Rugby League May 18, 2026

Super League: Warrington bounce back from cup disappointment to beat Toulouse and move up to joint-second

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By Admin
Sports Journalist
Super League: Warrington bounce back from cup disappointment to beat Toulouse and move up to joint-second

Warrington bounced back from Betfred Challenge Cup semi-final heartbreak with a 24-16 win at Toulouse to move up to joint-second in the Super League.

Sam Burgess' Wolves had lost out in emphatic fashion to Hull KR last Sunday to miss out on a trip to Wembley, but produced a superb first-half display to win in France.

Toby King, Josh Smith and Max Wood gave Wolves an 18-0 lead at the break and although Olly Ashall-Bolt responded twice for Toulouse, King had already added a second to ensure the visitors returned to Warrington with a bonus-point triumph.

Warrington boss Burgess told a press conference: "First half was OK, second half a little bit disappointed with our performance, but I thought Toulouse showed some spirit.

"They played with some energy and I think we looked a little bit tired. I can accept it a little bit because of the circumstances, the semi-final and the travel and everything.

"I knew we would get tired at some point so happy with the two points."

Only six minutes had been played when King went over after excellent play by Josh Thewlis before the creator played his part at the other end to keep Burgess' men ahead.

Wolves had to work hard to regain a foothold in the contest, but made their territory count when Smith finished off in the 27th minute before Wood rounded off a fine first 40 with another score.

King completed his brace after 52 minutes with a superb dummy to put the away side 24-0 up, but Toulouse finished strong.

Mathieu Jussaume immediately got Toulouse off the mark before Ashall-Bolt further reduced the deficit with 21 minutes left.

When Marc Sneyd, who kicked eight points, was sent to the sin-bin soon after for Wolves, they faced a period of pressure.

But whilst Ashall-Bolt went over again for Toulouse, it finished 24-16 to send Warrington up to second level on points with Leeds, who have played a fixture more.

Hull KR held off a brave second-half fightback from Leigh to close out a tense 20-16 win and move fourth.

An early penalty from Rhyse Martin got Rovers on the board in the sixth minute. There was then a stoppage as Robins hooker Karl Lawton needed treatment for a bloodied nose, before being replaced by Jez Litten.

Leigh scored the opening try in the 14th minute when Jacob Alick-Wiencke finished off a slick passing move across the line on the right. Rovers then upped the tempo after Peta Hiku spun his man to touch down on 27 minutes, with Martin's successful conversion edging them back in front.

Tom Davies went over in the right corner and Hull KR soon added another when Arthur Mourgue broke through the defensive line down the same channel as the visitors went ahead 20-6. Rovers then saw Mikey Lewis sent to the sin bin on the stroke of half-time for holding down Umyla Hanley and delaying the restart.

The Leopards, who had won their last three league games to move back up the table, regrouped for the second half.

After Mourgue was forced off with what looked like another shoulder problem after a fall in a tackle around the hour, Leigh got back into the match when Josh Charnley went over in the corner for his 265th Super League try.

Jack Hughes crashed over for another try with nine minutes left, which was converted by Adam Cook, to take the home side within four points.

Rovers, though, held out with some last-gasp defending, as Joe Burgess made a saving tackle as Lachlan Lam looked set to race clear, and so extended their winning run to six league games.

Despite Leigh's second-half rally, Hull KR coach Willie Peters felt his side should focus on the positives.

Peters said on Your Site: "I thought we controlled the second half well, and then once they got that try, they had some momentum.

"People say you learn when you lose, but we will get a lot of learning from that and getting two points from that, which is pleasing. We could put the foot on the pedal to score more points and put ourselves under too much pressure at the back end."

Castleford came on strong in the second half to deal another blow to York's debut season and get themselves back on track after two thumping defeats in their last two outings.

Tries from Renouf Atoni and Brock Greacen after the interval proved enough for Ryan Carr's men to wrench back a six-point deficit at the break and claim a 24-18 win that extends the Knights' testing streak to just one win in eight.

The win, in which full-back Phoenix Laulu-Togaga'e impressed, was just what Carr ordered after watching the Tigers ship 50 points in each of their last two top-flight matches against Hull KR and Hull FC respectively.

Head coach Ryan Carr picked out Laulu-Togaga'e for special praise after he had endured a torrid debut against Hull KR two weeks ago but rebounded well at the LNER Community Stadium.

Carr said: "He's a super talent who brings a lot to our game, and being able to spend two weeks with him and getting him to understand our style, he's fitted in really well and today we unlocked a lot of his strengths.

"I walked away from the KR game and I was really excited because deep down there were a lot of glimpses from that game. Coming into a brand new team on the day is an unreasonable ask for any player, and he is only going to get better in our system.

"He's got so much ahead of him, which is pleasing. He works very hard on his game and is very diligent, and I'm just going to keep pushing him to work harder and get better, and he's a joy to have on board."

Friday May 15
Wigan Warriors 24-4 Leeds Rhinos
Wakefield Trinity 58-10 Catalans Dragons

Saturday May 16
York Knights 18-24 Castleford Tigers
Leigh Leopards 16-20 Hull KR
Toulouse Olympique 16-24 Warrington Wolves

Sunday May 17
3pm: Bradford Bulls v Hull FC

Your Site will again show every game of the Super League live this season - including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week shown on

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