The Vikings fell to just their second defeat of the season on Saturday going down 28-20 to Toulouse Olympique in the south of France.
Tom Nisbet struck first for the Vikings, going through from a short pass after a scrum to score his first try for the club.
The lead didn’t last long however, as Toulouse responded through Marion who backed up a break to score under the posts.
The hosts then took the lead as Ashall-Bott chimed in to go through a gap and score out wide.
The Vikings hit back again, moving it down the blind side for Owens to deliver a brilliant tip-on pass to Butt to score out wide. Tom Gilmore converted and then added a penalty goal to give the Vikings a 14-12 lead.
Toulouse struck right on the stroke of halftime however, breaking up the middle before finding Jussaume to score and give the hosts a four-point lead at the interval.
The French outfit took control in the early stages of the second half scoring two tries, first through Biscarro who crashed over from close range, and then through Peyroux who capitalised on a mix-up from the Vikings at a short drop-out to extend the hosts’ lead to 14.
Dan Murray grabbed his first try for the club late on to take the scores to 28-20 but it proved to be no more than a consolation.
Allan Coleman’s side take on York Knights at the LNER Community Stadium next Sunday (3pm) and tickets are available HERE
COACHES COMMENTS
Head Coach Allan Coleman said: “I’m a bit disappointed, we’ve come here thinking we can win the game.
“I think we gifted them quite a bit of ball and gifted them some big moments in the game, like from the short drop-out where we contest it but the bounce of the ball goes in their hands and they score.
“You could see at times we were hanging on, with the speed and the power they were playing at.
“But that’s no excuse because I feel with the group of players I’ve got we can beat these full time teams and I won’t change my opinion on that.”
TEAM AND SCORERS
Toulouse Olympique: Ashall-Bott, Ulberg, Rennie, Jussaume, Marcon, Rivett, Shorrocks, Belmas, Gahan, Hansen, Stefani, Peyroux, Marion
Interchanges: Pelissier, Akauola, Roumanos, Biscarro, Lima (18th)
Tries: Marion, Ashall-Bott, Jussaume, Biscarro, Peyroux
Goals: Shorrocks x4
Widnes Vikings: Owens, Butt, Nisbet, Edge, Dixon, Lyons, Gilmore, Walker, Fozard, Murray, Lloyd, Wilde, Johnstone
Interchanges: Brooks, Kirk, Roberts, Bent, Fleming (18th)
Tries: Nisbet, Butt, Murray
Goals: Gilmore x4
