Warrington Wolves 6 Toulouse 26

A YOUNG Warrington Wolves side would have been expecting a tough hit-out at The Halliwell Jones Stadium on Sunday, and that is exactly what they got from the French Champions.

Toulouse’s band of travelling supporters topped, both in numbers and noise, those brought by the likes of London Broncos to The Halliwell Jones Stadium last season.

Even before kick-off they were in full voice, dressed in matching club jackets and banging together inflatable sticks to create an atmosphere few had expected for the first of Sunday’s double-header.

Wolves, whose own supporters were beginning to seep into the stadium ahead of the afternoon’s showpiece event, looked the livelier early on.

A mix of youth and experience, first-teamers Roy Asotasi, Matty Russell, Ben Harrison and Anthony England were joined by new boy Gary Wheeler.

There was also an outing for Gene Ormsby, who struggled to hold down a regular starting berth in 2014, and Ben Evans, returning from injury with a heavily strapped knee.

Former St Helens man Wheeler was at the heart of the hosts’ early pressure, but it would be the visiting fans – who recently watched their side clinch the French Championship – that enjoyed the early bragging rights.

Their enthusiasm peaked when, two minutes after breaking the deadlock, Kuni Minga added his second, exploiting a gap in Wolves’ defence to combine brilliantly with Mark Kheirallah and score.

Minga’s first had also showcased the French side’s creativity, with Florian Quintilla collecting a chip over the Wolves line before sending his jet-heeled team-mate away with a perfectly weighted grubber.

More worrying for Wolves than conceding twice in as many minutes was a continuation of Russell’s teeth trauma.

The full back caught a stray arm in the face and had to be replaced early on.

This did give a platform for some of Wolves’ younger faces to shine, and Declan Patton did little to curb his growing reputation at the club when he seized on some static Toulouse defending. The promising half back scooped up a bouncing ball from Wheeler’s high kick to dart between two defenders and touch down behind the posts, before adding a simple conversion.

Patton continued to impress in the second period, while England Academy winger Jack Johnson also looked lively.

But with Wolves feeling they had stemmed the Toulouse tide, the game’s stand-out winger, Minga, proved otherwise.

The prolific Papa New Guinea-born back finished off some expansive rugby from the French outfit to grab his hat-trick, while later adding a fourth.

Wolves could take positives. England impressed, as did Wheeler in spells, and the youngsters battled well against a competent Toulouse outfit.

But it was the partying French who left the happiest after this encounter.

Wolves: Matty Russell; Gene Ormsby, Toby King, Harvey Livett, Jack Johnson; Gary Wheeler, Dec Patton; Roy Asotasi, Andy Ackers, Anthony England, Ben Evans, Joe Philbin, Ben Harrison. Subs: George King, Declan Kay, Daniel Murray, Robert Holroyd, Morgan Smith, Andy Philbin, Daniel Hirst, Sam Wilde.