France Elite 1 Finals Series : 2022

Of the nine teams in the Elite 1, the top six progressed to the playoffs. The summary of the regular season can be read by clicking here. The top two sides were not involved in the first round. That involved 3rd (Lézignan) playing 6th (Avignon) and 4th  (Albi) playing 5th (St Estève XIII -Catalan). Lézignan comfortably won its fixture 46-12 while the lower ranked St Estève-Catalan overcame its opponent in a closely fought encounter 28-24.

The semi final had the two winners from the quarter final round take on the rested top two from the league. Carcassonne defeated Lézignan 31-18 and Limoux were impressive victors in their match against St Estève-Catalan 36-4.

The final was held in warm conditions with 8,000 in attendance, a figure exceeding my expectation. The Carcassonne take a yellow card for dangerous tackle. In numerical superiority, The Limoux side took an early lead 8-0 after 22 minutes. Carcassonne react and went to the half time break up 12-8. 

The second stanza has Carcassonne up 16-8 but Limoux reacts and reduced the deficit to 16-10. It then is 20-10 and while Limoux brings it back to 20-16 with a minute remaining, it was too little, too late. Carcassonne became the grand final winner 10 years after its last success in 2012.

The highlights of the final can be seen below. At YouTube, there is also a full match video.

In the women's final RC Lescure Arthes defeated the Catalanes 16-4. The highlights are below. 

Women's Challenge Cup 2022

At the end of the final, mutual respect

Overview: 

The women's version of the Challenge Cup has been around for a few years now, the initial few with limited participants. This year 16 sides were involved.

The number of entrants allowed for a changed format, four groups consisting of four teams each, moving on to quarter finals which were knock out affairs from that point. 

The issue for now is a lack of depth, with the top teams trouncing their opponents as can be seen by the difference figure. That will gradually change as the game grows and more quality in depth is achieved.

Group stage: 

St Helens got through its three group matches without conceding a point, York just 4, Leeds 8 and Featherstone 10! It was good to see the British Army women having a crack but were outgunned, 8-176 over the three matches they played.. 

Knock out phase: 

Three of the quarter final games were one sided but at least one was very close. All the group winners progressed to the semi finals with Leeds having the tougher assignment, defeating a finalist from last year York. 

This set up a very interesting final. Leeds was eliminated by Saints in the 2021 competition at the semi final stage and now they met in the final. Yet again Saints prevailed and conceded their first points of the entire competition.

Well done to all the women who were part of the 2022 Challenge Cup. 

For the league group 1 competition & finals, click here.

France Elite 2 : 2021-22

This is the second tier of French Rugby league. I've not covered it before and know nothing of most of the participants. The information is accurate as far as I know but would welcome corrections and useful additional information left as a comment below the article. 

Finals qualifiers:

1) XIII Pia Adventurer: This club is by Perpignan, at the northern extremity. It went through the season undefeated (54 points) and goes directly into the second round of the playoffs. It was last in the Elite 1 in 2013, where after a very successful period demoted itself from the top flight. I presume they want to return.  

2) RC Baho XIII: A town on the western edge of Perpignan, it received 43 points, won 13 matches and second place. It too has a week off before entering the second round of the playoffs.

3) Villegailhenc Aragon RL: It is in the Aude department. north of Carcassone so somewhat on a limb compared to the other sides. It came third also with 13 victories (but 42 points) and enters the first round of the playoffs against RC Lescure Arthes.  

4) Ille XIII: It is based in Ille-sur-Têt, to the west of Perpignan. Fouth placing, 12 wins and 39 points. That lines it up with US Entraigues in the playoff first round.

5) US Entraigues XIII: Based in Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue in the region of Vaucluse in the south-west of France to the north east of Avignon. It gained 10 wins and 34 points.

6) RC Lescure Arthes XIII: It is in Lescure-d'Albigeois, Tarn in the Midi-Pyrénées region to the north of Albi. The last team to qualify for the finals with 9 wins and 28 points. 

Missed the finals:

7) Villefranche XIII Aveyron: It is commune in the Aveyron department some distance north of Albi. Six wins out of 18 matches weren't enough to progress.

8) RC Carpentras XIII Du Comtat: In the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur slighty north east of Avignon. Five wins and 20 pojnts for this campaign.

9) RC Salon XIII: northwest of Marseille in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur near the coast and south of Avignon. Just the four wins but nice to see clubs in this area. 

10) Gratentour Rugby XIII: Haute-Garonne in the Midi-Pyrénées region, just to the north of Toulouse. It's listed with 16 matches and no wins and a very poor differential of -756. They also ended up with a minus four total, presumably punishment for not completing all their fixtures. A shame and I hope they do better next year.

The finals blog article can be seen by clicking here. 

Picture source: Treize Mondial.