Super League: Warrington bounce back from Cup disappointment to beat Toulouse to move joint-second | Rugby League News

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

Sam Burgess’ Wolves lost 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 Ollie Ashall-Boult responded twice for Toulouse, King had already added a second as the visitors returned to Warrington with a bonus-point win.

Warrington boss Burgess told a press conference: “The first half was OK, the second half was a bit disappointing with our performance, but I thought Toulouse showed a bit of spirit.

“They played with a bit of energy and I think we were a bit tired. I can accept that a bit because of the situation, the semi-final and the travel and everything.

“I knew we would be tired at one point so happy with the two points.”

Just six minutes had been played when King went over after great play from Josh Thewlis before the creator did his part at the other end to put Burgess’ men ahead.

Wolves had to work hard to gain a foothold in the contest, but made their territory count before Wood made it the first 40 goals with another score after Smith finished in the 27th minute.

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

Mathieu Jussoume immediately got Toulouse off the mark before Ashal-Bolt reduced the deficit further with 21 minutes remaining.

Mark Snead, who kicked eight points, was soon sent to the sin-bin for Wolves as they faced a spell of pressure.

But when Ashall-Boult struck again Toulouse finished 24-16 to send Warrington level on points with Leeds, who have played a match more.

Hal survives the fight to win KR

Hull held off a brave second-half fightback from KR Leigh to claim a thrilling 20-16 victory and move into fourth place.

Rovers were awarded a penalty by Rhys Martin in the sixth minute. Robins hooker Carl Lawton was stopped there as he needed treatment for a bloody nose before being replaced by Jez Litten.

Leigh scored the opening try in the 14th minute when Jacob Alick-Wienke finished a slick passing move across the line on the right. Rovers stepped up after Peta Hiku touched his man on 27 minutes, Martin’s successful conversion putting them back in front.

Tom Davies headed over in the right corner and Hal KR soon added another when Arthur Morgue broke through the defensive line in the same channel to put the visitors 20-6 up. Rovers then saw Mickie Lewis sent to the sin bin on the stroke of half-time for holding down Umila Hanley and delaying the restart.

Leopards, who won their last three league games to climb back up the table, regrouped in the second half.

With Murg forced off with what appeared to be another shoulder problem after falling in a tackle near the hour mark, Leigh got back into the match when Josh Charnley headed in the corner for his 265th Super League try.

Jack Hughes crashed over for another try with nine minutes remaining, converted by Adam Cook, to move the home side within four points.

Rovers, though, clung on with some last-gasp defending, as Joe Burgess made a saving tackle as Lachlan Lam was set to race over and so extended their winning run to six league games.

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

Peters said Sky Sports: “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’ll learn a lot from that and get two points from it, which is pleasing. We can step on the pedal to score more points and put ourselves under a lot of pressure at the back end.”

Laulu-Togaga’i caught the eye of coach Ryan Carr in Castleford’s win at York

Castleford came on stronger in the second half to deal another blow to York’s debut season and get back on track after two impressive defeats in their last two outings.

Tries from Renouf Attoni and Brock Greisen after the break proved enough for Ryan Carr to claw back a six-point deficit at the break and claim a 24-18 victory that extended the Knights’ testing streak to just one win in eight.

The win, in which full-back Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’i impressed, was commanded by Carr after seeing 50 points in each of their last two top-flight matches against Hull KR and Hull FC.

Head coach Ryan Carr singled out Laulu-Togaga for special praise after he endured a tense 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 having spent 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 came away from the KR game and I was really excited because deep down there were a lot of flashes from that game. It’s an unreasonable ask for any player coming into a brand new team that day, and he’s only going to get better in our system.

“He’s way ahead of him, which is gratifying. He works very hard at his game and is very diligent, and I’m going to push him to work harder and get better, and he’s a joy to have on board.”

Super League Round 11 Results/Fixtures – Live on Sky Sports

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

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

Sunday 17 May
3pm: Bradford Bulls v Hull FC

2026 Super League – Key dates and what to look out for

• Super League in Paris: Sat June 6: Catalan Dragons vs Wigan Warriors (Paris)6.30pm UK (Sky Sports)
• Magic Weekend: July 4-5 July
• Rival Round Reverse: July 23-July 26
• Playoff Elimination: September 19-September 20
• Play-off semi-finals: September 26-September 27
• Grand Final: 3 October, Old Trafford

Sky Sports Every game in the Super League will again be shown live this season – with two matches from each round exclusively live, the remaining five matches will be shown every week. Sky Sports+