Match Report | Toulouse Olympique 32-12 Sheffield Eagles
01/09/2024
Sheffield Eagles fell to defeat in the south of France on Saturday evening with a 32-12 loss against Toulouse Olympique at the Stade Ernest-Wallon.
Both sides were looking to return to winning ways in the league having fallen to defeat in their respective last three outings.
After defeat for the Eagles last Sunday against Widnes Vikings, a reshuffle in the Eagles starting line-up was made as we looked for a valuable win. Ben Jones-Bishop moved to full-back, as Matty Marsh moved into the halves to partner Cory Aston.
There were also starts for Bayley Liu and Ryan Millar in the wing-three quarter line, with the latter making his 150th career appearance in France.
As temperatures reached the 30c mark around kick off, it proved to be an even encounter inside the opening ten minutes, but it was then the hosts who took advantage as they headed into an 8-0 lead after twenty minutes.
Jake Shorrocks’ 14th minute penalty from in front got the scoreboard up and running, before Paul Ulberg collected a kick through on the last tackle to touch down only two minutes later.
The Eagles edged back into the game, and went ahead for a short period in the first half as Ben Jones-Bishop quickly tapped the ball on his own twenty-metre line, before he raced away to score underneath the sticks, then Liu evaded a Toulouse defender and scooted for the line from close-range to put us ahead on the half-hour mark.
Two successful kicks from Cory Aston put Sheffield into a 8-12 lead.
Toulouse did manage to go on and score again just before the break to ensure they headed into the sheds in the lead. The ball was allowed to bounce following a kick on the last and Ulberg was on hand to touch down, before a Shorrocks conversion took the HT score to 14-12.
The home side extended their lead to 20-12 seven minutes into the second half as forward Lambert Belmas was too strong for three Sheffield defenders as he powered his way over to score from close-range.
Ulberg completed his hat-trick just short of the hour-mark as he latched onto a spinning ball wide to the left for him to cross for another try of the evening. Shorrocks’ touchline conversion was successful for 26-12.
The hosts scored one further try late on as Olly Ashall-Bott touched down under the posts after some fast hands in attack by Toulouse, which rounded off the victory for the hosts, and saw them return to winning ways as they earned a 32-12 victory.
It’s now a return for Sheffield Eagles in our next home game, as we celebrate our 40th Year Anniversary Heritage game with the visit of Bradford Bulls to Olympic Legacy Park on Sunday 8th September (3pm). Get your tickets for this game HERE.
Toulouse Olympique: Ashall-Bott, Ulberg, Jussaume, Rennie, Marcon, Rivett, Shorrocks, Belmas. Gahan, Hansen, Stefani, Lima, Marion
Interchanges: Pelissier, Roumanos, Akauola, Cator
Tries: Ulberg (14’, 34’, 58’), Belmas (47’), Ashall-Bott (78’)
Goals: Shorrocks (6/6)
Sheffield Eagles: Jones-Bishop, Millar, Liu, Glover, Dawson-Jones, Aston, Marsh, Battye, Halafihi, Dickinson, Foster, J.Farrell, Bower
Interchanges: Hodgson, Broadbent, Clark, Sene-Lefao
18th Man: I.Farrell
Tries: Jones-Bishop (23’), Liu (30’)
Goals: Aston (2/2)
Referee: M.Lynn
