History
In March 1937, the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII decided to establish rugby league in Toulouse, they bought the Arnauné stadium (Stade des Minimes) and formed Toulouse Olympique.
The first match Toulouse played was on 24 October 1937 against Albi. In 1938, Toulouse Olympique merged with another club in the city, Galia Club Toulousain. In 1939, TO reached for the first time the Cup final in France. During the war years, the club opted (like other rugby league clubs in France) 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 mean time 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 was on the losing side twice when they met Carcassonne in the finals for the 1944-45 and 1945-46 competitions. After a decade away from the top, another strong team emerged that included Pierre Lacaze and Georges Aillères.
In 1995, Toulouse Olympique changed their name to Spacers de Toulouse (or Toulouse Spacers) and kept this until 2002. In 2000, the club won the championship. Toulouse's ambition to join the European Super League grew but in 2003, their application was rejected by the Rugby Football League in favour of Union Treiziste Catalane.
In 2005 Olympique became the first French club ever to reach the semi-finals of the Rugby League Challenge Cup, when they defeated European Super League side Widnes Vikings 40-24. They went on to lose 56-18 to world champions Leeds Rhinos in the semi-final at the Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield.
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