The Sheffield Eagles extended their unbeaten run to seven games as they edged past Toulouse Olympique in what was a close-fought contest at Olympic Legacy Park.
The game marked the start of a new Betfred Championship Season, with both sides hopeful of achieving promotion to the Super League following strong finishes last time out.
It was a nightmare start for the hosts, with Toulouse taking the lead inside the opening minute.
Dominique Peyroux powerfully broke through the Eagles’ back line and squared it to Guy Armitage, who made no mistake with the finish. Jake Shorrocks calmly scored the conversion to put Olympique 0-6 ahead.
However, it didn’t take Sheffield Eagles long to come up with a response, as five minutes later captain Anthony Thackery rounded off a lovely attacking move to draw his side level. A burst of pace from centre James Glover was followed by a quick interchange of passes and the finish from Thackery.
Following the incredibly fast start, both sides then settled into the game, with neither team being able to find the upper hand.
Despite some promising plays from the hosts, it was Olympique who retook the lead 20 minutes in. Nice work down the left saw the ball offloaded to Paul Ulberg who scored a debut try.
This time Shorrocks missed his conversion, meaning the score stayed at 6-10.
It then got even worse for the Eagles in the 24th minute when they gifted Toulouse their third try of the game. A loose pass 15 yards from the tryline bounced to Mathieu Jussuame, who couldn’t miss. Shorrocks made no mistake this time and added the extras, making it 6-16.
Toulouse’s 10-point lead was probably slightly unfair on Sheffield Eagles, who had matched the visitors in nearly every department during the opening half an hour.
They continued to stretch the French outfit’s defence through a combination of clever passing moves and good movement, and Mark Aston’s side got their due reward in the 35th minute.
Glover was fundamental in the build-up again, breaking away from two defenders and kicking the ball through to Corey Aston for the Eagles’ second try of the match. Aston then scored the conversion, putting the Eagles right back in the contest.
It got even better for the Sheffield side when Thackeray touched down for his second of the match on the stroke of halftime, making the score 18-16 to the Eagles at the break.
30 seconds after the restart Toulouse thought they had the ball on the tryline, but referee Mike Smaill deemed the ball held up.
20 minutes of largely attritional play then took place until the 60th minute, when out of nowhere the Eagles scored to extend their lead.
A defensive mistake from Paul Macron was pounced upon by Evan Hodgson; a quick offload to Kyle Wood allowed the veteran to score on his league debut for Sheffield Eagles.
Aston converted once again and the Eagles looked comfortable with a 24-16 lead.
However, that lead was damaged in the 73rd minute when Toulouse touched down and added the extras to make it 24-22 and a nervy finish to the game.
🙌 Another W in the bag, take it away lads.
Excuse the mist on the camera, it’s acceptable because we won 😉#StrongerTogether #40Years pic.twitter.com/0eJjgIJzl0
— Sheffield Eagles (@SheffieldEagles) March 15, 2024
The visitors might have won the game in the 79th minute if it wasn’t for a poor pass from Hansen, resulting in a knock-on around 15 yards from the try line.
The Eagles held on until the buzzer sounded, sealing a brilliant opening day win against one of the favourites for the Championship Title.
Featured Image Credit: @SheffieldEagles via X