Oldham fight back but lose out to Toulouse

Oldham produced a spirited late fightback but could not prevent Toulouse Olympique from securing a 30-18 Championship win at Boundary Park in a game that saw yet another key Roughyeds star suffer an injury.

Sean Long's men battled back from a 24-2 deficit to pull within six points, but the full-time French side added a late try to hold on for the victory.

Even more concerning for Oldham fans was the sight of centre Jumah Sambou being helped off the field on his comeback game with a hamstring injury in what could be another significant setback ahead of next weekend 1895 Cup semi-final with Featherstone.

"A lot of teams would have fallen away from Toulouse in the second half when they were 24-2 up so to come back and have some fight in us showed heaps of character in this team," Long told Roughyeds TV.

We have got to believe in each other now because we are a very good team."

Long started Sambou at left centre on his return from a seven-match ban, in place of captain Jordan Turner who was sidelined with a knee injury. France international hooker Eloi Pelissier was on the bench for a debut against his former club.

A tight, tactical opening saw both sides seek a territorial advantage before Josh Drinkwater slotted over a 13th minute penalty. The first try of the game though went to the visitors when the influential Joe Shorrocks weighted a low kick through for Mathieu Jussaume to pounce on, Shorrocks adding the extras.
And it was soon 12-2 to the French side when the lively Olly Ashall-Bott finished off a break down the right by Benjamin Laguerre who kicked back in-field for the full-back to score.

A 12-2 Toulouse half-time lead soon became an even bigger advantage when star centre Sambou was left in pain by a tackle that infuriated the Oldham coaching staff and saw Sambou carried from the field in agony. Forward George Hirst was again forced to play as a makeshift left centre and the visitors took full advantage.

Former Featherstone scrum-half Thomas Lacans jinked through for a fine solo try and Ashall-Bott grabbed his second straight from the restart after another powerful break down the right by Laguerre, Shorrocks kicking both conversions for a 24-6 lead.

Weaker teams would have cracked and seen Toulouse rack up a cricket score but this Oldham team has character and came roaring back against the odds. Man of the Match Matty Ashurst powered over to the left of the posts with 13 minutes remaining before winger Nathan Lowe finished off a Ben Davies break in the opposite corner.

A third Oldham try came from Ashurst - his second - with five minutes remaining as somehow the impossible fightback looked on, but as the Roughyeds threw the ball around looking for one more Toulouse broke on the final play, Ashall-Bott racing away to complete his hat-trick.

"We showed great character," Long added.

"We showed that in large amounts of this game, so I am really proud of the lads."

Oldham's deepening injury crisis is a concern but the way to the team rallied from a seemingly hopeless position underlined the resilience and togetherness of a talented squad who should take huge pride into next weekend's semi-final with Featherstone.