Super XIII

Last updated

Super XIII
Founded2002;22 years ago (2002)
CountryFlag of France.svg  France
Number of clubs11
Level on pyramid1
Relegation to Elite 2
Domestic cup(s) Lord Derby Cup
Current champions CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG AS Carcassonne (2023-2024)
Most championships LezignanRLcolours.PNG FC Lézignan (5)
TV partners viàOccitanie, Sport en France
Website Official site
Current: Super XIII 2024–2025

Super XIII is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions worldwide. The clubs play each other home and away then they enter into a play-off series culminating with a Grand Final. The competition was founded in 2002, as the Elite One Championship and renamed as Super XIII at the start of the 2024–2025 season. The competition is the continuation of the French Rugby League Championship, which began in 1934. [1]

Contents

History

Logo for Elite 1 before the competition was renamed in 2024 ELITE1.jpg
Logo for Elite 1 before the competition was renamed in 2024

Prior to the creation of Elite 1, the French Rugby League Championship was the top tier of the French rugby league system.

The competition was founded in 2002, as the Elite One Championship, following the splitting of the French Rugby League Championship into two divisions. The format stayed the same with teams playing each other home and away, before a play-off series would determine the Champions. The club finishing bottom would not be automatically relegated, it would be dependent on whether the club finishing top of Elite Two Championship either wanted to be promoted or their facilities were up to standard.

The 2002–03 season, the first of the Elite 1 championship, saw the defending champions of France, Villeneuve, up against Saint-Gaudens in the final. Villeneuve had won the league championship in 2000–01 and completed a league/cup double in 2001–2002. Having already won the Lord Derby Cup in 2003, they achieved a second consecutive double with a 31–18 win to retain the Max Rousié Trophy. Their opponents, Saint-Gaudens, had not won a championship since the early 1990s, but the following season they defeated Union Treiziste Catalane 14–10 to claim the title and in doing so prevent UTC from claiming the double. [2] [3] That achievement would come for UTC the following year as they went undefeated throughout the 2004–05 season and beat Toulouse 66–16 in the championship final. [4] The following two seasons saw Pia claim consecutive doubles. [5] [6] In the 2007–08 season Lézignan began a run of four consecutive title wins becoming only the second club, after Catalan in the early 1980s, to achieve this feat. [7]

The competition was renamed as Super XIII at the start of the 2024–2025 season. [8] In September 2024, the president of the French Rugby League Federation, Dominique Baloup  [ fr ], gave an interview published in La Dépêche in which he discussed plans to increase the number of teams in the Super XIII and the possibility of moving the season to run between February and September from 2026. [9]

Teams for 2024–25 season

Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrenees region location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Pia
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
Red pog.svg
class=notpageimage|
Location of teams participating in Super XIII in the 2024–25 season [a]
Super XIII
TeamStadiumLocation
AlbiRLcolours.svg Albi RL Stade Mazicou Albi, Tarn
Soavignoncolours.png SO Avignon Parc des Sports (Avignon) Avignon, Vaucluse
CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG AS Carcassonne Stade Albert Domec Carcassonne, Aude
LezignanRLcolours.PNG FC Lézignan Stade du Moulin Lézignan-Corbières, Aude
LimouxRLcolours.PNG Limoux Grizzlies Stade de l'Aiguille Limoux, Aude
PiaRLcolours.PNG Pia XIII Stade Daniel-Ambert Pia, Pyrénées-Orientales
UtcRLcolours.PNG Saint-Estève Catalan Stade Municipal Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales
GaudensRLcolours.PNG Saint-Gaudens Bears Stade Jules Ribet Saint-Gaudens, Haute-Garonne
ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique Broncos Stade des Minimes Toulouse, Haute-Garonne
Villefranchecolours.png Villefranche XIII Aveyron Stade Henri Lagarde Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Aveyron
VilleneuveRLcolours.PNG Villeneuve Leopards Stade Max Rousie Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Lot-et-Garonne

