Toulouse Olympique and All Golds Rugby League establish a previously unseen partnership.
The objective is to create positive links on and off the field, with the common goal to grow the sport in France and in South-West England, in Bristol especially, where Rugby League is less popular than in the M62 corridor.
In 2016, Toulouse & All Golds were opponents on the ground when both teams played in League One (3rd tier). Since that, ‘TO’ got promoted to the Betfred Championship, while All Golds has taken a break from the professional competitions to focus on its academy and the development of Rugby League in Gloucestershire.
The first step is to build sport links to facilitate the exchanges of players between France and England, and to create a clear talent development path. Friendly games will take place between both clubs in different categories – Toulouse Olympique has 3 feeder teams (in French 1st, 2nd and 3rd divisions), youth teams, a women team, a wheelchair RL team and a masters teams.
In addition, coaching staffs will have regular exchanges to share their knowledges and discover other views.
The 2 clubs also plan to explore the business opportunities, between 2 economically dynamic big cities.
Toulouse board wants to thank its All Golds RL counterparts for their strong desire to develop this promising partnership.
Bernard SARRAZAIN (Toulouse chairman) : “We are delighted to start this partnership, which we believe, will be a ‘win-win’ on many different levels. A big thank you to Lionel HURST, Simon MARTIN and their staff for offering us this new opportunity of global development”.
Lionel Hurst (All Golds chairman) : « Our dealings with Bernard, Sylvain,Cédric and Thomas have been superb and auger well for a unique partnership rich in promise. Both the All Golds (male) and Golden Ferns (female) are fully supportive. We are all treizistes at heart ! »
