Toronto Wolfpack down Widnes Vikings to stay on track for Super League promotion
TORONTO — Less than 30 months after holding up a Wolfpack jersey before a fairly dubious audience at the franchise’s opening news conference, Toronto coach Paul Rowley is on the eve of leading the transatlantic rugby league team into the elite Super League.
With some assistance from London and Toulouse, the Wolfpack set the stage Saturday for a stirring finale in the Super 8s Qualifiers next week.
Toronto moved into third place in the promotion table with a tense 20-12 win over Widnes, relegating the Vikings after a seven-year stay in the top-flight.
The Super 8s Qualifiers pit the bottom four teams in the Super League (Leeds Rhinos, Hull Kingston Rovers, Salford Red Devils and Widnes) against the top four in the second-tier Betfred Championship (Toronto, London Broncos, Toulouse Olympique and Halifax RLFC). The top three in the table secure automatic promotion while No. 4 plays No. 5 in the so-called “Million Pound Game” to see who joins them.