Toulouse shine in Super League but French fans miss TV coverage

On 24 September 2026, Toulouse Olympique, coached by Sylvain Houles, finished eighth in the Super League this season but supporters in France have had no national television coverage of Super League matches.

Houles publicly threatened to quit if his side were replaced in the Super League by London Broncos after guiding newly promoted Toulouse to eighth on half central funding, finishing above Catalans Dragons for the first time in 25 years. A rumour that IMG would rank Toulouse 14th and relegate them has been dismissed, and Shane Richardson, the NRL head of strategy, said the aim is to build the code’s presence in France, not reduce it.

“There has been no Super League on French TV all season,” says the journalist Esteban Raña. Matches have been live-streamed by Rugbyrama but, Raña added, “The Rugbyrama deal was only for the French teams, so there have been no Good Friday derbies, no playoffs, no Grand Final and, at the moment, no World Cup. French fans deserve to see everything.”

The lack of TV coverage meant the French sporting public missed matches such as Warrington dispatching Hull KR and Wakefield reaching a historic semi-final at a bouncing Belle Vue. Rugbyrama’s streams covered only fixtures involving French clubs and left the rest of the league unseen in France.

Toulouse finished above Catalans on points difference after a season in which Catalans’ NRL imports were inconsistent and the club underwent repeated changes. Observers pointed to the emergence of young French players in Perpignan as a positive amid Catalans’ turmoil, while many have nominated Houles as coach of the year after Toulouse won more matches than established Super League sides including Hull FC, Castleford and Huddersfield.

Houles strengthened his squad with a small number of inexpensive recruits rather than major signings: Italy international Luke Polselli covered the back line and halves, Joe Cator added forward grit and Louis Grossemy — previously rejected by Sydney Roosters, Rabbitohs and Canterbury Bulldogs — was selected in France’s 40-man World Cup squad. Olly Ashall-Bott was singled out as a major asset; he qualifies for France next February and may make the switch after being overlooked by England. Toulouse relied on domestic halves César Rougé and Thomas Lacans, Benjamin Laguerre provided a constant threat out wide and Mathieu Jussaume was voted into the Super League dream team, only the second Frenchman to earn that honour after Rémi Casty. Only six players were released, 80% of the squad remain under contract and Houles will begin his 20th year at the club.

Off the field, Toulouse struggled to build attendances and home form: their final home game drew 7,360 against Hull amid a 40C heatwave but the previous week only 3,743 attended against Bradford, leaving some 16,000 empty seats, and the side endured an eight-match losing run mid-season. Stade Toulousain, who share the Stade Ernest-Wallon with Toulouse Olympique, operate with a €63m budget, while Toulouse Olympique received £650,000 in central funding this season. By contrast, Dragons’ crowds in Perpignan remained relatively healthy with more than 9,000 at their final home game against York.

Catalans finished a turbulent campaign having changed the club chief executive, manager, head coach and assistant during the season; Ben Garcia will retire to become the club’s sporting director and France coach Laurent Frayssinous will return to Catalans after the World Cup as assistant 10 years after leaving. John Cartwright will work with a reshaped squad that will include Joe Burgess replacing the retiring Tommy Makinson, Nick Cotric and Edenn Rogers-Smith heading to Leeds, and foreign recruits Cole Geyer, Jesse Arthars, Luciano Leilua and Tyson Gamble joining the squad; Cartwright also signed Amir Bourouh from Hull FC.

Dazn currently shows Serie A and La Liga in France, and Rana expects them to bring Super League back to French TV screens in February. “I hope Dazn buys the rights and does a deal here,” he says. “We know there is an audience for it but, if you cannot watch it on TV, we cannot grow. Everyone in French rugby league will do anything to promote the game, but we need more. I’m sure the NRL, IMG and Super League will fix that.”