Toulouse 28 Hunslet Hawks 6: First trip to France concludes in defeat as Hunslet lose control

Although the scoreline in Toulouse on Saturday was identical to that of the earlier tussle in South Leeds last month between the two sides, this time it went the way of the French hosts, deserved victors by five tries to one.

Hunslet started well in their first-ever game in the Championship across the English Channel, dominating both possession and territory with halves Danny Grimshaw and Paul March very much to the fore and proving to be a thorn in the side of Toulouse.

But the visitors found it difficult taking the chances when they were presented.

Sylvain Houles for Toulouse and Waine Pryce for Hunslet exchanged converted tries in the first quarter before the French side roared down field to take a stranglehold on the game.

It was decided initially in the last 10 minutes of the first half with a pair of well-taken tries from back rower Yoan Tisseyre, with only a superb last-ditch tackle from Kain prevented a third from the same adversary.

Bruno Ormeno slalomed his way over for a fine Toulouse try on the hour to seal the points for the home side.

Hunslet maintained the effort, but the errors continued to mounted as they chased the deficit.

Frustration then crept in, which led to the Hawks unravelling and finishing the game in disarray with only 11 players remaining on the pitch.

Both Paul and David March found themselves on the sidelines at the end, while Darren Nicholls then made use of the additional space to go over the line to enable the French side to lift themselves off the bottom of the Championship table.

Toulouse Olympique: White, Payan, Planas, Ormeno, Reveillon, Nicholls, Villegas, Worth, Cook, Corcoran, Wynn, Maria, Houles. Substitutes: Tisseyre, Gout, Faure, Gigord.

Hunslet Hawks: Kain, Clayton, Oakes, Haughey, Pryce, Grimshaw, P March, Sullivan, Haigh, Houston, Kelly, Dooler, D March. Substitutes: Blakeway, Chapman, Helme, Yates.

Referee: C Halloran (RFL).