Super League 2022: Saturday's talking points and team news as Toulouse Olympique prepare for historic debut

We look at what is being said and team news as Toulouse Olympique prepare to make their highly-anticipated Super League debut against Huddersfield Giants, plus news ahead of the lunchtime clash between Leeds Rhinos and Warrington Wolves...

Toulouse Olympique vs Huddersfield Giants (8pm GMT, live on Sky Sports)

When Jean Galia and his intrepid band of pioneers brought rugby league to France in 1934, they could barely have imagined that nearly 90 years later two clubs from the country would be battling it out with the top teams from England as part of a European Super League.

Victory over Featherstone Rovers in last year's Million Pound Game ensured Toulouse Olympique would join their Perpignan-based compatriots in the competition this year and Saturday evening sees them make their bow, perhaps appropriately, against the team from the sport's birthplace in Huddersfield Giants - live on Sky Sports.

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It has come too despite the history of discrimination the game has faced in France, from being banned by the Vichy Government during World War II to only being allowed to resume under certain strict conditioning following the end of the conflict and has only started to claw back some ground since Catalans joined Super League in 2006.

"That's the interesting thing, that when the game came back after the end of World War II, it still faced discrimination even though it had been opposed to the collaborators and the Nazis," rugby historian professor Tony Collins told Sky Sports.

"It wasn't allowed to call itself 'rugby' - it had to be called 'game of 13' - it was only allowed a limited number of professionals, and perhaps worst of all it was only played in a very limited and tightly controlled way in French schools.

"Eventually, a lot of the problems which had been built into that post-War set-up caught up with them."

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Toulouse had previously played in the Championship in 2009 and 2010 when Super League operated licensing rather than direct promotion and relegation, but their latest rise started when they rejoined the British professional system in 2016, starting in League One and rising to the top flight.

They are now aiming to become an established presence like Catalans, who are now fighting it out for top honours after becoming the first overseas team to win the Challenge Cup in 2018 and reaching the Super League Grand Final for the first time last year, along with winning the League Leaders' Shield.

Should Toulouse be able to do that, it would further strengthen the sport in one of its northern hemisphere heartlands in the South of France.

"Perpignan is just as much a heartland of the game as Leeds or Wigan, so it's rugby league going back to its roots, and the success of Catalans has shown a club in France can do well in Super League," Collins said.

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"Toulouse coming into the competition is part of bringing the heartland of French rugby league back into the sport.

"There's a huge history of rugby league in Toulouse, so you've got both that history coming back and taking its place at the top of the game, but clearly there's the success of the team and the resonance of it in Toulouse.

"It's one of the most exciting things that has happened to the game since Catalans came in."

Preparations for the new season have been disrupted by the sudden departure of Johnathon Ford, however, with the star stand-off yet to be replaced. Full-back Mark Kheirallah is also not included in head coach Sylvain Houles' 21-man squad to face Huddersfield, although remains at the club and available.

The Giants, meanwhile, are set to hand debuts to new signings Chris Hill, Theo Fages, Tui Lolohea and Danny Levi at Stade Ernest-Wallon and head coach Ian Watson is aiming to gatecrash Toulouse's Super League welcome party.

"It's a good challenge," Watson said. "We're the first team to go across to Toulouse in Super League for their first game, so it should be a great atmosphere and a great occasion.

"What we've got to do is make sure we focus on our job and make sure we get it done when we go over there.

"The thing with Toulouse is they'll be a resilient team. They're used to winning the Championship, so they'll pose their own threats and have confidence about what they've been doing over the years. What we've got to do is take that enthusiasm from them straight away."

Named squads

Toulouse Olympique: Junior Vaivai, Paul Marcon, Lucas Albert, Romain Navarrete, Lloyd White, Andrew Dixon, Dominique Peyroux, Anthony Marion, Eloi Pelissier, Maxime Puech, Joseph Bretherton, Joseph Paulo, Mitch Garbutt, James Cunningham, Ilias Bergal, Chris Hankinson, Justin Sangare, Guy Armitage, Matthew Russell, Tony Gigot.

Huddersfield Giants: Will Pryce, Jake Wardle, Tui Lolohea, Theo Fages, Chris Hill, Danny Levi, Josh Jones, Chris McQueen, Luke Yates, Matty English, Owen Trout, Sebastine Ikahihifo, Adam O'Brien, Oliver Roberts, Leroy Cudjoe, Louis Senior, Oliver Russell, Innes Senior, Jack Ashworth, Olly Ashall-Bott.

Leeds Rhinos vs Warrington Wolves (12.30pm)

Two teams who many will have their eyes on for differing reasons get Saturday's action underway at Headingley at lunchtime when Leeds host Warrington.

For the visitors, it will be their first competitive outing under new head coach Daryl Powell, with observers keen to see how the man who revived Castleford Tigers' fortunes fares in charge at the Wolves.

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The fixture list has given Powell something of a baptism of fire early on at Warrington, but while he recognises there are challenges in there, they are being readily embraced by him and the squad.

"You're looking at the games we've got early on and it's a really tough challenge - away at Leeds, Castleford at home, Catalans are in there and we've got to go to Toulouse," Powell said.

"It's interesting, it's a mixed bag and it's got a European theme to it, but hopefully we can come out of that first block of games in a really positive way. But we recognise it's going to be challenging."

Oliver Holmes and Peter Mata'utia, both of whom have followed Powell from Castleford, are set for their Warrington debuts against Leeds, as is ex-Wigan Warriors prop Joe Bullock.

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Aidan Sezer, David Fusitu'a and James Bentley could all line up for Leeds after joining in the off-season too, but one player who is missing is former Wolves half-back Blake Austin after he picked up a one-game ban for dangerous contact in a pre-season match against Hull FC - a decision Agar was not happy about.

"We're hugely disappointed," Agar said. "But we're not going to waste too much energy on it, we'll take it down the correct channels behind the scenes and try not to make it a focus for Saturday."

Named squads

Leeds Rhinos: Jack Walker, David Fusitu'a, Harry Newman, Liam Sutcliffe, Ash Handley, Aidan Sezer, Mikolaj Oledzki, Kruise Leeming, Matt Prior, James Bentley, Rhyse Martin, Zane Tetevano, Brad Dwyer, Alex Mellor, Richie Myler, Cameron Smith, Bodene Thompson, Tom Briscoe, Morgan Gannon, Jarrod O'Connor, James Donaldson.

Warrington Wolves: Matty Ashton, Joe Bullock, Rob Butler, Josh Charnley, Daryl Clark, Jason Clark, Mike Cooper, Ben Currie, Matt Davis, Oliver Holmes, Ellis Longstaff, Peter Mata'utia, Robbie Mulhern, Joe Philbin, Stefan Ratchford, Ellis Robson, Josh Thewlis, Danny Walker, Gareth Widdop, George Williams, Connor Wrench.