Betfred Super League
Wakefield (6) 16
Tries: Rourke, Scott, Tate Goals: Jowitt 2
Toulouse (8) 18
Tries: Ashall-Bott 2, Ulberg, Tropis Goals: Rouge
Super League newcomers Toulouse Olympique battled to the very end as they held on for a dramatic win at Wakefield Trinity.
Former Trinity man Olly Ashall-Bott scored two tries, adding to scores from Paul Ulberg and Romeo Tropis for the visitors.
Cam Scott had put Trinity in front in the second half after Josh Rourke's score before the break, while Will Tate scored four minutes from time but it was too late.
Astonishingly, Cesar Rouge failed to convert a single Toulouse try, and hit the post on three occasions.
Despite a dominant start from Wakefield, they were punished after Max Jowitt lost the ball on his own 10 metre line leading Ashall-Bott to scramble the ball over the line following a scrum and Rouge to strike the woodwork for the first time.
Rourke crossed for a try in the corner on the half hour mark after some great work by Corey Hall as Wakefield edged into a two-point lead but Toulouse hit back seven minutes later when Ulberg stepped inside Hall to meet Rogue's lofted pass.
Trinity stepped up their attempts to take control of the match in the second half, but Jowitt was hauled down after forcing his way through with a last-ditch tackle from Thomas Lacans.
With 20 minutes remaining, their moment finally arrived. Scott crossed the line, but it was a superb team move, starting with a Jake Trueman kick, Rourke's offload and Jay Pitts' pass but Jowitt missed the extras.
Trinity captain Mike McMeeken thought he had padded out the hosts' lead soon after but his effort was chalked off for offside shortly before Rouge made amends with the boot as he successfully kicked a penalty goal following a Jowitt shoulder charge.
There was late drama to come and Tropis stunned the home crowd as he went in following Hugo Garrigues' dummy, but the game was kept in the balance as Rouge hit the woodwork for a third time.
Ashall-Bott registered his second of the evening to put Toulouse within touching distance of victory but Tate scored a late intervention to scythe down the French side's lead in a dramatic late twist.
In the game's final moments, Toulouse kept the hosts at bay as they held on for a first win on their return to Super League for the first time since 2022 - a campaign that featured only five victories from 27 attempts.
'We were poor from minute one' - Powell
Wakefield Trinity head coach Daryl Powell told BBC Radio Leeds: "We got beat at everything. Toulouse played really well. It was a strong performance.
"If you go into games mentally not where you need to be, and it looked like we weren't tonight, then you get beat whoever you play against.
"We were poor from minute one. Our passing was sloppy. They punched forward easily. We didn't manage that well.
"We were better second half, but you shouldn't need half-time to fix that.
"The boys will hold their hands up. Toulouse deserved to win and we've got to do a lot of work and quickly."
Wakefield: Jowitt; Rourke, Hall, Scott, Tate; Trueman, Lino; McMeeken, Smoothy, Hamlin-Uele, Nikotemo, Storton, Pitts
Interchanges: Tevaga, Smith, Vagana, Williams, Sinfield
Toulouse: Ashall-Bott; Laguerre, Tropis, Rennie, Ulberg; Lacans, Rouge; Belmas, Hands, Dupree, O'Kane, Jussaume, Marion
Interchanges: Cator, Butler, Bretherton, Garrigues, Jean-Lima
Referee: James Vella.