Willie Poching plays down importance of Magic Weekend clash against Toulouse

Wakefield head coach Willie Poching has played down the importance of his side’s clash against Toulouse at next weekend’s Magic Weekend.

Following their 46-22 defeat at home to Wigan, just four points now separate the bottom two clubs in the Super League table.

Toulouse claimed their third win of the season on Saturday with a 28-6 score over Hull KR at home.

Wakefield and Sylvain Houles’ side open next weekend’s event at Newcastle’s St James’ Park. However, Poching has labelled the bottom-of-the-table clash as ‘just another two points’ and has played down how crucial the tie could be in a battle of Super League survival.

It’s currently a tie for the two sides in Super League, with Wakefield claiming a 18-6 at home over Toulouse in March before the French side won 20-14 in May.

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Willie Poching on Toulouse clash following Wigan defeat

“It’s (just) another two points,” Poching said.

“Our focus will be on giving some improvement. We’ll look to prepare as best we can.

“It is a big occasion for our sport. We’re first up, we open Magic Weekend and we want to open it with a bang.”

Trinity were smashed 74-10 by Salford last weekend but Poching insisted he saw improvement in his side’s 24-point loss to Wigan.

“It was a better response,” he said. “I thought some of our issue last week was our attitude. Some of our attitude today was a lot better, there was a more focused feel before kick-off.

“We just found ourselves under the pump early. It didn’t help that we were down to 12 men as well.

“But we still had some fight in us. One of the pleasing factors today was there was some improvement in us.

“We just have to give ourselves some more opportunities.”