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.
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