York Knights are set to face Toulouse Olympique in a Super League encounter, a rematch of the 2025 Championship Grand Final.
The Knights lost that day, with the French side securing a 10-8 victory at the LNER Community Stadium, the same venue for their upcoming Super League clash.
Toulouse won without scoring a try, relying solely on penalty goals. York crossed twice but failed to convert either try.
Knights Aim to Avenge Grand Final Defeat
This week’s contest provides the Knights with an opportunity to exert revenge on their fellow promoted side. However, boss Mark Applegarth revealed his side haven’t really spoken about that loss in the build-up to the game.
Applegarth said that Toulouse have fared similarly to themselves this season. He added that he has a hell of a lot of respect for Toulouse and Sylvain.
“I love that they’ve stayed true to their identity as a team. Obviously, we’ve got some outstanding players in there, led by Olly Ashall-Bott, I think he’s been excellent this year at full-back, so we need to have eyes on him.”
Applegarth added that Toulouse play a really attractive brand of rugby league and that you’ve got to make sure your defensive systems are on point.
“Must-Win” Game for Both Teams
According to Applegarth, both teams will be marking this one out as a must-win. He added his full respect to Toulouse, and that may the best team win.
When asked what they can do differently compared to last year’s heart-breaking defeat, Applegarth said it’s a new competition with different circumstances, congratulating Toulouse for the Grand Final win last year.
“The game’s won on moments, isn’t it? And Toulouse, iced their moments last year. [It’s a] brand-new game, brand-new opportunity for both teams, and we’re just focussing on fixing up what we need to against Leigh and keep on doing what we felt we did well against Leigh as well.”
Applegarth said the team wants to get better game upon game. He felt that they’d been getting better game upon game up until a couple of weeks ago, then had a slight blip before feeling more like themselves last week.
Newcastle Thunder Partnership Key to York’s Success
One key piece of York’s success this season has been their relationship with Newcastle Thunder in the Championship.
With the side not having their own established academy, the club have formed an agreement with the North East outfit.
Toulouse play exactly how they played in the Championship and have been in some close games, with Leigh running them very close. Applegarth feels they aren’t too dissimilar to his own side, learning lessons along the way, with the core group of the squad that they kept being that Championship-winning team in that Grand Final.
All being well, it’s going to be an excellent match-up for a neutral fan.