Toulouse Olympique v Wigan Warriors team news as Matt Peet makes three changes to 21-man squad
Wigan Warriors coach Matt Peet has made three changes to his 21-man squad ahead of this weekend’s trip to the south of France to face Toulouse Olympique.
The Warriors will be without star man Jai Field for around four to six weeks, with the Australian having had his appendix removed earlier this week. As a result, homegrown fullback Noah Hodkinson comes into Peet’s 21-man squad for the trip to Toulouse.
There are a number of avenues Peet and Co could go down when it comes to filling the void at fullback – Bevan French could move to the No. 1 role, with Jack Farrimond coming into the halves alongside Harry Smith, the aforementioned Hodkinson could make his debut, or Zach Eckersley could also comfortably play at fullback.
Meanwhile, off-season recruit Dayon Sambou and young forward Lukas Mason come out of the extended squad this week. They are effectively replaced in the squad by academy products Nathan Lowe, an outside-back, and Kian McDermott, who can play front-row or back-row.
As for Toulouse, the Warriors could come up against a couple of familiar faces in the shape of Jake Shorrocks and Joe Bretherton, both of whom are products of Wigan’s famed youth system. Half-back Shorrocks made 28 first-team appearances for the Warriors between 2016 and 2020, while forward Bretherton played 17 games for his hometown club before departing for Toulouse ahead of the 2018 campaign, where he has remained to this day.
Toulouse: Olly Ashall-Bott, Paul Ulberg, Reuben Rennie, Benjamin Laguerre, Thomas Lacans, Jake Shorrocks, Lambert Belmas, Brendan Hands, James Roumanos, Maxime Stefani, Mathieu Jussaume, Anthony Marion, Joe Cator, Joe Bretherton, Rob Butler, Romeo Tropis, AJ Wallace, Ellis Gillam, Luke Poleslli, Hugo Garrigues, Cesar Rouge.
Wigan: Zach Eckersley, Adam Keighran, Liam Marshall, Bevan French, Harry Smith, Ethan Havard, Brad O’Neill, Luke Thompson, Junior Nsemba, Liam Farrell, Kaide Ellis, Sam Walters, Patrick Mago, Ollie Partington, Jack Farrimond, Sam Eseh, Tom Forber, Kian McDermott, Taylor Kerr, Nathan Lowe, Noah Hodkinson.
The Super League Round Four fixture takes place at the Stade Ernest-Wallon on Saturday evening, 5pm kick-off (UK time). For those not in attendance, the match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports + Red Button and SuperLeague+.