The 1997-1998 French Championship of Rugby League concluded on 5 April 1998, with the Villeneuve Leopards as champions. [1]
Villeneuve XIII RLLG originally called Sports Athletic Villeneuvois XIII are a semi-professional rugby league team based in Villeneuve-sur-Lot in the region of Aquitaine in southern France. Formed in 1934, the first French rugby league club, they currently play in the Elite One Championship the highest level of rugby league in France. They have won both the league title and the cup on nine occasions. Their home stadium is the Stade Max Rousie.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 22 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 676 | 417 | +259 | 60 |
| 2 |  | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 | 609 | 397 | +212 | 55 |
| 3 | St-Estève | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 675 | 472 | +203 | 52 |
| 4 |  | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 565 | 441 | +124 | 49 |
| 5 |  | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 548 | 588 | -40 | 44 |
| 6 |  | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 461 | 497 | -36 | 43 |
| 7 |  | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 654 | 565 | +89 | 42 |
| 8 |  | 22 | 9 | 1 | 12 | 547 | 587 | -40 | 41 |
| 9 | XIII Catalan | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 535 | 590 | -55 | 38' |
| 10 |  | 22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 508 | 614 | -142 | 37 |
| 11 |  | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 443 | 663 | -220 | 36 |
| 12 |  | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 405 | 759 | -354 | 31 |
The South African national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts, and their emblem is the native antelope springbok. The team has been representing South Africa in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team.
Villeneuve-d'Ascq is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. With more than 60,000 inhabitants and 50,000 students, it is one of the main cities of the Métropole Européenne de Lille and the largest in area (27.46 km²) after Lille; it is also one of the main cities of the Hauts-de-France region.
Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a French rugby union club from Toulouse in Occitania. Toulouse is one of the most successful clubs in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup a joint record four times – in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps and Munster, respectively. Stade Toulousain have also won a record 20 French Championship titles. It is traditionally one of the main providers for the French national team. Their home ground is the Stade Ernest-Wallon. However, big Top 14 matches along with Heineken Cup games are often played at the Stadium Municipal de Toulouse. The club colours are red, black and white.
Stade de France is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the eighth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national football team and French rugby union team for international competition. It is the largest in Europe for track and field events, seating 78,338 in that configuration. Despite that, the stadium's running track is mostly hidden under the football pitch. Originally built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the stadium's name was recommended by Michel Platini, head of the organising committee. On 12 July 1998, France defeated Brazil 3–0 in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final contested at the stadium. It will host the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletics events at the 2024 Summer Olympics. It will also host matches for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The France national rugby union team competes annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright seventeen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams. Ten former French players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. France is currently ranked 7th in the World Rugby Rankings as of October 28, 2019.
CS Bourgoin-Jallieu is a French rugby union club currently competing in the second level of the French league system in the Fédérale 1. The club have been runners-up in the French championship and the Challenge Yves du Manoir competitions, and have won the Challenge Cup.
Section Paloise Béarn Pyrénées, commonly called Pau[po], is a French rugby union club from Pau in Pyrénées-Atlantiques competing in Top 14, the highest level of the French league system. They most recently earned promotion by winning the championship of the second-level Rugby Pro D2 in 2015, nine years after having been relegated from the top flight.
The Stade de la Beaujoire - Louis Fonteneau, or "Stade de la Beaujoire", is a stadium in Nantes, France. It is the home of the FC Nantes football club.
Stadium de Toulouse is the largest multi-purpose stadium in Toulouse, France. It is currently used mostly for football matches, mainly those of the Toulouse Football Club and the big games of rugby for Stade Toulousain in the European Rugby Champions Cup or Top 14. It also hosts the test matches of France's national rugby union team. It is located on the island of Ramier near the centre of Toulouse. It is a pure football and rugby ground, and therefore has no athletics track surrounding the field. The stadium is able to hold 33,150 people.
Christophe Dominici is a former French rugby union footballer of Italian origin. He played wing for Stade Français and France. He has been a coach with Stade Français since the start of the 2008/9 season and a board member since 2009/10 season.
Ignacio Saul ("Nani") Corleto is a retired Argentine rugby union player. He played as a fullback.
Rugby union in France is a popular team sport. Rugby union was first introduced in the early 1870s by British residents. Elite French clubs participate in the professional domestic club league, the Top 14. Clubs also compete in the European knock-out competition, the European Rugby Champions Cup, which replaced the Heineken Cup from 2014–15.
Union sportive Colomiers rugby or US Colomiers is a French rugby union club currently competing in Pro D2, the second level of the French rugby pyramid. They had been relegated from Pro D2 after finishing last in the 2006-07 season, but earned promotion from Fédérale 1 at the first opportunity in 2007-08, and survived a relegation scare in 2008–09, finishing 14th, in the last safe position. The club was relegated from Pro D2 in the 2010–11 season. The club, based in Colomiers in the Haute-Garonne département of Occitania, was founded in 1915 and plays at the Stade Michel Bendichou. The players wear blue and white. Colomiers have been runners-up in the French championship and Heineken Cup, as well as winners of the European Challenge Cup.
The France Sevens, also called the Paris Sevens, is an annual international rugby sevens tournament that is one of ten competitions on the annual World Rugby Sevens Series. The France Sevens is generally held in May or June on the weekend following the London Sevens and is the last competition in the Sevens Series. France has also hosted tournaments within the European Sevens Grand Prix Series, often at Lyon.
Christophe Lamaison is a former French rugby union footballer who represented France at international level, and Brive, Agen and Aviron Bayonnais at professional club level. He won 37 caps, and at the time of his retirement was the all-time leading points scorer for France, with 380 points, a mark surpassed in August 2015 by Frédéric Michalak. Lamaison played most of his rugby as a centre, and possessed reliable distribution and kicking skills, which made up for his only real weakness, a lack of pace. He could also play at fly-half. He made his international debut against South Africa on 30 November 1996 in Paris, and rose to prominence as a key member of France's Grand slam-winning sides of 1997 and 1998. His goalkicking ability also helped Brive reach the Heineken Cup final in 1998 and 1999.
Jean-Claude Skrela is a former coach of the French national rugby union team. His son, David Skrela, is a French rugby union player and his daughter, Gaëlle Skrela, is a professional basketball player.
The Coupe Falcou is an annual knock-out competition organised by the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII for amateur rugby league clubs in France.
Olivier Roumat is a former French rugby union footballer. He played as a number-eight, openside flanker and lock.
The 1997–1998 French Rugby Union Championship was played by 20 teams divided in the preliminary phase in two pools of 12. The first four team of each pool were admitted to quarters of final.
Pieter Willem Gabriel Rossouw is a former South African rugby player and current coach. Rossouw played wing for Western Province in the Currie Cup and the Stormers in the Super Rugby competition. He played a total of 43 times for the Springboks, making him one of the most capped Springbok wingers after South Africa's readmission to international rugby. He was also one of South Africa's most prolific try-scoring wingers, post-isolation, with only Breyton Paulse(26) and Bryan Habana(53) scoring more tries. He is 7th on the all-time try-scoring list for the Springboks. Rossouw is currently the backline coach of the Bulls in Super rugby and the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup. He was known as "Slaptjips", apparently because the sight of his running legs was like potato chips slapping together. Pieter is the older brother of Chris Rossouw, who played flyhalf for Western Province and the Free State Cheetahs.
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