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
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