'We said we were going to do it': Mike Eccles revels in London Broncos' Super League return

Two second-half tries from Iliess Macani saw the Broncos haul back a 10-point half-time deficit to wrap up three straight away play-off victories and confirm their return to the top flight for the first time since 2019.

Eccles, whose side lost four of their first five games of the regular season, told Viaplay: “We said we were going to do it and we were happy to come away because it brings us together so much and we were going to need that.

“It’s been an absolutely surreal three weeks, to go to Sheffield, Featherstone and Toulouse it doesn’t get much harder. We’ve been through a couple of difficult years but we’ve found our fabric as a club and a team.”

Long-time London star Alex Walker, who had also featured in the shock play-off win over Toronto Wolfpack in Canada in 2018, said victory answered the critics who had written off their chances at the start of the campaign.

“We’ve done it all year, coming hard, and we came out in the second half when it matters,” said Walker.

“I can’t believe that we’ve done it, but anything can happen in sport and we’ve proved that this year. Everyone wrote us off at the start of the season and we didn’t have the best start but we finished strongly and that’s what matters.”

Toulouse head coach Sylvain Houles intimated that his club faces some difficult times ahead as they face up to the prospect of another season in the Championship.

“We knew it would be a tough game and it’s tough,” said Houles. “The second half didn’t go our way and we didn’t play well, but credit to London, they did a job on us.

“It’s a shame because it obviously could have been a big strong base to develop rugby league in France in the Super League. But it wasn’t to be today, so we’ll regroup and see the next stage.”