MARK Applegarth outlined his respect for York Knights’ next opponents Toulouse Olympique, and warned his players to be ready for a tough battle.
York will be looking to make it four wins in a row on Saturday when travelling overseas to Toulouse's Stade Ernest-Wallon (8pm), knowing that a victory would see them leapfrog their French hosts.
Both clubs currently sit on 12 points in their Betfred Super League campaign and with identical records, winning 6 of their 18 matches played.
Similarly to last season in the Betfred Championship, very little separates York and Toulouse, with Knights head coach Applegarth expecting a ‘straight shootout’ for the added two points.
“Each week is a new twist and challenge,” Applegarth said in this week’s press conference.
“Last week was a straight shootout for whoever could get the two, and it’s the same again this week.
“Toulouse have been great, they did a great job over at St Helen’s and then Catalans the week before.
“We know exactly what going over to Toulouse is about and what they bring, they play an excellent brand of rugby, led by Olly Ashall-Blott.
“He is rightly so getting a lot of plaudits.
“I have a lot of respect for Toulouse as a club, a lot of respect for Sylvain and his team for what they are about and what brand they bring.
“I’m really looking forward to locking horns again with them in Super League, and going at it on Saturday night.”
Similarly to the Knights, Toulouse are in good form after commanding victories over both Catalans Dragons and St Helens.
Sylvain Houles, the Olympique head coach, is a former teammate of Applegarth, who is wary of the threats the French side could pose.
He added: “We know exactly what Toulouse are about, I think they are an excellent team when they play on the front foot.
“They have been there, they play a lovely brand of rugby, are very expansive, and if they start pushing those offloads too and push, then their anticipation is excellent.
“We know exactly what they are about, they’ve been in great form over the last two games and that is great to see as well.
“Saturday, we’ll be going over there with our own goals, with our own philosophy and it’s got all of the makings for a good game.”
Whilst the trip to France brings the new dynamic of having to take a plane, rather than a coach, to an away match, it’s not a distraction that Applegarth believes will effect his players.
He sees it as nothing new for the Knights, having been in the same league as Toulouse in recent years, and locking horns in the South of France on plenty of occasions too.
Revealing their plan for the weekend, the York boss detailed: “You’ve had French teams in both the Super League and Championship for 15 to 20 years, so it’s nothing new.
“It’s two hours on a plane at the end of the day, you have longer bus rides if you go to certain clubs.
“We’ll be going out on Friday, playing Saturday and then coming back early Sunday morning.
“It’s not really too different apart from a couple of overnight stays.
“I think it’s fantastic, I love everything that both French teams are about, Toulouse and Catalans.
“We’re just looking forward to it, it’s the sort of game that we want to be a part of.”
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