He has had to move countries to beat St Helens at last but it’s been worth it all for Toulouse’s Chris Hankinson.
The centre, 28, left hometown Wigan for the south of France and Super League's newcomers last autumn. He was pivotal as the competition’s bottom side finally got off the mark with Saturday’s shock 22-20 victory against three-peat champions St Helens.
“It was a brilliant night,” admitted Hankinson, who scored a try and three goals at the bouncing Stade Ernest Wallon. "Being a Wigan lad, it makes it even more sweet to do it against our old rivals. I never beat Saints in all my time at Wigan! I played them three or four times but always just fell short.
“I’m so happy for the ex-Saints players in our team but also for everyone at the club and the fans. We’ve always known what we’re capable of and should really have beaten Wigan here the other week. But everything fell into place Saturday and now we need to build on that.”
Relegation favourites Toulouse had lost all five of their opening games in the elite and were given little chance against unbeaten leaders Saints. But they turned on the style to come from behind on a glorious night.
Hankinson said: “The fans were ecstatic. The atmosphere was amazing. During the game I realised my half Lucas Albert couldn’t hear me and I realised it’s because the crowd was so loud. We want to make Toulouse a hard place to come. We showed that. It was a great feeling."
The ex-Leigh player has thrived after making the decision to move to France in a bid to gain more regular Super League game-time.
Hankinson made just 23 appearances in three years at Wigan and went on a season-long loan to Championship London Broncos last term, where he showed his class with ten tries in 19 appearances.
"That was the main reason for joining Toulouse - to play more often," he added.
"There was a couple of other opportunities but I knew this - moving here - was a chance I couldn't turn down as it might never happen again. I'm really getting use to the place now and Toulouse is a lovely city. If anyone gets the chance to come out and watch a game as well, they should grab it.
"I've got a good relationship with the Sylvain (Houles), the coach, and I knew what this team was all about. We've got a week off with no game now due to the Challenge Cup but we'll come back in, work hard and go again for our next Super League fixture over at Cas."
