France Cup (Lord Derby) : 2023-24

The 84th edition of the French cup competition has been held. Preliminary games are played in 2023 and the round of sixteen commenced at the beginning of January 2024. The quarter finals were played in March and that is where we start here.

Lézignan 9-8 Albi (Ht 0-6). 

Avignon 16-8 Villeneuve (6-8).

Carcassonne 48-0 St Gaudens (20-0).

St Estève-Catalan 26-20 Limoux (14-10).

Albi has had a slightly better season in the league than Lézignan but fell just short here. The next two have not had a great season but were fortunate to draw each other with Avignon the slightly better side. Carcassonne are a class act and had no trouble against a lower level team. Finally, St Estève-Catalan finshed below Limoux in the league but got up to take this one in a closely fought match.

The semi finals were contested in April and the two games went as follows.

Carcassonne 32-20 St Estève-Catalan (18-8).

Lézignan 33-10 Avignon (16-10).

Hot favourites Carcassonne prevailed here but were given a decent fight. Meanwhile Avignon were unsurprising losers in the other encounter. 

The final was held at the end of the month with Carcassonne the likely winner. 

Carcassonne 22-6 Lézignan (16-2).

The outcome was as expected but Lézignan made it a contest, especially in the second half. Carcassonne has now won three Lord Derby Cups in a row and four of the last five. Lézignan last won it in 2015, bearing in mind the Cup competition wasn't held for three years between 2020 and 2022. 

The full final match can be seen below. Click on the red arrow then on [  ] or YouTube logo to make it larger.

WCC 2024: Wigan Warriors v Penrith Panthers

If you drive down the M6 motorway from the town of Penrith, you will arrive in Wigan in about an hour and a half. This has nothing to do with this story because the Penrith that traveled to take on the Warriors to determine the best RL club in the world came over from Sydney, Australia. 

Last year, the Panthers hosted St Helens and narrowly lost. Could they reverse that result and win their first World Club Challenge? Wigan on the other hand has won four. So on the 24th of Feb, 2024, they met. Both sides were somewhat underdone regarding preparation as it is the start of their seasons.

In a tight match, the Warriors scored the first try (ninth minute, unconverted). When the Panthers replied (27th minute, converted), they led 6-4. Wigan went ahead again but another try to Penrith had them leading 12-10 at the break. 

In the second period, scoring was proving difficult. Wigan got what looked like a spectacular try but was ruled out but decisions like that go both ways. The Panthers had a strong territorial advantage but couldn't fire on attack. It was the Warriors that broke the deadlock and went on to win 16-12. 

In any close scoring game, the decisions the officials make are scrutinised as in effect they may decide the outcome. I had no issue with that as all calls had merit and even multiple camera angles were not conclusive. 

One incident that I didn't like is shown in the video and is of the last Wigan try. The Penrith number 12 comes in too late to stop the Wigan player so instead attempts to push him back into the field of play. This was in the hope of convincing the referee that the attacking player didn't make the tryline. 

Whether the player did reach the line or make a double movement in crossing the line is difficult to see but the action of the defender makes me glad it was awarded. The right result and considering the pressure Wigan absorbed the worthy winners.