The Barrow Raiders played a hard-fought game against Toulouse Olympique in the Championship before losing 38–16.

Before their hosts surged away in the second half, they had led in the first and only trailed 22-16 at the interval.

After being knocked out by a harsh tackle, Ryan Johnston’s penalty gave Barrow an early lead in an optimistic opening to the match.

After Ryan Shaw, the team’s regular kicker, started the game on the sidelines, Johnston took over and successfully put the Raiders ahead.

Four minutes into the lead, Reuben Rennie found a gap and raced through for an unconverted try, shattering Barrow’s defence.

After 15 minutes, Lambert Belmas’s high tackle sent him to the sin bin, reducing the home team to 12 men.

As soon as Luke Cresswell created an opening for Andrew Bulman, Barrow made them pay, finishing expertly in the corner.

Three minutes after Johnston’s unsuccessful attempt, Barrow scored once more. Luke Broadbent was the one to break through the home defence and race through to collect and score following a dazzling 50-yard move.

Brad Walker scored the try after Barrow kept upping the pace and, on minute 24, a Johnston kick through put Toulouse in danger. The extras were secured by Johnston.

It was a fantastic effort by the Raiders to lead 16–4, but it quickly vanished before halftime as Toulouse rallied to take the lead at the interval.

On minutes 28, Maxime Stefani broke through when a Raiders tackle went awry. Four minutes later, Ryan Rivett slipped past the Raiders defence and scored. Finally, on minutes 35, Rennie broke through the defence to give his team the lead. Jake Shorrocks made two conversions.

The French team boosted their lead in the final four minutes after James Roumanos crossed by the goal posts for Shorrocks to convert, making the score 22–16 at halftime.

Paul Marcon scored in the corner as quick hands spread the Raiders wide. Shorrocks converted after 66 minutes.

Three minutes before the end, Rivett scored the game’s winning try, but the Raiders had put forth a commendable fight.

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