Toulouse boss Sylvain Houles all but concedes relegation
Toulouse boss Sylvain Houles has admitted that their 52-6 defeat to Wigan has all but confirmed his side’s relegation from Super League.
He also said that there will be some tough conversations to have with players as they look to prepare for life back in the Championship for the 2023 campaign.
While still mathematically possible to stay up, the French outfit are now six points behind Wakefield following their 26-18 victory over Hull. There are only three games left of the season, with Toulouse to play Catalans, Hull and St Helens.
Wigan 52-6 Toulouse: Bevan French scores hat-trick as Warriors strengthen second spot
Sylvain Houles: ‘The lads are very low because it is a bad night for us’
Houles said: “Mathematically it is still possible, but we have to be realistic. This is probably the end of our road in Super League this season.
“The lads are very low because it is a bad night for us.
“Effort-wise we were 10 out of 10 and I was happy with our defence despite conceding so many points.
“But we tried too many magic plays. At that level, especially if you want to beat Wigan, you need to match the arm wrestle and their physicality.
“But Wigan are a champion team with great players and so they made us pay for every mistake.
“If we managed to score a try before half-time it would have been a good reward and given them more belief. But they never gave up and so I am proud of the boys.
“It’s a tough gig to come up from Championship at the last moment. It’s a very tricky situation.
“Now with this relegation, we couldn’t plan our recruitment (for 2023) until we knew our future. Even if we saved ourselves in the last day, we would be back to the same as last year. It’s very tough. Players want that security and other clubs have already been recruiting. It’s something we’ll have to think of and look into it.”