Toulouse Olympique lifted the Championship trophy today after a hard-fought 10-8 win at York Knights today.

Defeat for York means their hopes of winning the treble, as Wakefield did in 2024, have come to an end with the loss also marking their first since April.

For Toulouse, it puts a stop to their run of losing Championship Grand Finals having lost to London Broncos in 2023 and Wakefield Trinity in 2024.

Both sides could still earn promotion to Super League via the process that will see IMG confirm twelve sides and then an independent panel approve two other sides.

A brilliant game that has created plenty of talking points and here are five of the big ones.

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York Knights v Toulouse Olympique talking points

Paying the penalty

There were two tries in the Championship Grand Final and York scored them both, but it was Toulouse who went away with the victory.

Former Wigan Warriors scrum-half Jake Shorrocks was the difference, landing five penalties from as many attempts, including the winner 15 minutes from time. His opposite number Liam Harris couldn’t convert either try.

It was a cruel way for Knights to lose and referee Tom Grant was the most unpopular man in the LNER Stadium when the hooter sounded, being escorted off the pitch to a chorus of boos.

York will feel aggrieved, but they had opportunities to snatch it, most notably in the final seconds when Kieran Buchanan made a half-break with Ben Jones-Bishop in support, but the poor pass went into touch. The penalty count was five-one in Toulouse’s favour in the first half and finished eight-six to the visitors.

The wait begins

The Championship trophy was presented to Toulouse, but who gets the big prize won’t be known for another 11 days and all may not be lost for York.

The 14 clubs in Betfred Super League for 2026 will be announced on Thursday, October 16. The top 12 on the IMG rankings will secure a place, along with two sides chosen by an independent panel, based on factors including finance, sustainability and their prospects of being competitive on the pitch.

With Salford Red Devils seemingly gone, three second-tier clubs – from a quartet of York, Toulouse, London Broncos and Bradford Bulls – are likely to join the elite.

The Grand Final win was worth a quarter of an IMG point which could prove decisive for the French side, but – having won the 1895 Cup, finished top of the table and laid a solid foundation off the field – York’s application for one of the final two places looks strong.

Trinity old boys

There must have been something in the water at Belle Vue in the early 2000s. Of the four Championship teams harbouring serious hopes of being in Super League next year, three are coached by Wakefield Trinity Wildcats – as they were – players from that era. York’s Mark Applegarth and Sylvain Houles of Toulouse were in direct opposition in today’s final, while both were part of Trinity’s squad alongside Jason Demetriou, the incoming London Broncos boss.

Houles and Applegarth both already have brief and unhappy top-flight experience, having been relegated in 2022 and 2023 respectively, while Demetriou had a spell in charge of South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL.

French resistance

Toulouse were under pressure for much of the game and, other than in the final moments, didn’t create any clear try-scoring opportunities, but defence won the game.

From the opening exchanges it was clear the visitors were up for it and, despite conceding a couple of tries – both coming off outstanding skills from Paul McShane – they refused to buckle.

Full-back Olly Ashall-Bott was arguably the best player on the pitch and an off the ball challenge on him after a kick led to the winning two-pointer.

On the up

It ended in disappointment, but nobody could begrudge long-term York fans their day in the spotlight. Knights are a phoenix club launched in 2003, after the previous outfit, the Wasps, went bust midway through the previous season. The year before that, playing in front of home crowds of a couple of hundred, they managed just one win and a draw from 28 league matches.

Even as the Knights it hasn’t all been plain sailing. They spent the 2015 season based out of neighbouring amateur club Heworth’s Elm Park Way ground and it’s only nine years since the club was on the brink of being wound up.

Since then, under Jon Flatman and present owner Clint Goodchild, the club has grown on and off the field. With a couple of Wembley appearances in the 1895 Cup and a Championship semi-final last season under their belt, this year hasn’t been a flash in the pan and shows other struggling clubs what can be achieved with hard work and good management.