Toulouse Olympique director of sport Cedric Garcia insists that, while repeating what Wakefield and Leigh have done in the past is likely out of the picture, his side are aiming to be consistently competitive upon their return in 2026.
The French side endured a rough ride in their one and only Super League campaign to date in 2022, being relegated at the first time of asking after ending the year in 12th.
In the years since their relegation, they have consistently pushed for promotion back to the top flight. They have finished second in each of the past three seasons, while also featuring in three successive Grand Finals, including their victory over York Knights in this year’s showpiece.
But, they will now dine at rugby league’s top table again after being selected to take up a spot in the newly expanded 14-team division alongside their North Yorkshire counterparts, beating out fellow promotion hopefuls London Broncos, Oldham, Doncaster and Widnes Vikings in the process.
‘We’ll take it step by step’
While the news of their promotion will, and likely has, been celebrated on the banks of the Garonne River, they know it will not be an easy task. Last time they featured in Super League, Toulouse won just five of their 27 matches in the league, and finished eight points below 11th-placed Warrington Wolves.
That season will have undoubtedly have given the Toulouse bigwigs a wake-up call ahead of any potential return to the top flight, and now that day has come, they are committed to ensuring they are here for a long time, not just a good time.
“We need to be realistic, but the goal is to be competitive every weekend,” Garcia said. “We’ll take it step by step.
“The main focus is to have a good start to the season. Pre-season will be key, and our players know they need to come back in good shape. We’ve learned from the past.”
Around that, recruitment and retention will also be a huge part in any success for Les Bleus et Blancs. Fellow promoted side York have already brought in a number of high-profile recruits ahead of their maiden Super League campaign, with Paul Vaughan, Sam Wood, Jon Bennison and Jack Smith already confirmed, while Bradford have brought in Andy Ackers and Rowan Milnes and look set to sign Esan Marsters, Jayden Nikorima and Loghan Lewis among others.
‘You cannot build a team in three months’
With their rivals hitting the market hard, there could be a temptation for them to bring in a whole host of new signings, but Garcia feels they only need a sprinkling of new recruits to go alongside those already at the Stade Ernest-Wallon come the start of the new campaign.
“We’re very happy with the squad,” said the Toulouse chief. “We’ve re-signed almost the whole (current) squad, and we’re looking at three or four quality additions, but not more.
“We’ll stick with our spine, we see the game plan, and be the fittest team on the park and play a style that’s about ball movement. We feel it’s quite entertaining and we’ll stick with it.
“You cannot build a team in three months. In 2022 (before their Super League campaign), we lost our two key players in January and from that started with nine losses in our first 10 games. It was virtually impossible to come back from that.
“That’s why we stuck with a full-time team, full-time training and full-time environment, to make sure we were as ready as we could be.”
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