Barrow Raiders 4 Toulouse 24

THE French came and conquered in this first game of the Championship season with a far more polished performance than the home side.

Toulouse hit the straps from the first whistle and with 12 minutes posted twelve points on the board.

They were far too sharp for the home side who looked disjointed in those opening minutes and over the eighty minutes were second best with too many players having an off day.

Barrow were caught napping on four minutes after losing possession 20 meters from the visitors line.

A swift attack down the right caused havoc in the home defence as Greg Worthington and Shane Toal were out played, resulting in full back Olly Ash Bolt crossing outwide,Anthony Marion failing to convert 0-4.

From the restart again Barrow were slow to react as Benjamin Laguerre tore through the cover and racing in unopposed was Reubenn Rewnnie to dot the ball down,again no goal 0-8.

At this point Worthington left the field injured not to return,Jarrad Stack moving to centre only to pick up a hand injury.

Barrow almost responded when swift handling from Wells Johnston and Sammutt saw Toal dive over the line only for the ball to come loose.

Then on twelve minutes a repeat of the first try, Barrow once more failing to cope with the swiftness of the Toulouse attack, and crossing the whitewash at pace was Laguerre, no conversion  0-12 with Barrow still in contention.

Nine minutes later the home side registered their first and only points when a long pass from Johnston found Corkill and Shaw went in at the corner 4-12.

Barrow were their own worst enemies, losing the ball at vital times, several on the first tackle.

However the introduction of big guns Ben Evans, Anton Iaria and Greg Burke brought a little steadiness into the team.

33 minutes on the clock, former Saint Helens star Dominique Peyroux powered through some week tackling to touchdown, again no goal 4-16.

The second half was closely contested but Barrow went further into arrears on 48 minutes with Lauguerre crossing with ease in the corner, once more no goal 4-20.

Iaria worked hard up front with Burke, but the master of the back line Jarrad Sammutt was having an off day.

A rare opportunity on the hour mark never materialised when with the line open Corkill failed to gather a Wells long pass.

Again the back line was reshuffled, with Toal off for a head test with Langtree forced into the centre.

And to round off the scoring, Jake Shorrcks went in at the corner after several players from both teams tried to pick up a loose ball.

Barrow will regroup for next Sunday when Sheffield Eagles are the visitors.

Barrow: Creswell, Toal, Worthington, Corkill, Shaw, Sammutt, Johnston, Brooks, Wood, Gillam, Langtree, Stack, Wells. Subs used: J Carter, Iaria, Burke, Evans.

Mail Man of the Match: Anton Iaria

Attendance 2,177.