France Elite Season 2015-19

This is the final in a series that charts the clubs that have played elite Rugby league in France in five year increments. We continue with the late 2010s. The chart has points I have allocated according to where teams finished in the League, Finals and Cup competitions. Any feedback is appreciated in the comments section below.  

To start at the beginning of the series, simply click on the following dates 1960-64. 

2014-15: This was an even season with Carcassone winning the league,  Toulouse the grand final and Lézignan the cup. St Estève-Catalan had a good season without reward. 

2015-16: Toulouse joined the UK League One so the domestic team was retained but without the same firepower. Albi returned and has stayed since. Carcassone win the league, Limoux the grand final and St Estève-Catalan won a trophy with a cup final victory after a few years of missing out.

2016-17: St Gaudens returned after a brief absence, Lézignan finished top of the league, Limoux the grand final and Carcassonne the cup. Lézignan's overall consistency made them the best for the season.

2017-18: St Estève-Catalan were getting back to their winning ways with league and cup wins. Avignon won the grand final while Limoux did everything but win a trophy. 

2018-19: Carcassonne was the best with league and cup victories with St Estève-Catalan winning the grand final. 

Summary: St Estève-Catalan's consistency narrowly had them the best of the five year stanza, with Limoux, Lézignan and Carcassone unable to be separated and all so close to the top. Those four clubs were the strongest.

Point of interest: Avignon is famous for hosting popes way back in the 1300s and I recall singing a song at school about a bridge in the city. Its fame here is its Rugby league club, liquidated in 2001 but survived to remain down to this day. It's in a sizable city so would it be suitable to enter a team in the UK one day? Perhaps a bridge too far. 

France Elite Season 2010-14

Carcassonne 2010. Pic Gerard Barrau

This is part of a series that charts the clubs that have played elite Rugby league in France in five year increments. We continue with the early 2010s. The chart has points I have allocated according to where teams finished in the League, Finals and Cup competitions. Any feedback is appreciated in the comments section below.  

To start at the beginning of the series, simply click on the following dates 1960-64. 

2009-10: Lézignan showed potential in the early 2000s but came alive here, taking all, the trophies on offer. Limoux, Carcassonne and Limoux were competitive but none were a match for the treble winners.

2010-11: To show that the previous season was no fluke, Lézignan did it again! Pia and Limoux were closest to them. St Gaudens left the top flight after many years of being part of the setup. 

2011-12: Things changed with Pia winning the league and Carcassonne prevailing in the grand final and cup. Lézignan tried hard but was unable to get close to the two previous seasons. Toulouse was back in the big time again after three years away. 

2012-13: Pia was the best team with league and grand final titles and Avignon taking the cup home. RC Lescure-Arthes XIII brief flirtation with Elite One status ended this year. 

2013-14: Pia was gone, Limoux won the league and Toulouse took the grand final and cup trophies. The Palau Broncos arrived in the top flight and have stayed ever since despite being based in a tiny village near the Spanish border. 

Summary: Lézignan did well over this period with Carcassone, Pia and Limoux not far behind. St Estève-Catalan were very consistent but didn't win anything. Toulouse came back and was soon making its presence felt. 

Point of interest: The Pia Donkeys decided to pull out of the Elite One competition, demoting themselves due to new financial circumstances. It's a shame that such had to happen but the way the clubs are structured in France, their ownership system can cause this sort of thing to happen. 

For the following article in the series, please click the dates 2015-19.

France Elite Season 2005-09

Limoux - Gerard Barrau 2009

This is part of a series that charts the clubs that have played elite Rugby league in France in five year increments. We continue with the late 2000s. The chart has points I have allocated according to where teams finished in the League, Finals and Cup competitions. Any feedback is appreciated in the comments section below.  

To start at the beginning of the series, simply click on the following dates 1960-64. 

2004-05: St Estève-Catalan won everything this season in an impressive display. It was their last year in full strength as they were admitted into the UK Super League in the 2006 season. Toulouse, who had also sought a place missed out but performed well in the French season. 

2005-06: With St Estève-Catalan spreading its resources wider, Pia took its chance to excel with a clean sweep of the titles. Toulouse was the only club that got close.  

2006-07: Pia's rampant 05-06 was repeated this season with another treble. Lézignan stayed close, a sign of things to come.

2007-08: The sign turned to reality when Lézignan won both league and grand final. Limoux took the cup for a refreshing change at the top. 

2008-09: Limoux edged Lézignan in 08-09 with the league plus grand final and cup final appearances. Lézignan secured the grand final for a second season with Carcassonne the cup winners. 

