MATCH REPORT: London Broncos 18-24 Toulouse Olympique
Jake Watson • 11 August 2025
LONDON BRONCOS V TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE (by David Ballheimer)
London Broncos (14) 18, Toulouse Olympique (6) 24
London Broncos suffered their most heart-breaking defeat of the season after outplaying Toulouse Olympique Treiziste for most of the first 65 minutes but succumbing to three tries in six final-quarter minutes.
Mike Eccles’ 100th match in charge of the Broncos was made tougher by an injury crisis which saw three players gut it out despite having knocks that should have left them on the sideline. It meant a first-ever rugby league match for newly signed winger Charlie Robson.
The Broncos took the lead in the seventh minute. Eschewing a kick on the last play, the ball was fed out to the left, with Alex Walker chiming into the line to create a numerical mismatch, and when Liam Tindall received the pass, he was quick enough to dive in the corner.
Jack Smith’s missed conversion meant that when Matthieu Jussaume made a break through the defensive line, ex-Bronco Olly Ashall-Bott was on hand to dart between the uprights and Jake Shorrocks added the extras to give Toulouse a two-point lead.
Dan Okoro had to be replaced inside 20 minutes, meaning Ben Hursey-Hord would have a heavier burden of workload. Olympique were given a great chance to extend their lead, benefitting from three penalties and two repeat sets, but another former London favourite, Paul Ulberg knocked on 10 metres from the London line.
The Broncos made their opponents pay for the wasted chances because they moved downfield and using the policy that if something isn’t broken don’t fix it, the ball again went left and Walker passed to Tindall who squirmed over in the corner. The pass looked forward, but it wasn’t given; however, of much greater concern was Tindall stayed down and had to be helped from the field. He did not return.
With Okoro and Tindall looking likely to be out for the game and three other players who should not have even started, the team was down to the bare bones. There was no feeling sorry for themselves; instead, the Broncos put in probably their best 40 minutes of the season.
Robson had a moment to shine in the 26th minute, when he attacked down the right wing. He sprinted past Ulberg, beat Jussaume’s weak attempt and had 60 metres between him and glory. Except … Ashall-Bott is one of the best full-backs in the Championship and he made sure Robson was stopped 10 metres short of the line.
The match was marked by ill-discipline – there were as many penalties in the first half as there had been in the 80 minutes of the previous game – and the Broncos made Toulouse pay for their indiscretions. Smith, who had converted Tindall’s second try from the touchline, twice tacked on two more points from penalties, first for ruck interference, and then, on the hooter, for a dangerous tackle.
London expected a barrage of possession from Toulouse at the start of the second half, but it didn’t happen, It was more of the same from Olympique, a succession of penalties in kickable positions and Smith added two points after 46 minutes for a late hit on Marcus Stock and another two, five minutes later, after another tackle offence.
Toulouse’s frustration was boiling over and their mistake-count continued to rise. With 16 minutes remaining, a high tackle on Walker gave Smith his fifth penalty goal attempt. Had he made it, the lead would have been 14 points, three scores. If the kick had gone dead in goal, Olympique’s restart would have been a kick from their 20. The worst-case scenario for London came to bear as Smith’s kick cannoned off a post, bounced back into the field of play and was brought forward by a Toulouse forward.
The Broncos defended that possession well and received a downfield kick. Unfortunately, they knocked on and Toulouse made good yards before the zero tackle, giving them a six more tackles from the Broncos’ 40. Olympique made only 25 metres on the next five tackles but, on the last, Thomas Lacans danced through three tacklers and touched down in the shadow of the posts.
Suddenly, Toulouse believed they might be able to achieve a turnaround. Their next possession was filled with purpose and the Broncos, out on their feet on a stiflingly hot afternoon, could not stop big yardage. On the last tackle, Ashall-Bott saw a gap in the defensive line but elected to grubber the ball into space under the crossbar and Lacans won the race to the ball.
Neither team could do much with their next possession but then Shorrocks – who was a perfect 4/4 from the tee – drilled a 40–20 that beat Walker to the sideline just outside the 10. On the second tackle, Sadiq Adebiyi, who had played all 71 minutes, took a bang on the head and could not feature in the defensive line. With the defence a man short, Ashall-Bott took advantage and was able to stretch over the line just to the right of the posts.
London had one big chance to rescue the game. Walker made a good break, but he had no support close enough and he was tackled 20 metres out. It was, unfortunately, the fifth tackle, so the Broncos had only one play to get a try and the Toulouse defence held out for an undeserved victory.
London Broncos: 1 Alex Walker, 26 Charlie Robson, 3 Ethan Natoli, 33 Jack Smith, 5 Liam Tindall, 28 Jenson Binks, 7 Connor O’Beirne, 10 Lewis Bienek, 9 Curtis Davies, 15 Dan Okoro, 11 Will Lovell, 12 Sadiq Adebiyi, 13 Marcus Stock. Replacements: 2 Chris Hellec, 8 Huw Worthington, 18 Ben Hursey-Hord, 34 Tommy Porter. 18th man: 22 Matt Ross.
