Toulouse finish above Catalans but exposure battle continues
Sylvain Houles' promoted side ended the season eighth in Super League, outperforming Catalans Dragons on a fraction of their rivals' budget, though question marks remain over how visible the club is to fans back home.
Toulouse Olympique closed their return season in Super League in eighth place, finishing above Catalans Dragons for the first time in 25 years, according to Guardian Rugby League.
The achievement is all the more striking given the promoted club operated on what the Guardian described as half funding compared with their established rivals, under head coach Sylvain Houles.
There had been a rumour, since quashed, that an IMG ranking system could have placed Toulouse as low as 14th in Super League, opening the door to relegation and a possible replacement by London Broncos.
The Guardian's report suggested no one could have blamed Houles for threatening to walk away from the sport had his side been demoted through such a mechanism after the campaign they produced.
That scenario has not come to pass, to the relief of what the Guardian called sane league fans, leaving Toulouse's Super League status for next season intact.
Shane Richardson, the NRL's head of strategy, said the aim is to build rugby league's presence in France rather than cut it back, addressing the wider strategic question hanging over the club's place in the competition.
Despite the on-field progress, the piece frames Toulouse's next challenge as one of exposure, with French supporters still missing out on the kind of television coverage enjoyed elsewhere in Super League.
Houles' side head into the off-season having outperformed Catalans domestically for the first time in a quarter of a century, but the funding gap and the visibility problem both remain live issues as the club looks to build on eighth place.