Jonty Gorley's Whitehaven couldn't secure the two points against Toulouse as Sylvain Houles' side celebrated the return of Olly Ashall-Bott with a hard-fought victory which left the Cumbrians sweating for their Championship future. 

The Cumbrians couldn't have secured their future with a win but a narrow defeat piled the pressure on Swinton and Keighley on Sunday afternoon.

The French side were looking to find some form heading to the play-off campaign after back-to-back defeats in previous weeks including a first home defeat of the season last time out.

They looked on course for an easy afternoon racking up 10 points in as many minutes from kick-off. Dimitri Biscarro exploited a small gap to break through the middle of the home defence before a slipping Josh Rourke was unable to stop the powerful forward.

Olly Ashall-Bott capped his return to the side running 85 metres down the left-hand side touchline untouched despite the best efforts of several Whitehaven defenders with the full-back scoring his fourth try of the season. Zach Santo was able to convert just the first try.

It wasn't the start the home side needed and could have been in danger of being blown away in a contest where every point mattered. 

However the Cumbrians grew into the contest and showed they weren't about to lay down easily.

Jamie Doran had been searching all season for his first try since signing for his hometown club and was finally rewarded in the 21st minute as the half back ran over following the home side piling the pressure on and forcing a repeat set.

Josh Rourke tagged on the extras and reduced the deficit. However that didn't last long and with two tries from Zach Santo and Callum Gahan duly converted by Santo gave Toulouse a slant of the half time score that could be described as harsh on the home side. 

Jonty Gorley's side knew they couldn't let the game run away from in the second half due to the tight nature of the relegation battle meaning every point could count in the battle for survival.

The second half saw Haven win the half scoring two tries in a tight half in which both sides had multiple opportunities but weren't able to take advantage.

Tries from Curtis Teare and Karl Dixon saw the deficit reduced. Teare's twelfth try of the season saw him ground the ball in the corner after a long over-the-top pass from Jake Carter cut out the French defenders.

Dixon's try saw the captain cross in the same corner on the back of some lovely offloads from the home side.

Josh Rourke couldn't convert either try but did convert a penalty just after the hour mark to bring the home side within a converted try. 

The home side continued to battle to level the scores and ensure the nerves wouldn't be as high 24 hours later as they awaited the results involving Keighley and Swinton.

However, the last laugh went to the visitors as Zach Santo was able to outpace the tired Haven defence and cross in the far right-hand corner. However, he couldn't maintain his 100% record with the boot from the right-hand touchline.