Super League: Toulouse Olympique 20-6 Leeds Rhinos - Pressure on Wakefield after win

Corey Norman (right) was influential for Toulouse

Toulouse moved level on points with Wakefield at the foot of the Super League table with a home victory over a depleted Leeds in sapping humidity.

First-half tries from Latrell Schaumkel and Matty Russell plus three Chris Hankinson goals established a lead that the French team never let slip.

Leeds, who fielded a young squad given their injury problems, pressed and were rewarded through Brad Dwyer's try.

However, Joe Bretherton's late score gave the hosts an unassailable lead.

This was a third win in a row for Toulouse, who have chased down and now pulled level with Trinity to give the French side a genuine hope of avoiding the drop.

The mid-season signings of Corey Norman, who was again an influence, and Nathan Peats have paid off for Sylvain Houles, while longer-serving players such as Russell and Bretherton were also key figures in the win.

Leeds, already down on troops, had Liam Sutcliffe as a late withdrawal through illness, handing Jack Sinfield a start and Liam Tindall a place on the bench.

For all the imports, it was a France international in Tony Gigot who sparked the game into life when he fizzed a cut-out ball to put Schaumkel in after Romain Navarrete roughed up the Rhinos defensive line.

Russell finished off a sliding move to the left to put Toulouse in control in the close conditions.

Dwyer got the first points of the second half when he sneaked over in trademark fashion from dummy-half, after the hosts had repelled a string of Rhinos attacks.

Max Simpson's withdrawal was a further blow to Rhinos, with applause around the ground as the centre was helped from the pitch with an injury picked up in innocuous circumstances.

Bretherton powered in with minutes to spare to spark celebrations, although some desperate defence notably though an Olly Ashall-Bott try-saver, had kept Leeds at bay.

Toulouse: Ashall-Bott; Schaumkel, Armitage, Hankinson, Russell; Gigot, Norman; Alvaro, Peats, Navarrete, Bretherton, Peyroux, Paulo.

Interchanges: Albert, Hansen, Belmas, Sangare.

Leeds: Myler; Fusitu'a, Simpson, Martin, Handley; Sinfield, Johnson; Walters, O'Connor, Oledzki, Bentley, Gannon, Smith.

Interchanges: Thompson, Tindall, Dwyer, Donaldson.

Referee: Jack Smith.

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