Kindly check out the message at forums.rlfans.com/viewtopic.php? ... 7#13813587. Mintball

Kindly check out the message at forums.rlfans.com/viewtopic.php? ... 7#13813587. Mintball

I thought it was the natural choice for a televised game.. Toulouse going into this were an unknown quantity and have been included to create some razzmatazz..

Okay so they got dicked on last night but no-one couldn't have been sure that it wouldn't have been a close game.. Personally I thought it might have been alright to watch from the neutrals point of view despite it being a walkover and that seems to have been a bit supported on this thread.

Anyone know where I can find a report for this including cards and penalty counts

it was far better to watch than the usual hammering. The tries came from good plays generally rather than falling over the line and Toulouse showed considerable flair with the little possession they had.

Check sang-et-or.net in a couple days' time.

Are you chemical Ali! That is the biggest spin job I have ever heard. Of course Widnes scored tries from good play, they were allowed to play as much as they wanted.

Seriously I get your point, I do not fondly remember big Bradford sides doing just that. However both are unwatchable IMO unless you are a Widnes fan which is fair enough.

Of course there are excuses for both, but less so for this. In this case Widnes had a new coach, are a good side and were up for it so I'll give Toulouse that. But in terms of it being flair I can't accept. Widnes were simply offered the chance to run riot and did which turned it into virtually touch and pass. They executed their drills very well but then you can when a finger is rarely laid upon you. There really is no excuse for actually standing back and letting the opposition play. At least in the other scenario the team had to work to get to the line.

No, it was flat cappers who wanted them straight in SL, expansionist loons wanted them in the Championship.

You are judging TO on one game against on of the (if not the) top side(s) in the Championship, I can only comment on the reliability of your conclusion (ask your science teacher).

TO are in the Championship to prove their worth by actions. If they have exactly the same result as Catalans did in SL - i.e. finsih bottom first year, cup final the next and then top 3 finish the year after, then their Championship adventure could be considered a success. Shall we judge them in three years' time?

Are you sure about that? In the 2nd half they couldnt even hold the ball following 2 tap penalties. their hooker just threw the ball back wildly.

I refer people (including Vastman) to the post at the bottom of p3 again

I thought it would have been much closer than it was and Toulouse will certainly have to improve, I thought their number 8 was excellent by the way.

Lack of preparation seems to have played a big part and that is down to the coaching team at Toulouse, but given they are in the Championship for one reason, to qualify for SL, what does it matter if they get a few spankings early in the season this year?

I'm sure that the travel does not help them away but they will benefit from other teams suffering the same problem when they play at home. I just think that inevitably the rugby will suffer. What's the point of a team that is artificially strong at home and artificially weak away?

Widnes looked pretty useful from 1-17 and next weeks fixture against Halifax certainly looks tasty.

Toulouse will struggle away from home all year (improving as they go along) but they have the biggest home advantage in the league (overtaking the cumbrian clubs), which again will imrpove as the season goes on and the weather gets hotter in Southern France


I wouldn't worry too much about them yet

Toulouse will have to improve by some way, but did anyone really expect them to arrive as a fully-developed side? That was never the thinking behind their inclusion in the Championship. Hopefully, they will develop in the same way that Catalans have.

Otherwise, Widnes looked a good side – sharp and disciplined, and producing some good attacking play. And it was good to see young players being given their chance. Hopefully, Paul Cullen will continue that policy.

There are certainly regular posters on here who have been bulling up French RL, how strong it is and how gifted the players are, so yes, I think that quite a few people were expecting them to arrive as a fully developed team.

In fact it is quite insulting to the rest of the Championship that they haven't.

Yeh I was called patronising for suggesting that they may struggle to make a final in two years with players picked from the LER.

Thread tidied again. rlvoicirl