France Cup (Lord Derby) : 2024-25

The 17th Earl of Derby donated a cup to the winners of the inaugural winners of the Rugby League cup for the 1934-35 season. That was the first year of French RL also. The Earl's surname was Stanley and his father donated a cup to another sport.

Admission to the competition was for the top two divisions only of twenty teams. Eight played a preliminary knock out round, the four winners from which joined the other twelve. The teams from each division are colour coded as seen to the right..

Round of 16: The match ups and finals scores are as below. Two Elite 2 sides progressed, Carpentras overwhelming another Elite 2 side Tonneins while Villegailhenc upset Elite 1 team Villefranche.

Round of 8: The Elite 2 teams both bowed out at this stage although Villegailhenc put up stout resistance against -admittedly lowly Elite 1 side Toulouse. At the time of these games being played, the top three in the Elite 1 league made the semi final along with bottom placed Toulouse. 

Semi Final: Carcassonne has won the cup the last three times and 16 times since 1950. I was up against a side that last won it back in 1974 and only once even going back to 1950. Carcassonne led 20-12 at the half way mark and on track for another final. 

A ten minute sin bin for an AS player at the resumption opened led to two quick tries for Albi had them in front to establish a lead they didn't relinquish. It was however 30-30 at full time but Albi snatched an intercept try in golden point extra time for the victory. 

The second match was played in wet conditions with the Catalan side narrowly ahead 6-0 at the break. They went on to win 16-0 without looking like losing. 

Final: 5th April.

The youthful Catalan side raced to an early 16-0 before Albi came back to only trail 10-16 at the half time break. Then early in the second half, Albi took the lead 18-16 but were unable to take advantage of that.

Saint-Estève XIII Catalan took the Lord Derby trophy for the first time since 2018 but Albi's last success was in 1974 and its third losing final since 2008. Video highlights can be seen below. The picture can be expanded by clicking on the [ ] box or the YouTube logo.

On The Road Matches

Does Rugby League do enough to spread the game through taking matches on the road? In Australia it's common for this but to places the game is already played. It's a chance for people there to see top flight RL and creates goodwill between the club and the town they visit.

Then the more risky option of going to a place where the game isn't known and hoping for curious locals to come along. An initiative is going to Las Vegas which has been successful but travelling fans mask the fact that not too many US citizens attend. However, it gets media coverage and in that sense is a success. Plus it gradually wins over the US public. 

The Catalan Dragons in Perpignan, France took a game to Barcelona in 2019. They share a Catalan heritage so that was a help. Over 31,500 turned up when the average for the Dragons at home that year was 8,600. So what a success. It's not been done since and I don't know why but there must be reasons for that. 

So comparing the effect of that game on that year's total attendances with other years around it can be seen on the graph to the right. 2021 was lost to Covid in case you wonder why the gap. 

I did a different colour for 2019 but it does stand out regardless. Some may say it distorts the figures but it spreads awareness of the game and presumably was successful financially.

There is a risk in doing this sort of thing but surely well worth it for the reasons already mentioned. An average in excess of 10,000* for the only time in the Dragons history. I wonder if they will do something like this in future.

*The columns on each side of the graph are thousands. The years covered are from 2015 to 2025 (2025 one game only)

Picture source: Catalan Dragons. 

Las Vegas 2025 Development Matches

 As part of the Rugby League festival in Las Vegas 2025 were development games. In 2024, the USA and Canada played an international which ended 16-16. For 2025, that was expanded as was the main event. For 2025, the USA Men were scheduled to play their Greece counterparts in two games and the women from those nations one game.

Game 1: The first men's USA v Greece game had to be canceled due to vandalism at the ground they were to play at.  

Game 2: The USA Women then took on Greece, the USA the more experienced. The USA raced to a 34-0 lead at half time and the score could have been anything. However, the second half was more even and it ended 46-0. The highlights are below.

Game 3: The USA men took on Greece with high hopes. The Greek side included locals from the fledgling Greek competition but was fortified with players from Australia with Greek heritage. 

It started as a tussle as each side tried to gain ascendancy. The USA led 10-6 heading into half time but Greece struck twice late to lead 18-10. The second half it was all Greece as their experience and fitness started to count. 46-10 to Greece at the end. Highlights below.

Las Vegas 2025

Rugby League went to Las Vegas in 2024 where two opening matches of the Australasian NRL competition were played. Nearly 41,000 spectators went along. In 2025, a repeat of 2024 but with the addition of a UK Super League match and an international women's game. So how did it go?

Game 1: Wigan and Warrington from the UK SL kicked off. Wigan took control and led 24-0 at half time. Warrington did come back but Wigan took it comfortably 48-24.

Game 2: The Canberra Raiders and the NZ Warriors then made their appearance with the Raiders ahead 16-4 at the turn around. They went on to win 30-8 so another clear winner.

Game 3: This was a risk with professional Australia Jillaroos taking on the barely semi-pro England. This had one sided written all over it although the hope was England would lift sufficiently to make it a contest. It was anything but. the 90-4 scoreline was embarrassing and surely will not feature here again.

Game 4: The game of the day was the Penrith v Cronulla clash. 12-10 was the half time score and it ended 28-22 with the result never certain. It would have been nice if other games were closer but that is sport for you. 

Summary: 45,000 spectators were there, up 4,500 on 2024. Some English fans went last year but more this year with a game from the UK included this year. So that probably made the difference. Did locals turn up too? Yes but not an increase from '24. It will make US sports viewers more aware of the code so it may help media deals. Gambling revenue would gain too. 

So a success but one with much potential but patience will be needed as awareness grows for an unknown code in the USA.