Hull KR's Australian coach Tim Sheens has accused his team of putting the "cue on the rack" after letting slip a 19-0 lead and going down 34-23 to Toulouse in the penultimate round of the English Super 8s Qualifiers.
Rovers had the chance to clinch their place in Super League for 2019 on Saturday night but dropped out of the automatic promotion places after conceding six tries to the French Championship team and will now need to beat relegated Widnes in their final game next Sunday and hope other results go their way.
Sheens' men made the perfect start at the Stade Ernest Argeles thanks to tries from Robbie Mulhern, Craig Hall and Chris Atkin inside the first quarter but a poor defensive performance was ruthlessly exposed by Toulouse as they turned the game on its head either side of half-time.
"To be 19 points up and get run down and run over is very, very disappointing," the former Kangaroos and Wests Tigers coach said.
"I think we got in front and thought we just had to keep going and we'd win the game but those three tries in the first half brought them right back into it.
"I had a couple of injuries to a couple of guys but it's still not good enough. I think we put the cue on the rack at 19-0 and that's not good enough for a Super League side or any side for that matter.
"We got ourselves into quicksand and couldn't get out. I'm disappointed in that because I thought we had enough experience in our side not to panic.
"To say I'm not happy is an understatement but I've got to keep a level head on things.
"Robbie Mulhern picked up an injury early but battled on and Joel Tomkins is now carrying a knee problem.
"We'll get right to work tonight on the guys to give them as long as possible because we've got some important players struggling and not too many guys coming back so we've got to put a team and a plan together to beat Widnes at home."
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