ONE glance at the scoreboard confirms the difference between the two sides, but there was no shame in Barrow Raiders' margin of this defeat at the hands of the men from the south of France.
The full-timers of Toulouse are heading for instant promotion to the Championship – and maybe beyond – after this eight-try demolition at Craven Park.
As Barrow coach Paul Crarey agreed afterwards: “They are a class team and are probably already in the wrong division.”
This was their first win in four visits to Barrow, but this time there was never any doubt about the result.
Raiders, to their credit and that of the 1,050 who stayed to the finish, never gave up and two late Oliver Wilkes tries earned them praise for their refusal to go quietly.
After missing out on an early chance, Barrow were under the hammer almost from the start when their defence was split open as early as the sixth minute, allowing Rhys Curran to go over behind the posts.
Worse followed after 18 minutes when prop Bastien Canet took a pass from Kane Bentley and stretched the Toulouse lead.
In between, Cameron Pitman had pulled off a try-saving tackle and at the other end Wilkes was held up over the line.
With half-backs Johnathon Ford and Arthur Gonzalez-Trique enjoying the benefits of playing behind a bigger, powerful and experienced pack of forwards, it was always going to be an uphill struggle for the home side.
There was more misery for Raiders before half-time, with the faster, more inventive Frenchmen pouncing on every mistake by Barrow, who gave the ball away far too cheaply.
Toulouse went further ahead on 26 minutes, winger Kuni Minga going in at the corner and things went from bad to worse when Raiders were given a sharp reminder of the value of rapid support play six minutes before the break.
This time it was full-back Mark Kheirallah who reaped the reward with Toulouse’s fourth try. He then added his third goal and at the break the visitors looked to be out of sight with a 22-0 lead.
Barrow fell foul of referee Terry Crashley at the start of the second half.
Liam Harrison was harshly sin-binned for a tripping offence and, on the back of four quick-fire penalties, Toulouse stand-off Ford went in to stretch the gap to 26-0.
The first crumb of comfort came when a cross-field kick from Ryan Fieldhouse was knocked on and Max Wiper made the most of a rare chance.
Two minutes later normal service was resumed and a length-of-the-field try by Mingi wiped the brief smiles off the faces of the Raiders fans.
Free-scoring winger Tony Maurel got in on the act as Toulouse twice broke from deep to outrun the cover defence and, when Kheirallah’s try on 65 minutes took Toulouse beyond the 40-point mark, there were fears that Raiders were in for their biggest drubbing for a long time.
But they didn’t buckle and twice skipper Wilkes used all his strength to force his way over for a couple of face-saving tries, which Chris Hankinson converted.
Barow were still giving it all they had at the end, but the full-time squad from Toulouse showed why they are everybody’s hot tip to take the title and leave the other promotion place to Barrow and the rest.
Barrow Raiders Starting XIII: Ryan Fieldhouse, Shane Toal, Chris Hankinson, Max Wiper, Cameron Pitman. Jamie Dallinore, Brad Marwood, Joe Bullock, Karl Ashall, Oliver Wilkes, Liam Harrison, Brad Crellin, Martin Aspinwall.
Substitutes (all used): James Duerden, Dan Toal, Dan Abram, Antony Bate.
Toulouse Olympique: Mark Kheirallah, Tony Maurel, Gavin Marguerite, Gregory White, Kuni Minga, Johnathon Ford, Arthur Gonzalez-Trique, Maxime Puech, Kane Bentley, Bastien Canet, Clement Boyer, Rhys Curran, Anthony Marion.
Substitutes (all used): Mourad Kriouache, Cedric Mazars, Samy Masselot, Justin Sangare.
Referee Terry Crashley.
Attendance 1.050.
SIX MINUTES: Rhys Curran try, Mark Kheirallah conversion, 0-6.
18 MINUTES: Bastien Canet try, Kheirallah conversion, 0-12.
26 MINUTES: Kuni Minga try, 0-16.
34 MINUTES: Kheirallah and conversion, 0-22.
45 MINUTES: Johnathon Ford try, 0-26.
52 MINUTES: Max Wiper try, 4-26.
54 MINUTES: Minga try, Kheirallah conversion, 4-32.
63 MINUTES: Tony Maurel try, Kheirallah conversion, 4-38.
65 MINUTES: Kheirallah and conversion, 4 -44.
70 MINUTES: Oliver Wilkes try, Chris Hankinson conversion, 10-44.
77 MINUTES: Wilkes try, Hankinson conversion, 16-44.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here