Results

YearWinnersScoreRunners-upVenueAttendance
2002–03 VilleneuveRLcolours.PNG Villeneuve Leopards 31 – 18 GaudensRLcolours.PNG Saint-Gaudens Bears Parc des sports et de l'amitié, Narbonne8,000
2003–04 GaudensRLcolours.PNG Saint-Gaudens Bears 14 – 10 UtcRLcolours.PNG Union Treiziste Catalane Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan7,500
2004–05 UtcRLcolours.PNG Union Treiziste Catalane 66 – 16 ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique XIII Parc des sports et de l'amitié, Narbonne5,000
2005–06 PiaRLcolours.PNG Pia XIII 21 – 18 ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique XIII Stade des Minimes, Toulouse5,462
2006–07 PiaRLcolours.PNG Pia XIII 20 – 16 LezignanRLcolours.PNG FC Lézignan Stade Michel-Bendichou, Colomiers7,882
2007–08 LezignanRLcolours.PNG FC Lézignan 26 – 16 PiaRLcolours.PNG Pia XIII Stade de la Mediterranee, Béziers9,550
2008–09 LezignanRLcolours.PNG FC Lézignan 40 – 32 LimouxRLcolours.PNG Limoux Grizzlies Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne11,263
2009–10 LezignanRLcolours.PNG FC Lézignan 32 – 22 PiaRLcolours.PNG Pia XIII Altrad Stadium, Montpellier6,612
2010–11 LezignanRLcolours.PNG FC Lézignan 17 – 12 LimouxRLcolours.PNG Limoux Grizzlies Parc des sports et de l'amitié, Narbonne11,874
2011–12 CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG AS Carcassonne 26 – 20 PiaRLcolours.PNG Pia XIII Parc des sports et de l'amitié, Narbonne8,980
2012–13 PiaRLcolours.PNG Pia XIII 33 – 26 UtcRLcolours.PNG Saint-Estève Catalan Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan6,732
2013–14 ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique XIII 38 – 12 LezignanRLcolours.PNG FC Lézignan Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan7,245
2014–15 ToulouseRLcolours.png Toulouse Olympique XIII 20 – 12 CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG AS Carcassonne Stade Michel-Bendichou, Colomiers5,800
2015–16 LimouxRLcolours.PNG Limoux Grizzlies 26 – 24 CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG AS Carcassonne Stadium municipal d'Albi, Albi5,420
2016–17 LimouxRLcolours.PNG Limoux Grizzlies 24 – 22 LezignanRLcolours.PNG FC Lézignan Parc des sports et de l'amitié, Narbonne8,270
2017–18 Soavignoncolours.png Sporting Olympique Avignon 30 – 28 LimouxRLcolours.PNG Limoux Grizzlies Stadium municipal d’Albi, Albi5,000
2018–19 UtcRLcolours.PNG Saint-Estève Catalan 32 – 24 CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG AS Carcassonne Stadium municipal d’Albi, Albi1,500
2019–20 Competition abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France [10]
2020–21 LezignanRLcolours.PNG FC Lézignan 16 – 12 CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG AS Carcassonne Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse3,200
2021–22 CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG AS Carcassonne 20 – 16 LimouxRLcolours.PNG Limoux Grizzlies Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié, Narbonne8,231
2022–23 LimouxRLcolours.PNG Limoux Grizzlies 34 – 24 CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG AS Carcassonne Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié, Narbonne8,221
2023–24 CarcassonneRLcolours.PNG AS Carcassonne 8 – 6 AlbiRLcolours.svg Albi RL Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié, Narbonne5,578 [11]

Source: [1] [6]

Winners

#ClubNo.Year(s)
1 Lézignan Sangliers 52007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2020–21
2 Pia XIII 32005–06, 2006–07, 2012–13
AS Carcassonne 2011–12, 2021–22, 2023–24
Limoux Grizzlies 2015–16, 2016–17, 2022–23
5 Toulouse Olympique 22013–14, 2014–15
6 Villeneuve Leopards 12002–03
Saint-Gaudens Bears 2003–04
Union Treiziste Catalane 2004–05
SO Avignon 2017–18
Saint-Esteve XIII Catalan 2018–19

Media coverage

Television

Unlike, for instance, the BBC, France Television didn't offer any program to the French public about Rugby League.

Sport en France cover the Championship across their television platforms nationwide. [12] Coverage includes the match of the week and one match from each week of the playoffs including the Grand Final.

From 2020, some Elite 1 games are televised by a local channel ViàOccitanie; this is a free-to-air channel in the South of France but they are also available on the internet and via the triple play internet devices. Therefore, they offer, indirectly, free nationwide coverage of the domestic championship. [13]

Presently, French clubs have to fund the broadcast of their own games or to televise their own matches themselves via the social networks or YouTube.

Radio

Radio Marseillette, a local Southern radio, has rugby league debate and news every Saturday from 10:00 to 12:00. They also have commentary on some Elite League games.

Press

The French national mainstream media barely follow the game. Very occasionally, some articles about the sport are published in newspapers such as Le Monde, Le Figaro or the national Sport newspaper L'Équipe.

