Toulouse Olympique coach analyses Wigan Warriors defeat as 'benchmark' admission made
Toulouse Olympique coach Sylvain Houles was relatively proud of his side’s valiant performance as they went down to a 36-16 defeat to Wigan Warriors.
Wigan scored four tries in the opening 25 minutes thanks to the right edge, with Zach Eckersley and Adam Keighran both grabbing braces to put the Warriors in an 18-0 lead. Toulouse hit back through Olly Ashall-Bott to send the teams into half-time at 18-6.
Bevan French extended Wigan’s lead in the second half before Ashall-Bott was awarded a penalty try to reduce the deficit, but Brad O’Neill responded immediately to put Wigan 30-12 ahead. Benjamin Laguerre pulled one back for the hosts before Sam Walters hit back once more to seal a 36-16 victory for Wigan in the south of France.
Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, Houles said: “We gave them quite a lot in the first half, and we had a bit of catching up to do, but we came up with a plan, and I thought the boys, especially offensively, we asked a lot of questions of Wigan’s defence.
“You know how strong they (Wigan) can be, and they showed it today. It’s a good level to play at, and I think for the boys it’s a good standard to look at. I think Hull KR and Wigan are the benchmark, and they showed it today.
"I feel like we showed a lot of character at 18-0, and after that little pattern in the first half, we managed to put them under a bit of pressure, and we created a lot of opportunities, so the boys can be very proud of that and we just need to be a bit more clinical scoring points when we need that.
"I thought the game could maybe have been tighter. I think we came back to 30-16 at some stage, and we got a penalty, so if we were clinical, we could have scored some points, and it’s another game.
"We’ve learned a lot today. The effort was there, and we played some fantastic rugby, and that’s what we’re about, smart stuff, but we need a bit more defensively, that’s probably the biggest issue for me today.”
Wigan and Toulouse next meet at the Brick Community Stadium on Saturday, August 8.