The team with the second best attack, and the second best defence, Toulouse Olympique XIII came into the Summer Bash in York looking for the win which would take them back above the Sheffield Eagles and into second place in the table as they took on a London Broncos who have disappointed so far this season and are currently sat in tenth position in the table and themselves needing a big points win to move up to eighth.
The bookies and pundits couldn´t see past a Toulouse victory as they looked to get back to winning ways after losing the Batley Bulldogs and Swinton Lions in their last two games, putting a serious dent into their title and promotion aspirations.
London would need to dig deep to get anything out of the game.
From the early exchanges it was clear that both sides weren´t going to leave anything in the locker.
On nine minutes Toulouse put the ball to ground on attack with London scooping it up and breaking. As they scrambled back there was a professional foul with substitute Castano being sin-binned for delaying the play-the-ball.
On fifteen Alex Walker should have opened the scoring after he sprinted for fifty metres, and in doing so broke several tackles, but when he finally tried to offload, he spilled the ball forward and the attack broke down.
Toulouse kept London at bay while they were reduced to twelve men but London were dominating and the energy was draining from the French side in the heat. On twenty-three the deadlock was broken with Dean Whare taking the short pass from Walker to go in from a few metres out. Olli Leyland was well wide with his conversion attempt from the touchline.
The second London try was spectacular as Jarred Bassett collected a near vertical high kick and broke before passing to the supporting Will Lovell who outpaced the Toulouse defence to dive in. Leyland hit the mark this time for a 10-0 lead the Broncos good value for it.
Toulouse had their best opportunity after a kick charge down with five minutes left but the London defence managed to keep their line intact.
A penalty after the hooter for Toulouse being offside at a scrum allowed Leyland to add a second goal and give the Broncos a 12-0 half time lead.
A dangerous tackle from Bill Leyland on forty-one saw the London substitute yellow carded, London now playing ten minutes with a man short.
London were given a penalty on fifty one after a Lewis Bienek break saw then close to a third try. Leyland was again on target and the lead now meant that Toulouse needed to score three times.
Toulouse finally scored on sixty-eight when Anthony Marion collected a precision Mathieu Jussaume grubber kick to spin out of the tackle and ground. The kick was missed, the French side still ten behind.
Walker was sin-binned on seventy-one for a professional foul with Toulouse again on the attack, London were looking creaky and with seven minutes remaining Marion went with a scoot from acting half back to score under the sticks. Shorrocks added the conversion, and the margin was now down to just four points.
It set up a grandstand finish but neither side could add to their score as mistakes were the order of the day, both sides blowing chances in the dying seconds, it wasn´t pretty or composed.
It was a third consecutive loss for Toulouse Olympique XIII, a third on the road, and their challenge to re-enter Super League at the first attempt is now looking like a distant prospect. They are a side decimated by injuries, with several loan players, and they are playing like a side of near strangers. London will be delighted with the win an as a result they are up to ninth in the table, but it could be eighth by the end of the evening should Featherstone rack up plenty of points against York in the final game of the Bash.
London Broncos: Walker (SB on 71), Ulberg, Bassett (T), Whare (T), Macani, Leyland O (3G), Raiwalui, Albert, Davis, Bienek, Lovell, Natoli, Parata. Subs: Leyland B (SB on 41), Williams, Nunes-Silva, Horsman. 18th Man: Allen.
Toulouse Olympique XIII: Marcon, Stefani, Rennie, Jussaume, Laguerre, Shorrocks (G), Ralph, Biscarro, Gahan, Richards, Stefani M, Hansen, Marion (2T). Subs: Bretherton, Castano (SB on 9), Scimone, Chan. 18th Man: .
Half-Time: 12-0.
Full-Time: 14-10.
Score Progression: (SB), 4-0, 8-0, 10-0, 12-0 : HT: (SB), 14-0, 14-4, 14-8, 14-10 : FT.
Lead Exchanges: London.
Referee: Liam Rush.
