TRICKSTERS
48 Hull pair too hot for Toulouse
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HULL FC stars Darnell Mcintosh and Connor Wynne shared the match ball after scoring hat-tricks apiece in a dominant win over hapless Toulouse Olympique.
The duo played on either flank but raced in for trebles as the Black and Whites stormed to a third straight win and a fifth on the bounce on home soil at the expense of the French outfit, who are now four points adrift at the bottom of Super League.
Brett Hodgson’s men now sit fourth in the table, with this win all the more impressive given they did it without a recognised half-back.
Suspensions to Luke Gale and Josh Reynolds and injury Ben Mcnamara forced hookers Joe Lovodua and Jordan Johnstone to operate in the halves, but they oversaw a nine-try rout.
Hodgson said: “What I’m really happy with this year is that we’re only worrying about the players that are playing.
“I say that with respect to the players that aren’t but the boys on the field know they’re going on with a game plan and rolling their sleeves up.”
He added: “It was a very professional performance. We knew they would have a go, they’re extremely physical and we knew we’d be in a game, there will be a few sore bodies on both sides.”
Toulouse actually took the lead on 12 minutes when former Hull KR centre Junior Vaivai reacted first to a kick in-goal.
But 26 points in 18 first-half minutes saw the hosts storm into an unassailable lead. Mcintosh was the first to score with an acrobatic finish before a scorching effort from Wynne on the other wing.
Lovodua was the next to go over before Hull FC’S hattrick heroes bagged their braces within four minutes of each other just before the interval.
Anthony Marion pulled one back early in the second half but then 18-year-old debutant Denive Balmforth crossed the whitewash two minutes after coming on as a substitute.
Wynne completed his hatto trick on 62 minutes, and Mcintosh did exactly the same five minutes later.
Five minutes before the end Lovodua generously passed Kane Evans the ball over the line to gift him his first try in Hull FC colours.
Toulouse coach Sylvain Houles said Super League officials should consider an exemption to protect his side from relegation.
“It’s a big problem in the game,” he said. “Any team coming up, it is going to be really hard for and any good businessman will see with France and the World Cup in 2025, they’ll have the vision to give us the exemption.
“If you want a big World Cup, you will need this.”