Peet previews Toulouse

[josie andrews]

Matt Peet looks ahead to the Warriors trip to Toulouse on Saturday.

Peet: “They have plenty of players who can threaten and damage us if we are the slightest bit off the mark.”

Toulouse Olympique v Wigan Warriors, Stade Ernest-Wallon, Saturday 5th March.

Matt Peet previewed the Warriors ‘Tour De France’ in his weekly press conference on Tuesday afternoon as Wigan prepare to face Toulouse this Saturday.

Peet started by reflecting on the victory over Huddersfield last week: “The players spoke after the game about those times that we had to defend our own goal line, it should stand us in good stead and we’ll take some good lessons from that game as well. We weren’t too far off executing and scoring a few more tries, there was plenty of positives.”

Wigan have spent a full week training at Robin Park Arena before they leave for France, Peet explained: “We get a longer turnaround but we’ve got to factor in the travel. It’s landed well that we get the eight days into Toulouse, which allows a full week’s training here at Robin Park before we travel on Thursday over to France. We’re looking forward to it.”

On the trip, Peet said: “We’ll be taking 23 players, two of those are Ethan Havard and Bevan French who aren’t available for the game but we’re taking them because when we return they’re right in the mix, so it’s important that we continue working with them with our performance staff and other players.

“We’ve got loads of plans but they’re all boring things around travel, training and meetings. We will get amongst Toulouse, have a day off on the Sunday and some time off in Montpellier. We’ll try and give the lads some free space, if there’s one challenge from a performance department it’s making sure you don’t crowd the players with Rugby content, endless meetings and Rugby conversation so part of it is about giving them some free time and that time away from the game that they would have at home. It’ll be a balancing act, something that we have planned meticulously and it’s all geared towards the two performances.”

The Warriors Head Coach spoke on this week’s opponents: “We feel that Toulouse have not made the best start, but what they are is improving and to push Warrington the way they did last week, we would always give them the respect that they deserve and we would always be looking to get a quality performance ourselves. The warning signs were there for anyone who is coming up against Toulouse in the coming weeks that the win is not too far away and they’re getting to grips with the speed and intensity of Super League.”

He added: “They have plenty of players who can threaten and damage us if we are the slightest bit off the mark.”

Peet confirmed that Abbas Miski is in line to make his debut in France after impressing with a hat-trick of tries in Wigan’s Reserves win over Hull FC last weekend: “Abbas Miski will play on Saturday against Toulouse, he’s in line for his debut. We’re really excited about that, he deserves it, he’s been flawless since he came into the club, very professional and he’s one of those players we’re looking forward to giving a debut to. It’s well deserved, he’s only missed out so far because the lads in front of him have credit in the bank and this is his shot that he’s earned.

“It’s a bit of rotation; and it’s rotation that he’s forced us into. He played for the Reserves at the weekend, scored three and was the best player on the field. Abbas has gone through the proper process he’s trained hard, trained well and killed it in the Reserves – so he plays.”

Tickets for both Wigan’s fixtures in France, against Toulouse Olympique and Catalans Dragons are still available to buy HERE. The Warriors will wear their charity third kit for the first time against Toulouse, with the limited edition kit also available to buy in-store or online HERE.

https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2022/03/ ... -toulouse/