Nevertheless, there is undoubtedly a French specificity: the Weekly Rugby Union magazine Midi Olympique has a one-page section devoted to Rugby League. However, only two local newspapers genuinely cover the game; L'Indépendant ( based in the South of France) and la Dépêche du Midi (based in the South west of the country).

The British Rugby League press cover this championship; for example magazines like Rugby Leaguer & League Express offer a weekly report of the games. In Australia, the monthly publication Rugby League Review offer a few columns about the games as well.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ All teams are located inside Occitania except Sporting Olympique Avignon and Villeneuve XIII RLLG which are just located outside the region.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coupe de France Lord Derby</span> French rugby league football competition

The Coupe de France Lord Derby, or just Coupe Lord Derby, is the premier knockout competition for the sport of rugby league football in France, as well as the name of its championship trophy. The tournament was first contested in 1934–35, which also marked the inaugural season of the French Rugby League Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toulouse Olympique</span> French professional rugby league club

Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rugby league in France</span>

Rugby league has been played in France since 1934. As with rugby union, rugby league was introduced by the English and the heartland of the game is in the south of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AS Carcassonne</span> French semi-professional rugby league club

Association Sportive of Carcassonne are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in Carcassonne in the region of Occitanie in the south of France. They play in the French Super XIII and are one of the most successful clubs in French rugby league, having won a total of twelve French rugby league championship titles and seventeen Lord Derby Cups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint-Gaudens Bears</span> French professional rugby league club

The Saint-Gaudens Bears are a professional rugby league club based in the town of Saint-Gaudens, in the Haute-Garonne region of south-western France. They play in the Super XIII. The club was formed in 1958. They have won the French rugby league championship on four occasions and lifted the Lord Derby Cup three times. Their home ground is the Stade Jules Ribet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XIII Limouxin</span> French semi-professional rugby league club

XIII Limouxin, also known as Limoux Grizzlies, are a semi-professional rugby league club from the town of Limoux in the Aude area in southern France. They play in the Super XIII. The club was formed in 1951. They have won the French rugby league championship four times and Lord Derby Cup on two occasions. The Stade de l'Aiguille is their home stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kane Bentley</span> Scotland & France international rugby league footballer

Kane Bentley is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for the St Gaudens Bears in the Elite One Championship. He has played for both France and Scotland at international level.

The 2007/08 season was the fifth year of the Elite One Championship, the top level rugby league competition in France. The season commenced on 6 October 2007 and like the previous season, there were 11 teams with one team missing a round each week. A total of 22 rounds were played, with the last finishing on 12 April 2008 before the play-offs, that determined who played in the Grand Final. RC Albi were the league's new club having been promoted from the Elite Two Championship. Pia XIII were the defending champions having beaten Lézignan Sangliers in the 2006/2007 season Grand Final. The top 8 clubs qualified for the end of season play-offs. In the first week of the play-offs, Saint-Gaudens Bears and UTC both easily beat Toulouse Olympique and RC Albi respectively. However both teams were then beaten, Saint-Gaudens Bears by third placed AS Carcassonne, and UTC by Limoux Grizzlies in Week 2. Pia XIII beat AS Carcassonne in the first semi-final and a day later Lézignan Sangliers, the league leaders, squeezed past Limoux Grizzlies. In the Grand Final held at the Stade de la Mediterranee in Béziers, Lézignan Sangliers did what they had failed to do the previous season and beat Pia XIII 26-16, and thus winning the title for the first time. Despite finishing 8th and reaching the Lord Derby cup final RC Albi were relegated and Toulouse Olympique left the league and joined the English Rugby League system. SO Avignon were promoted from the 2nd tier. The Lord Derby Cup was won by Limoux Grizzlies.

The 2006/07 season was the fourth year of the Elite One Championship, the top-level rugby league French Championship. The season commenced on 6 October 2006. Like the previous season, there were 11 teams with one team missing a round each week. A total of 22 rounds were played, with the last finishing on 18 April 2007, before the top four Pia XIII, Toulouse Olympique, Lézignan Sangliers and Saint-Gaudens Bears progressed to the play-offs. Pia XIII beat Lézignan Sangliers in the Grand Final 20-16 which was played at Colomiers. That win completed a double for Pia XIII as they had already lifted the Lord Derby Cup beating AS Carcassonne 30-14. Lyon Villeurbanne XIII finished bottom, finishing with 23 points but it was Villefranche XIII Aveyron who'd finished 9th who were relegated to the Elite Two Championship, replaced by RC Albi.

The French rugby league system is a four tiered structure with the major national club competition being the Super XIII. Below this is Elite 2 and a number of regional leagues. The teams in each competition can change each year depending on final standings and relegation/promotion.

