Widnes Vikings forward Liam Bent admits the squad will need to be ready for everything that Toulouse Olympique could throw at them on Saturday afternoon.
The Vikings returned to winning ways last week with a 15-try victory against amateur side Wests Warriors in the Betfred Challenge Cup third round.
Now attention turns to a much sterner test, against a Toulouse side that were relegated from Super League last year and have lost just once in five league matches this season.
Reflecting on the mood amongst the squad following Saturday’s cup win, Bent said: “It’s a good confidence booster for us, especially after a disappointing loss [against Sheffield Eagles].
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“We were all down in the dumps, hurting inside and out, and hopefully this week we can bounce back and have a response because this is the week that’s going to really count.
“They’ve got a cracking squad with some Super League experience in there as well. It should be a really tough test, and they’re going to throw a lot at us so we’ve got to be really defensively sound.”
Bent missed the Vikings’ last fixture as a precautionary measure after picking up a slight knock, but he is set to return to the squad against Toulouse this weekend.
Shane Grady and Lewis Hatton were also rested, while Kyle Amor was named 18th man and Jack Owens was an unused substitute.
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Their absence meant a number of players enjoyed their first minutes of the new season, including Man of the Match Aaron Brown, the returning Ollie Brookes and fellow winger Brad Holroyd – all of whom crossed twice.
Bent says the players have the utmost faith in one another, no matter who is selected each week.
“They did brilliantly. We’ve got a good group of lads, and no matter who we put out there they’ll always do a job for us,” he added.
“They really really played well and got some minutes under their belts too.”
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