Championship: Halifax Panthers v Toulouse LIVE

Fax are in their purple away kit for this one, with Toulouse in their all white strip

The teams come out to a fabulous reception!

The teams have headed back in for the final, final preparations. Two minutes away from coming back out.

Toulouse have lost away games at fellow play-off contenders Bradford, Sheffield, Batley and London this season. Can Halifax add themselves to that list?

These two sides last met in France in June and although Fax scored four tries through McComb, Wood, Moore and Walmsley, Toulouse prevailed 28-22.

One thing Halifax have in their favour, maybe, is their home form. They have proved incredibly difficult to beat here at The Shay throughout 2023. Indeed, up until the last weekend in August when they were edged out by Widnes, they had only lost once at home in the league, against the Bulls.

We know that the Panthers have it all to play for, but what about Toulouse? Second spot, as previously mentioned, is signed, sealed and delivered. Are their eyes already on preparing for the play-offs? Perhaps not. They come over to glorious West Yorkshire on the back of six successive wins. It’s going to be a tasty affair.

Read what Simon Grix had to say ahead of this crucial encounter:

https://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/panthers-v-toulouse-preview-simon-grix-hoping-halifax-town-centre-will-be-a-good-place-to-be-on-saturday-night-after-faxs-best-performance-of-the-season-4283053

The Bee Gees’ ‘Stayin Alive’ rings round around The Shay. Can Fax keep their promotion hopes alive tonight?

Less than 30 minutes to go before kick off here. The Shay is filling up nicely.

With three games, Fax probably need to win all three games to give themselves a chance of securing their place in the top six. A win tonight takes them into 6th, with Widnes visiting London tomorrow. Batley will also be looking to finally return to winning ways at home to Whitehaven.

This is how the play-off picture is looking ahead of tonight’s game (Toulouse have already cemented second place and are guaranteed a home tie in a play-off semi-final:

3rd - Sheffield 30pts

4th - Bradford 29pts

5th - London 28pts

6th - Widnes 26pts

7th - Batley 26pts

8th - Halifax 25pts

9th - York 24pts

This is how Toulouse line up: Santo, Marcon, M Laguerre, Armitage, B Laguerre, Brochon, Shorrocks, Hansen, Gahan, Belmas, Lima, Stefani, Marion

Interchanges: Pelissier, Silva, Skoundri, Peyroux

Simon Grix makes a couple of tweaks to the side which beat Whitehaven 30-8 last Sunday. Larroyer and Moore are back in the front row. Adam O’Brien has been recalled by Huddersfield and Adam Tangata drops to the bench in place of Fleming.

Team news is in for Fax: Woodburn-Hall, Walmsley, McComb, Crooks, Saltonstall, Jouffret, Keyes, Calcott, Moore, Larroyer, Kavanagh, Gee, Fairbank.

Interchanges: Inman, Tangata, Lannon, Sutcliffe

A very warm welcome to The Shay for Halifax Panthers’ home Championship fixture with Toulouse. ‘Warm’ being the important word - it feels like the south of France this evening in West Yorkshire!