Monday 9 May 2022

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.

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