Toulouse nervous to secure spot in The Qualifiers

James Gordon

Toulouse star Mark Kheirallah says they are both excited and nervous about possibly securing their place in The Qualifiers with a win over Dewsbury this weekend.

The French side currently occupy second place in the table, which would bring a potentially crucial four home games in the fight for promotion to Super League.

Having agonisingly missed out on the top four in the final round last season, they will be anxious to make it this time round.

Toulouse, London and Halifax all have 31 points, with Featherstone and Leigh on 30. A win guarantees Toulouse’s place, while it may not be needed should Featherstone and Leigh both lose to Toronto and Sheffield respectively.

Kheirallah said: “We are both excited and nervous before the final day. The whole group has done a good job to be where we are today, we are very close to reaching our goal of the season.

“There is of course a bit more pressure because we do not definitely have our place in the top four secured, but we will learn to solve the problems from last week and achieve our goals when we face Dewsbury.

“It’s the most important game of the season given the stakes. We said at the beginning of the season we wanted to get to the Middle 8s to measure ourselves against the best teams in the Championship and Super League teams.

“And this year in the Championship, especially with the tough competition that exists between the top six, it’s a big challenge, so to finish in the top four would be a great achievement.

“We’re second, we have our destiny in our hands.”