Brian McDermott insists Toronto victory over Toulouse wasn’t about revenge
Toronto Head coach Brian McDermott expressed his delight at his team’s performance at the Summer Bash and admitted it was their best of the season so far.
The Wolfpack produced a sublime seven-try victory over Toulouse to go six points clear at the top of the Betfred Championship table.
Last time the two clubs met, it was Toulouse who came out on top in a 46-16 drubbing, but despite that, McDermott says this afternoon’s result was certainly not about revenge.
Speaking post-match, he said: former Leeds Rhinos boss said: “Each week we’ve been incrementally getting better and better.
“I thought we were brilliant against Bradford last time we played them over in Toronto for half a game. Then Bradford came back and played very well and we couldn’t match them for a while. The first 40 minutes against Toulouse were good but that’s where we want to be every week.”
“We’ve got respect for Toulouse. This wasn’t about revenge, we just didn’t match their level of intensity in the second half over there.
“There was no talk of revenge or getting back at them – we simply highlighted that they’re a good team and that we have to be good in defence.”
One of the main topic points following the Summer Bash game was Darcy Lussick’s huge tackle on Brenden Santi, which many felt could have been given as a shoulder charge.
McDermott gave credit to the referee for his reaction and admits that big hits are one of the reasons why the sport is so revered by supporters.
He said: “The point I’d like to make is that I was sh*t scared that was going to get called for a shoulder charge! That is absolutely why our game has been so attractive for a number of years – because of the collisions and because of the impact and because of the ferocity.
“I’ve got to give the referee credit because he recognised that as a genuine rugby league tackle. There are three or four referees out there, Super League standard too, that would have called that for a shoulder charge and it would have been such a shame. Everybody in the stadium appreciates that type of tackle.”