Tries: Tindall 7, 20
Goals: Smith 5/7
Toulouse Olympique: 1 Olly Ashall-Bott, 2 Paul Ulberg, 3 Reubenn Rennie, 5 Paul Marcon, 19 Benjamin Laguerre, 25 Thomas Lacans, 7 Jake Shorrocks, 8 Lambert Belmas, 13 Anthony Marion, 16 Joe Bretherton, 11 Maxime Stefani, 4 Mathieu Jussaume, 15 Joe Cator. Replacements: 10 James Roumanos, 21 Ellis Gillam, 28 Ajahni Wallace, 35 Brendan Hands. 18th man:14 Baptiste Rodriguez.
Tries: Ashall-Bott 11, 72, Lacans 66, 69
Goals: Shorrocks 4/4
Referee: James Vella
HT: 14–6
Penalty awarded count: 10–7
GAMEWEEK: York Knights vs London Broncos It's an away trip to the league leaders this week for London Broncos as they go up north to take on York Knights at the LNR. Mark Applegarth's side lead the Championship by two points over this weekend's opponents Toulouse and also Bradford. The leaders have won 15 games on the bounce so provide a huge task for Mike Eccles side who are looking to get back to winning ways after a narrow defeat to Toulouse at the weekend. Tickets are available to buy for the game from HERE!!
HIGHLIGHTS: London Broncos vs Toulouse Olympique You can now watch back extended highlights of the 2025 Championship fixture between London Broncos and Toulouse Olympique at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. Keep scrolling to get tickets for our final two home league games.
POST-MATCH: Mike Eccles post Toulouse defeat Get the thoughts of London Broncos head coach Mike Eccles following the narrow 18-24 defeat to Toulouse Olympique at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. Liam Tindall scored his 10th and 11th tries of the season and Jack Smith converted one and kicked 4 from 5 penalties. Watch the full interview with Mike below. #WeAreLondon
TEAM NEWS: London Broncos vs Toulouse Olympique Mike Eccles has named his starting line-up for this afternoon's game with Toulouse Olympique. Charlie Robson comes in to make his debut as Jack Smith moves into centre replacing Aaron Small. #WeAreLondon
MATCH PREVIEW: London Broncos vs Toulouse Olympique After the win over Barrow Raiders at the weekend, London Broncos are back at The Cherry Red Records again on Sunday as they welcome Toulouse Olympique to the capital. The two sides met back in June in a tightly contested game in Toulouse with the French side running out narrow winners. Take a look through this week’s Match Preview as we give you all the key information you need ahead of kick-off. SQUAD INFO Mike Eccles has named his 21-man squad for Sunday's fixture with Toulouse Olympique at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. Webster-Mansfield & Polselli remain unavailable through injury so returning to the 21 is Jensen Monk and Ted Davidson.
MATCH PREVIEW: Mike Eccles ahead of Toulouse visit It's a landmark weekend for Mike Eccles as he takes charge of his 100th London Broncos game. "It's been a pleasure and it's been 13 years now...on to the next 13!" Watch the full interview below as we recap the win from last week and provide injury updates on the squad.
Matchday Guide: Toulouse Olympique We are excited to be able to share the matchday guide with you for our match on Saturday to ensure you have the best possible experience backing the Broncos against Toulouse Olympique. Important times to note: 11:00- Gates open. 11:00 – Hospitality opens 13:00- London Broncos vs Toulouse KO CIRCA 13:40- London Broncos vs Toulouse HT CIRCA 14:35- London Broncos vs Toulouse FT 15:30 – Hospitality Last Orders 16:00 – Hospitality Closes
SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: London Broncos vs Toulouse Olympique Mike Eccles has named his 21-man squad for Sunday's fixture with Toulouse Olympique at The Cherry Red Records Stadium. Webster-Mansfield & Polselli remain unavailable through injury so returning to the 21 is Jensen Monk and Ted Davidson. Keep scrolling to get your tickets for Sunday' game.
FIRST INTERVIEW: CHARLIE ROBSON It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for London Broncos new signing Charlie Robson. The 23-year-old winger joined the club on trial just a few weeks ago but after impressing the coaching staff he signed a contract and was named in the matchday squad for the recent win over Barrow Raiders. Robson's story is a unique one in that he has never played a professional game of Rugby League before although has spent time on trial with both Hull FC & Leigh Leopards. Born in Surrey, Robson progressed through the Rugby Union system at Harlequins before playing professionally at Coventry. Watch the full interview with Charlie below and keep scrolling for your tickets for Sunday's game against Toulouse.
Awards to be presented at London Broncos home match on 6 Sep