Summary: SM Pia XIII was the strongest side around for the five years here evaluated. Limoux and Lézignan were both no doubt pleased with their efforts. With St Estève-Catalan not the force they were on the local scene, it allowed other sides to make their mark. 

Point of interest: Toulouse fell out of the top flight in the 2009-10 season after some years of fine performances. Would they be back? Of course, as the series will reveal. 

For the following article in the series, please click the dates 2010-14.

France Elite Season 2000-04

This is part of a series that charts the clubs that have played elite Rugby league in France in five year increments. We continue with the early 2000s. The chart has points I have allocated according to where teams finished in the League, Finals and Cup competitions. Any feedback is appreciated in the comments section below.  

To start at the beginning of the series, simply click on the following dates 1960-64. 

1999-00: Villeneuve and St Estève were the best performing sides, Toulouse not far behind. Villeneuve took out the League and cup, and Toulouse the grand final. St Estève Catalan won nothing but was competitive in all three areas.

2000-01: St Estève joined forces with XIII Catalan to become one club. Both clubs were based in Perpignan and the hope was eventually to join the UK Super League. The union was named Union Treiziste Catalane or UTC for short but I will stick with St Estève-Catalan. 

The same three were at it again, except Villeneuve won the league and grand final and St Estève-Catalan the Cup. It was Toulouse this time without silverware. Avignon went into liquidation and was demoted.

2001-02: Despite two top sides amalgamating, Villeneuve was the top club, second in the league, and winning both the grand final and cup. St Estève-Catalan won the league. 

2002-03: The Perpignan based Saint-Cyprien XIII also joined the St Estève-Catalan (UTC) club from the second division in France. Villeneuve took the treble in a dominating performance. 

2003-04: St Estève-Catalan took the league and cup, with Saint Gaudens the grand final. Financial troubles were to come to a head for Villeneuve which fell away badly from earlier seasons. 

Summary: The St Estève-Catalan club was the strongest by a whisker from Villeneuve which but for the last season was the best. 

Point of interest: The SM Pia XIII was moving up the ranks with some solid performances. The club's first team is shown in the Elite 1 above, while it also had a reserve team under the name of the Baroudeurs de Pia in a lower division. 

For the following article in the series, please click the dates 2005-09.

Two New Sides For League One 2022

Rugby League isn't a sport that easily attracts monied investors. It simply isn't big enough to be attractive to the Roman Abromovich's of this world. Mind you, for the money he spends on one club would be a fraction of what it would cost to buy the sport outright! Not that it is as such for sale but you get the point. 

Coventry: In the midlands of England, the Coventry Bears League One club has had a business invest in them. The name has been changed to the Midlands Hurricanes, a decision I question because of the large area the name encompasses. Is that how far the new club's reach is expected to go? It seems so. Still, if you put up the readies, then you have a say in such matters as branding. 

Cornwall: This is a bit more complicated. A club was established in Ottawa, Canada which gained access to League One (division two) through buying an existing licence from the Hemel Stags. After a year delay through Covid and possibly seeing how poorly a Toronto side was treated on making the elite Super League, it was decided to ditch the trans-Atlantic ambitions and instead start a team in Cornwall, England. 

The area has a small RL club in the Cornish Rebels but this will be a new entity named the Cornwall RLFC. Rugby Union is already a strong sport in the region so the new club hopes to tap into that. The aim is to be a community club that mostly uses local players and build steadily from there. That sounds the right way to go about things. 

Summary: The eleven team League One competition looks interesting. One team in Cornwall (south east), one in London (south west), one based in Coventry (midlands) one each in north and south Wales and six from the north of England. 

Women's UK Super League Goes to 12 Teams

Women's participation in Rugby League is growing very quickly and the potential is huge. Back in the inaugural 2017 Super league season, just four teams competed in that competition. The following year seven sides, 2019 eight (2020 cancelled) and in 2021 ten. For 2022 there will be twelve sides! The additions are the Barrow Raiders and Leigh Miners Rangers. 

A problem with expansion is that new clubs understandably struggle to compete against more established sides. Even with the current teams, some one sided results were achieved. This is something to expect because depth in quality takes time. A fine initiative to deal with this issue is dividing the teams into two divisions of six with promotion and relegation between them. One up and one down. 

Group 1 eligibility was determined by choosing the five sides that competed in the SL playoffs and the team that won the Shield final (Huddersfield). The newly promoted sides to Super League Group 2 were the two top teams from the Championship (division two).         

All of this is taking place in the UK's RL heartland but the rest of the country isn't being ignored, with opportunities for new teams to form in the south. Any new sides would add to the six sides that were involved in SL South during 2021. Careful planning is needed to create sustainable growth that also produces competitive fixtures.