Toulouse ready for “knock-out” clash

Toulouse face Halifax on Saturday aiming to boost their hopes of qualifying for the Middle 8s.

Three defeats in a row for the French side has allowed Halifax to draw level on points and head coach Sylvain Houles admits it’s been a difficult few weeks for his players.

“The team have been very frustrated with the results in recent weeks – it’s been a tough period,” he said.

“Our two halves aren’t playing at the moment so we’ve lacked a bit of direction on the field.

“There has been some positives though – everything is in our hands and we’ve got a very important game against Halifax this weekend.

“Training has been good this week – it was one of the best sessions we’ve had for a while and hopefully we’ll get a few players and bodies back on the field and that will give us a boost.

“It’s a big challenge but it’s what we play for, it’s why we are involved in sport. Saturday’s game is almost like a knock-out game for us.

“Halifax have a great team – we’ve already played them twice, but this will be a decider for who will make the top four and the Qualifiers. Hopefully we’ll have a great game of rugby.”