TOULOUSE will provide an 'immense test' for the York City Knights, coach James Ford has insisted.

York kick off their Betfred Championship play-off campaign at Stade Ernest Argles tomorrow in the qualification final.

The Knights haven't beaten Toulouse in any of their last five encounters with the French club and Ford is well aware of the task that awaits his squad.

"They’re a great side and, it’ll sound obvious to say, but they’re the second best team in the Championship," said Ford.

"They’ve got lots of pace and they’re a very confident side with the ball.

"They can move it around from any part of the field and usually score from any part of the field too.

"A lot of their tries come from reactive plays which are off-the-cuff. I think they’ve improved defensively too from their days in League One.

"Sylvain (Houles, coach) has gone a great job there."

In order to combat the unorthodox attacking style of Toulouse, there's likely to be pressure on the Knights' half-backs, with Ford stressing the importance of their kicking game.

"I think it’s especially important where you turn the ball over against them," Ford said.

"You have to be able to kick in a way that controls the opposition. We’ve got to control our sets and the start of their sets and make them start where we want them to start.

"That’s of real importance. Defensively as well, the concentration is going to have to be really high.

"Locking the ball up and when those offloads do come, showing a positive reaction from that.

"We’re going to be tested immensely and we’re well aware of that."

"We’re flying in the early hours of Friday morning. We’re not going to moan about the logistics.

"Everyone in the competition was well aware that we were going to have to fly to Toulouse and Toronto this year and I think most anticipated that they would be in the play-offs too.

"It would be ridiculous to moan at this stage, so that’s certainly not something that we’re going to do."