Mark Applegarth’s side were their own worst enemies, errors and ill-discipline proving costly as their 20-match winning streak came to an end in heartbreaking fashion.

The French side never really looked like scoring a try against a resolute Knights defence, but as the best teams do, stayed patient to find a way to win, and perhaps more importantly, secure the 0.25 IMG points on offer in the battle for Super League.

Jake Shorrocks’ accuracy from the tee proved enough to overturn tries from Toa Mata’afa and Kieran Buchanan as Olympique made it third time lucky to claim the Championship title.

Applegarth named an unchanged starting line-up from last week’s Play-Off Semi-Final win against Halifax, again opting for Bailey Antrobus and Jack Martin as starting props with Mitch Clark, Sam Cook, Kieran Hudson and Brenden Santi on the bench.

Sylvain Houles made just one change to the Toulouse side that came back strongly to beat Bradford in their Semi-Final, with Romeo Tropis replacing Benjamin Laguerre at centre, Paul Marcon moving out to the wing.

Toulouse found themselves on the front foot from the off, using the blustery conditions to their advantage early on to routinely pin the Knights back within their own 40-metre line.

The visitors found plenty of joy on the edges, with only some heroic defending from Oli Field and Scott Galeano denying Marcon the game’s opening try on four minutes as he seemed set to score from a Shorrocks pass.

That pressure inevitably turned into points with seven minutes on the clock, Shorrocks slotting over a penalty from 35 metres to open the scoring after a high shot from Jesse Dee.

York though responded well, and after a fantastic Buchanan tackle had forced the turnover on halfway, Toulouse scrambled well to keep the lively centre out inside the 10-metre line.

However, after Paul McShane had charged down a Shorrocks kick on the 20-metre line, the Knights needed no second invitation as neat hands down the right allowed Liam Harris to set up Mata’afa, who dummied his way though to score into the corner and put his side in front. Harris could not convert from the touchline.

Toa Mata’afa scored the game’s opening try to put the Knights 4-2 up.(Image: Craig Hawkhead Photography)

With the wind in the visitors’ favour, the resultant restart kick caused a host of problems for York, Olly Ashall-Bott coming away with the ball after Brenden Santi had allowed it to bounce.

And after the Knights had been penalised for holding down Lambert Belmas on the 10-metre line, Shorrocks wasted no time in drawing Toulouse level from the tee on the quarter-hour.

The hosts looked to hit back immediately after Olympique had charged down a Harris kick back into York hands, with Santi fingertips away from touching down an Ata Hingano grubber beneath the posts.

Mathieu Jussaume then came close to scoring Toulouse’s first try after dancing his way through the Knights defence, whilst at the other end, Hingano was brought down metres short as he seemed set to score under the posts.

But York’s ill-discipline again reared its ugly head six minutes before the break, Shorrocks again taking the points on offer after Santi had caught Joe Cator high on the 10-metre line.

The Knights saw out the remainder of the half on their own line after Galeano had knocked-on a Shorrocks bomb but soaked up the pressure to only trail 6-4 at the break.

York came out well in the second half and could have nudged themselves back in front when Harris looked for Ben Jones-Bishop with a looping cut-out pass, but it instead flew past the winger and into touch.

And they passed up another gilt-edged chance after bundling Tropis back over his own line to win the game’s only drop-out, but Buchanan knocked-on under pressure after Toulouse had opted for a short kick.

But a second try did eventually fall the hosts’ way off the back of another penalty in the 49th minute.

After Cook had been stopped just short, McShane interchanged passes with Connor Bailey in a move straight off the training ground before the former threw a stunning cut-out pass for Buchanan to twist his way over into the right corner. Again, Harris could not convert from the touchline.

Kieran Buchanan found space on the right wing to put the Knights in front for a second time.(Image: Craig Hawkhead Photography)

However, Toulouse levelled the scores at eight apiece on the hour, the Knights giving away a six-again five metres from their line before being penalised for a ball steal in front of the posts, Shorrocks scoring his fourth penalty of the match with ease.

The decisive kick came just five minutes later after Mata’afa had thwarted Ashall-Bott with a high tackle – leading to a confrontation between the sides – Shorrocks again converting to put Toulouse in front 10-8.

York desperately looked for a response inside the final 15 minutes, with Hingano knocking-on a simple McShane pass before Harris again put a cut-out pass out of the reach of Jones-Bishop down the right wing.

Bailey then intercepted a loose pass on the 40-metre line, but the Knights knocked-on from the next play as another chance went begging.

Opportunities continued to fall York’s way in the final minutes, but neither Galeano nor Jones-Bishop could reel in offloads as the clock ultimately ran out on their season.

Despite the result, it has been a year to be proud of for Applegarth’s double winners as they await news on whether they will be accepted into the top-flight for 2026.

YORK KNIGHTS: Mata’afa, Jones-Bishop, Buchanan, Field, Galeano, Hingano, Harris, Martin, McShane, Antrobus, Dee, Bailey, Thompson.

INTERCHANGES: Santi, Cook, Hudson, Clark.

TRIES: Mata’afa (12), Buchanan (49)

GOALS: Harris 0/2

TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE: Ashall-Bott, Marcon, Tropis, Rennie, Ulberg, Lacans, Shorrocks, Belmas, Hands, Butler, Stefani, Jussaume, Marion.

INTERCHANGES: Cator, Roumanos, Bretherton, Wallace.

GOALS: Shorrocks 5/5

POINTS SEQUENCE: 0-2, 4-2, 4-4, 4-6, 8-6, 8-8, 8-10

HALF TIME: 4-6

PENALTIES: 6-8

YORK’S STAR MAN: Kieran Buchanan.

REFEREE: Tom Grant