MYLER’S TOP AS KEV ACES FRENCH TEST
KEVIN SINFIELD breathed a massive sigh of relief after champions Leeds eased their relegation nerves.
The Rhinos looked jittery at half-time after the Championship side rattled them with three tries to trail by only four points.
But Sinfield’s men took control once livewire hooker Brad Dwyer grabbed his second try in the 55th minute.
They then ran in a further four tries – and leaked just one – to claim a vital victory in this opening Middle 8s game.
It was far from convincing but it will work wonders for their confidence ahead of the six games they have now got left to safeguard their top-flight status.
Sinfield said: “I am pleased. Toulouse had a real go and they will get some teams because they are a dangerous side.
“They came back at us at the end of the first half and I got a little bit concerned. Their opportunism, offloads and some of their long balls and kicks caused us some problems.
“But we showed patience and it’s good to get a win. It is nice to start this campaign on the right foot. We played some really good stuff in patches and we need to get those patches for longer periods.”
Toulouse coach Sylvain Houles said: “We were so excited to come here because the boys know JULIE STOTT Leeds 48 Toulouse 22
everything about Leeds Rhinos.
“We showed some character and we were in the game at half-time but our defence let us down.
“But it is a game that we will gain experience from and there is a lot of confidence we can take away for our other games.”
Dwyer and centre Joel Moon both grabbed two tries but the mastermind behind this display was scum-half Richie Myler.
He grabbed a try and set up four more and was at the heart of most of the Leeds attacks.
Sinfield added: “His last plays particularly helped us. He got us around the field really well.”
Dwyer’s first try, Moon’s double and one from Ryan Hall put Leeds ahead in the first half.
But the French side hung in with a try from Bastien Canet and then grabbed two more from Bastien Ader and Maxime Puech to trail by 20-16 at the break. Leeds seized control in the second half, scoring further tries from Dwyer, Myler, Adam Cuthbertson, Carl Ablett and Ash Golding, with Liam Sutcliffe taking his goals tally to six.
West Wales Raiders, who hit the headlines in April when they lost by a record-breaking 144-0 against York Knights, were at it again yesterday when they were beaten 130-0 by the same side.