Bradford Bulls should remain proud despite Toulouse defeat

BRADFORD Bulls’ play-off journey ended in the Toulouse heat as the hosts ran out 21-20 winners at the Stade Ernest-Wallon yesterday evening.

It was heartbreak for Eamon O’Carroll’s side, who seemed poised for a place in the final, leading 12-8 with just 23 minutes remaining. However, the momentum shifted after Jayden Myers was sin-binned in the second half, a turning point that proved too much for the visitors to overcome, especially after already enduring Kieran Gill’s first-half sinbin.

The match kicked off in sweltering 25-degree heat at 5:00 pm local time in the south of France. In addition to the challenging conditions, the Bradford Bulls had to cope with the late withdrawal of fullback Tom Holmes, a significant blow considering his recent form. Things went from bad to worse as the Bulls found themselves trailing 8-0 within the first eight minutes.

A fumble from the Bulls at kickoff handed Toulouse early territorial dominance, which they capitalized on. Benjamin Laguerre struck first for the French side, scoring an unconverted try on the right flank. Just six minutes later, Paul Ulberg added another try from the left wing, making it 8-0. Although both conversion attempts missed, Toulouse had a strong start.

Despite the early setbacks, Bradford showed resilience and fought back, displaying character and determination to claw their way back into the contest.

Olly Ashall-Bott dropped a high kick from Jarrod Sammut, and Keven Appo was first to react to the situation to power his way towards the Toulouse line.

Backed up by Gill, the ball was moved swiftly to Lilley to burst his way through the home side’s defence to touch down. Bradford’s no7 also added the conversion to make it 8-6 in favour of the hosts.

Gill was then sent to the sinbin for a high tackle leaving the away side in a precarious position in the lead up to the half-time break.

But Bradford’s big men stepped up to the plate, with Jayden Okunbor making a remarkable break from inside his own half.

He then laid the ball off to Franklin Pele, and he bulldozed his way past the final Toulouse defender to spark jubilant celebrations amongst the travelling Bradford army.

Lilley converted to give the visitors a 12-8 lead heading into the break.

After the interval, Gill thought he’d added to Bradford’s tally but an alleged forward pass from Jorge Taufua brought an abrupt end to the celebrations.

The game then turned on its head, as Myers mistimed a tackle to be given his marching orders for a ten-minute period.

And the hosts made full use of their man advantage, scoring two converted tries in the space of five minutes through Guy Armitage and Anthony Marion, both efforts coming down the left-hand side.

Appo crashed over for the Bulls with two minutes remaining, and Lilley converted to set up a grandstand finish at 21-20 in favour of the home team.

However, Bulls were guilty of a number of handling errors in the final moments of the contest, which halted any chance of a sensational and dramatic comeback.

All being said, Bradford and O’Carroll can be proud of the team’s effort on Sunday, and they can also be proud of the season as a whole. There has been vast improvements and Bulls are on the up again!

Bulls’ lineup: Max Lehmann, Jayden Okunbor, Jayden Myers, Kieran Gill, Jorge Taufua, Jarrod Sammut, Jordan Lilley, Michael Lawrence, Sam Hallas, Eribe Doro, Keven Appo, Zac Fulton, Daniel Smith.