UNBEATEN TOULOUSE END BRADFORD'S WINNING RUN

Bradford Bulls' three-match winning run came to an end at the hands of the unbeaten Toulouse Olympique yesterday afternoon.

Two quickfire tries from Guy Armitage broke the deadlock for Toulouse Olympique – with the French outfit adding a third soon after through Lloyd White. 

Ilias Bergal barged his way over for Toulouse’s fourth of the half despite Bradford pressure - before Romain Navarette’s effort just before the interval.

The visitors started the second half in the same vein with a Justin Sangare double preceding Joe Bretherton’s try.

George Flanagan then got Bradford on the board in typical fashion before White’s second and a Mark Kheirallah double.

Head Coach John Kear was forced into naming a much-changed side, with injuries and COVID isolation causing major disruption. 

Toulouse raced out of the starting blocks and registered the game’s first score on three minutes – with Armitage proving too strong for the Bradford defence. 

Armitage strolled in for his second soon before a response without reward from the home side. 

The home side enjoyed a sustained spell of pressure on the Toulouse line but they held firm – with Sylvain Houles’ side only averaging 8 points against per game. 

Bradford were forced into a change with Brandon Pickersgill stretchered off with a serious looking injury. 

Toulouse turned the tide however and a neat kick in behind the home defence saw Lloyd White touch down in the left corner. 

A looping pass out wide then sent Bergal in for a walk-in on the right edge before Navarette took advantage of a Bradford man down in the defensive line to crash over. 

After the interval, Justin Sangare barged over twice in the space of five minutes to score, with Bretherton following up his effort soon after. 

Bradford did have their moment however, as Flanagan in his usual fashion spun over from close range. 

Kheirellah then took advantage of an offload from former Bull Hitchcox to race 60m and touch down. 

Bradford showed plenty of fight and desire against an unbeaten Toulouse, with numerous sets on the visitors’ line but couldn’t make the pressure pay. 

There was time for one final try, with Kheirellah and Ford combining, with the former scoring to round off the victory for Toulouse. 

BRADFORD BULLS TRIES 

Flanagan 

GOALS 

Lilley 1/1 

TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE TRIES 

Armitage (2), White (2), Bergal, Sangare (2), Navarette, Kheirallah (2), Bretherton 

GOALS 

Kheirallah 7/11 

BRADFORD BULLS – Brandon Pickersgill, Joe Brown, Rhys Evans, Ross Oakes, David Foggin-Johnston, Jordan Lilley, Billy Jowitt, Ben Evans, Thomas Doyle, Steve Crossley, Brad England, Sam Hallas, Dan Fleming. 

INTERCHANGES – Joe Burton, George Flanagan, Bradley Ho, Ethan O’Hanlon. 

TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE – Mark Kheirallah, Illas Bergal, Mathieu Jussaume, Guy Armytage, Jy Hitchcox, Johnathon Ford, Tony Gigot, Remi Casty, Lloyd White, Harrison Hansen, Dominic Peyroux, Joe Bretherton, Joeseph Paulo. 

INTERCHANGES – Elio Pelissier, Mitch Garbutt, Justin Sangare, Romain Navarette.