Toulouse hosted the first ever French rugby league
Lord Derby Cup final in 1935 when
Lyon Villeurbanne beat
XIII Catalan at the
Stade des Minimes. The first rugby league club in the city were
Gallia de Toulouse who started the 1935–36 season but lasted only two matches before dropping down to the amateur level of the newly introduced sport. Toulouse Olympique were formed in 1937 by
Jean Galia and played their first league match on 24 October 1937 losing 14–44 at home against
RC Albi at their new home the
Arnaune Stadium now called the
Stade des Minimes. The club finished 8th in that debut season under coach
Jean Galia. In their second season, 1938–39, they reached the cup final losing 3–7 against
XIII Catalan and finished 5th in the league. The club's last match before the war was against
Villefranche de Lauragais winning 62–5. During the
war years, like other rugby league clubs in France, the club were forced to play
rugby union following the
ban on rugby league by the
Vichy regime in France. In 1944, Toulouse reached the semi-final of the French Cup in rugby union. In the meantime the Arnauné stadium was confiscated by the State, like most of the assets of the French Federation of rugby league. Following liberation by the Allies and the restoration of the French Championship, the club were on the losing side twice when they met
Carcassonne in the finals for the 1944–45 and 1945–46 competitions. After two decades away from the top, another strong team emerged that included
Pierre Lacaze and under coach
Georges Ailleres having finished runner-up in the league in 1963–64, they then lifted their first league title the following season beating
US Villeneuve in the final 47–15. During the 1960s they also reached four cup finals but lost them all, 1962 against
RC Roanne XIII 10–16, 1963 against
AS Carcassonne 0–5, 1964 against
US Villeneuve 2–10 and 1968 against
AS Carcassonne 2–9. During the early 70s they lifted two more league titles, in season 1972–73 they beat
Marseille XIII 18–0 and in 1974–75 they beat
AS Saint Esteve 10–9. Their 1976 cup final defeat by
XIII Catalan 8–23 would be their last final appearance in either league or cup until the new millennium. Before that in 1995 the club changed their name to
Toulouse Spacers due to their link up with the local aerospace company in the town, keeping this name until 2002.
2000–08: End of trophy drought and Super League ambitions In 2000 the club ended their long silverware drought when they won the championship title with a 20–18 victory over
AS Saint Esteve and the following season reached the final again but lost out 32–20 against
Villeneuve Leopards. Toulouse's ambition to join the
Super League grew but in 2003, despite a stadium upgrade, youth development and becoming a limited company, their application was rejected by the
Rugby Football League in favour of
Catalans Dragons. After reverting to
Toulouse Olympique the club reached two more league championship finals but lost both. In 2004–05 they were convincingly beaten by
Union Treiziste Catalane 16-66 and the following season they lost again this time 18–21 against
Pia XIII. In 2005 Toulouse became the first French club ever to reach the semi-finals of the
Challenge Cup, after defeating
Super League side
Widnes Vikings 40–24 in the quarter-finals. They went on to lose 56–18 to
world champions Leeds Rhinos in the semi-final at the
Galpharm Stadium,
Huddersfield.
2009–10: Entry to British league system In 2006, the
Rugby Football League decided to introduce
licensing for the 2009 Super League season, with the number of Super League clubs being increased from 12 to 14. Toulouse were one of the applicants but failed to win a licence, losing out to the 12 existing Super League clubs,
Salford and the
Crusaders. After the announcement however, the Rugby Football League invited Toulouse to enter the second tier
Championship for the
2009 season, with a view to applying in the next round of franchising to be accepted to Super League in 2012. Offering no direct route to Super League at the time, Toulouse's spell in the Championship lasted three seasons. In their first campaign, 2009, the season was acclaimed a success with them winning 9 games which included a record 5 match winning run this despite being beaten heavily on the opening round of matches live on television at
Widnes Vikings 0–70. The second season saw improvement but at the end of 2010 it was announced that the club would be withdrawing from the Championship and returning to the French league from the 2012 season onwards.
2011–15: Return to France in
2013–2014 Toulouse returned to the French
Elite One Championship in 2011. They failed to make the Grand Final in the 2011–12 and 2012–13 season. However they
the double in the following season, 2013–14, winning 38–12 against
Lézignan Sangliers in the Grand Final and beating
AS Carcassonne 46–10 in the final of the final of the
Lord Derby Cup. This marked their first ever cup win in their then 77-year history. They then retained their league title when beating
AS Carcassonne 20–12 in the 2014–15 Grand Final.
2016–present: Re-entry to British leagues In 2015, it was announced that Toulouse Olympique would return to the
British rugby league system after they were accepted to play in
League 1 from the 2016 season. A Toulouse presence would remain in the French
Elite One Championship when
Toulouse Broncos who were in the 2nd tier were taken over by Olympique and renamed
Toulouse Olympique Broncos. Toulouse went unbeaten during the
League 1 2016 season but lost in the promotion final to
Rochdale Hornets. They entered the playoffs, beating
Barrow Raiders to win promotion to the
Championship. Toulouse finished the 2017 season with 15 wins and 8 loses from 23 games, finishing fifth in the league, missing out on the Super 8s by one place. Toulouse therefore entered the Championship Shield, winning it by beating
Sheffield Eagles 44–14 in the final. l Toulouse finished the 2018 season in third place, behind
Toronto Wolfpack and
London Broncos, before finishing second in 2019, again behind
Toronto Wolfpack. They lost to Toronto in the Grand Final. The 2021 season was Olympique's first full season after the 2020 season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and final standings was based on win percentage as a COVID-19 precaution. Toulouse finished top of the table with 14 wins from 14 matches, winning the
Championship Leaders' Shield. This comprised 13 matches played in England and a forfeited match when London Broncos failed to travel as required to Toulouse. Finishing top of the table, gave Toulouse home advantage in the semi-final, where they beat
Batley 51–12. This pitted them against
Featherstone in the
Million Pound Game the following week, which saw them win 34–12 thus earn promotion to the
Super League for the first time. In August, Toulouse announced a new partnership with French club
Gratentour XIII who would join Elite 2 for the 2021/22 season, and act as a feeder club. Toulouse Olympique made their debut in the Super League at home to
Huddersfield. They raced out to a 10–0 lead but were defeated 42–14. On 19 March 2022, Toulouse recorded their first victory in the Super League, causing one of the competition's greatest upsets defeating three-time defending champions St Helens 22–20. In round 18 of the 2022 Super League season, the club earned their first win in the Super League on English soil defeating
Wakefield Trinity 38–26 at
Magic Weekend. In round 25 of the 2022 Super League season, Toulouse Olympique were officially relegated back to the Championship after losing to
Catalans Dragons in the French Derby 24–14. In the 2023 RFL Championship season, Toulouse Olympique qualified for the playoffs before ultimately reaching the RFL Championship final formerly known as the
Million Pound Game. Toulouse would host the final where they had not lost all season but suffered a shock 18–14 loss against the
London Broncos which denied them an immediate return to the Super League. In the 2025 RFL season, the club finished second behind York on the table. In the grand final, the club would face off against York where they would record a 10-8 victory. Toulouse were promoted to
Super League in 2025 as a result of the league's expansion to 14 teams after they were initially denied promotion via
IMG Grading, despite winning the
Championship Grand Final. ==2026 squad==