 10-0 lead against Huddersfield before conceding 42 unanswered points in a 42-14 defeat.

As well as beating St Helens Toulouse have also come close to beating second place Wigan and were in the driving seat last time out against Hull KR before the robins made a second half fight back to snatch the game 28-24.

Toulouse raced out to an 18-4 lead thanks to tries from Albert, Garbutt and Macron before the team’s defensive frailties reared its ugly head. From the 50th minute tries scored by Hall, King, Fash and finally Storton wiped out Toulouse’s lead and their  hopes of pulling themselves above Leeds and off the foot of the table. 

Toulouse have put together a squad of talented individuals that due to some circumstances out of their control are yet to gel as a team. The team lost two of their key players in Jonathon Ford and Mark Kheirallah close to the start of the season due to their unwillingness to comply with France’s covid guidelines. As a result the team had to sign a number of new players including young French halfback Lucas Albert and the mercurial fullback Tony Gigot to fill the spots of Ford and Kheirallah respectively. 

As many predicted Gigot has been the star for the team so far this season. Although playing as a fullback until the signing of Olly Ashall-Bolt the French international was at the heart of the Toulouse attack from the opening game of the season against Hudderfield and has been the team's main creative force. When in form Gigot is up there as one of the most talented attacking talents in the competition as evidenced by his leading role in Catalan’s challenge cup win in 2018. I have also been impressed by the centre Guy Armitage. Armitage is a relative newcomer to rugby league after switching from union in 2019. He started his career with London Broncos before switching to Toulouse after a successful trial. He is a strong and powerful centre and so far this year has utilised these qualities to score five tries so far this season.

Sylvain Houles has been able to name a strong 21 man squad for the game including being able to name Mathieu Jussame in his squad for the first time this season. Jussame was one of the stars of Toulouse’s unbeaten 2021 campaign and my personal man of the match in their million pound game win against Featherstone. LIke Armitage he is a quick and powerful centre and one of the brightest prospects in French rugby league. Toulouse have also just announced the signing of former State of Origin halfback Corey Norman however he is yet to arrive in Europe.

JJB on the other hand has once again had to name a severely depleted squad for what may be his last match as interim head coach. Jack Walker, Blake Austin and James Bentley are all missing through injury and suspension after the Easter weekend. This means that it is more than likely that we will see the halfback pairing of Jack Sinfield and Kruise Leeming that failed to spark in the defeat to Castleford. Morgan Gannon will likely come in to replace Bentley after a strong showing over Easter. There were hope that Leeds would be able to bring in a loan player to fill their 21 man squad however at the time of writing on the day of the game this hasn’t happened.

Looking ahead to the game and what to expect, it is a contest between two teams that currently play in very contrasting styles. Leeds in the last 3 weeks have improved defensively (with the help of some wasteful opposition) but are still yet to fire on the opposite side of the ball. With all three of Leeds senior halfbacks missing it is likely that play once again will be concentrated through the middle of the park as play is being led by Kruise Leeming who naturally as a hooker feels more comfortable playing close to the ruck. Furthermore, with a depleted backline it is hard for the team to work on backs moves when the backline is changing week on week.

In contrast Toulouse have shown throughout the year that they are an excellent attacking side that struggles with defence. Toulouse as a team play one of the most expansive and off the cuff styles of play in super league. Houles has given his team a licence to play with creative freedom which plays into the hands of a talent like Gigot. Where the team have struggled is in defence and ‘getting into the grind’ as coaches refer to it now that they are facing tougher full time opposition. When looking back at the highlights of their games so far teams are able to break through the defensive line far too easily and often players are defending as individuals rather than as a defensive unit.

My prediction for this game is that despite  the negativity around the club and dire form Leeds’s current style of play will match up well against Toulouse’s strengths and weaknesses. If the defence of Leeds can continue to improve I believe that they will be able to hold out the Toulouse attack and in return Leeds concentrating the attack around the middle can potentially expose the soft underbelly of the Toulouse defence. I think that Leeds on the day will have too much class for Toulouse and win the game 28-10.

 

Thank you for reading and remember All Leeds aren’t we.