In 2016–2017 ten clubs competed for the title. The season ran from October 2016 to June 2017. The first round of matches took place at the Stade Gilbert Brutus in Perpignan where the ten clubs played over the weekend called "Magic Weekend 1" this was followed by 18 rounds home and away matches before a second Magic Weekend as the last round of games. The top six clubs then progressed into the end of season play-offs to determine the champions. The league saw the return of Saint-Gaudens Bears following their promotion.

Season 2010–2011 in the French Elite One Championship the top level league competition saw Lézignan Sangliers retain their title after they finished top of the table and then went on to beat Limoux Grizzlies in the Grand Final in Narbonne 17-12. The season ran from October to May and after 20 rounds of home and away matches the top five entered the play-offs. At the end of the season both RC Carpentras XIII and Saint-Gaudens Bears were relegated. The Lord Derby Cup was also won by Lezignan Sagliers to complete a second successive league and cup double, they beat Pia XIII in the final 27-18 in Carcassonne.

Season 2011/12 in the French Elite One Championship, the top level rugby league competition in France saw 10 teams play home and away matches before the top six progressed to the play-offs. The season ran from September to May. There were two new clubs, Toulouse Olympique returned to the competition after they had participated in the British rugby league second tier RFL Championship and RC Lescure-Arthes XIII who had won promotion from the French second tier Elite Two Championship. Pia XIII finished top after the regular season and went on to reach the grand final, but they were beaten by AS Carcassonne in that final at Narbonne 26-20. The same two teams had already met in the Lord Derby Cup final with AS Carcassonne enjoying a league and cup double after winning 14-12. At the other end of the table Montpellier Red Devils opted for relegation thus saving new boys RC Lescure-Arthes XIII who had finished bottom.

The 2020–21 Elite One Championship was the 86th season of France's domestic rugby league competition and the 20th season known as the Elite One Championship. There were ten teams in the league. Each team played 18 matches in the regular season. The top six teams progressed to the finals series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coupe de France Georges-Aillères</span> French rugby league tournament

The Georges Aillères French Cup is a French rugby league tournament. It is the league cup competition for Elite 2 teams.

The 2018–19 Elite One Championship was the 84th season of France's domestic rugby league competition and 17th known as the Elite One Championship. Ten teams competed in the regular season playing 19 matches each from November 2018 to June 2019, with the top six teams playing a three-week finals series throughout June 2019.

The 2021–22 Elite One Championship was the 87th season of France's domestic rugby league competition and the 21st season known as the Elite One Championship. There were nine teams in the league. Each team played 16 matches in the regular season. The top six teams progressed to a three-week final series played throughout May 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathieu Jussaume</span> French international rugby league footballer

Mathieu Jussaume is a professional rugby league player with Toulouse Olympique in Super League. He plays centre and is a product of the Toulouse academy system.

The 2022–23 Elite One Championship was the 88th season of France's domestic rugby league competition and the 22nd season known as the Elite 1 championship. The competition expanded back to ten teams following the promotion of Baroudeurs de Pia XIII from Elite 2 after winning the title in 2021–22.

The 2023–24 Elite One Championship was the 89th season of France's domestic rugby league competition and the 23rd season known as the Elite 1 championship.

References

  1. 1 2 "Championnat Elite 1". Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII (in French). Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  2. ↑ "All in Narbonne on May 25, 2003". www.ffr13.com. Archived from the original on 28 May 2003.
  3. ↑ "The Saint Gaudens surprise". www.ffr13.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2004.
  4. ↑ "Historical". www.ffr13.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2005.
  5. ↑ "Lord Derby French Cup Honours". Treize Mondial. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  6. 1 2 "France Elite 1 Championship: Charts". Treize Mondial. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  7. ↑ "FC Lezignan double winners in France". European Rugby League. 15 May 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  8. ↑ "The Super XIII (Elite 1) season 2024-2025 calendar with 11 teams". Treize Mondial. 19 July 2024. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  9. ↑ "MAINTENANCE. Rugby League: Franco-English competition, matches of the France team, internal elections... The projects of the president of the federation". La Dépêche. 19 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  10. ↑ "Coronavirus : la Fédération française met fin aux compétitions de rugby à XIII cette saison". lequipe.fr. Groupe Amaury. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  11. ↑ "Elite 1 : Carcassonne réalise le doublé!" (in French). FFRXIII. 26 May 2024. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  12. ↑ "Elite 1 - Finale hommes". Sport en France (in French). Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  13. ↑ "Rugby à XIII". viaoccitanie.tv. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.