Toronto had beaten Toulouse both times they met during the regular season, but both teams were really fired up to win this Super 8s Qualifiers game as they were on equal points.
Toulouse opened the scoring with a penalty goal, but it was a very even first half, ending 8-8 after forty minutes. The HT entertainment was an obstacle course run by people from the local craft beer community.
The second half was even more tense – with just 10 minutes left of the game, the score was 12-12. A field goal from O’Brien put Toronto ahead, and then it was a nailbiting four minutes of the Wolfpack defending over and over again.
It was a great game, which fortunately went Toronto’s way at the end. There’s a 1-minute review of the game on the Wolfpack’s YouTube account … and I even grabbed a screencap of me taking a photo as Wallace and O’Brien bear down on a Toulouse player. (I’m just at Wallace’s left elbow.)
You can find all my photos from this game on Flickr, along with my shots from the previous games.
Post-game: I didn’t see Bussey biting a Toulouse player (seriously!) and didn’t even hear about it until well after the game, but I read the BBC article that said he’s been banned for eight games. “The Wolfpack had already sent Bussey home from their camp in Canada prior to the Rugby Football League’s ruling. Bussey also accepted a two-game ban for a Grade B high tackle, to be served after the eight-game suspension.”