Gifi Bias XIII were a French

Rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

club based in

Bias, Lot-et-Garonne Bias (; oc, Biàs) is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Lot-et-Garonne department The following is a list of the 319 communes of the French department of Lot-et-Garonne. ...

, in the

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ...

region. The club played in the French

National Division 1 The National Division 1 is the third tier of rugby league in France, below the Elite Two Championship and above the National Division 2. The season runs from September to April. From season 2012–13 the league was split into regions ''East'' a ...

and

National Division 2 National Division 2 is the fourth tier of rugby league in France, below the National Division 1. The season runs from September to April. The Division is split into 5 regional leagues, Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrenees, Aquitaine, Ile de France ...

leagues during its time. Founded in 1961, the club moved to

Pujols, Lot-et-Garonne Pujols (; oc, Pujòls) is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France. Geography Location This once fortified town lies within the municipal community of Greater Villeneuve and overlooks the Lot valley and the city of Vill ...

in 2014 and changed names to

US Pujols XIII US Pujols XIII are a French Rugby league club based in Pujols, Lot-et-Garonne in the south-west of France. The club plays in National Division 1. Home games are played at the Lacassagne Sports Complex. History * see also Gifi Bias XIII Foun ...

History

Gifi Bias XIII were founded in 1961 but the club would have to wait for over 30 years before their first final appearance. That came in 1995 when they won the

Coupe Falcou The Albert Falcou Cup (french: Coupe Albert-Falcou), also called Albert Falcou French Cup (french: Coupe de France Albert-Falcou), is an annual knock-out competition organised by the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII for amateur rugby leagu ...

and by the end of the season they had completed a league and cup double after defeating

RC Lescure-Arthes XIII Racing Club Lescure-Arthès XIII are a French Rugby league club based in Lescure-d'Albigeois, Tarn in the Midi-Pyrénées region. The club plays in the French Elite Two Championship. Founded in 1964 as a youth side, their home ground is the St ...

in the National 2 nowadays the

league final 34-12. By the time of the new millennium though the club found itself back in the bottom tier. In season 2001/02 they won promotion back to the National 2 after winning against

Aspet XIII ''Aspet'' (, , ''Aspetes'' in contemporary Greek) was a hereditary military title of the Armenian nobility, usually found within the Bagratuni family.Toumanoff, Cyril (1963), ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History III'', pp. 202, 324-26. Georget ...

18-10. Back in the ''National 2'' the club enjoyed a successful season winning the Coupe Falcou for a second time and reaching the league final against Aspet XIII in a repeat of the previous Federal Division final, this time though they lost out 9-16 but were promoted to the 2nd tier for the first time. After a couple of seasons in the

Elite Two Championship Elite 2 (formerly the Elite Two Championship) is the second tier semi-professional rugby league competition in France below Elite 1, but above the National Division 1. The season runs from September to April. The clubs play each other home ...

''Gifi'' reached the league final in 2007 and against all odds won 16-14 against

Racing Club Albi XIII Racing Club Albi XIII originally called Racing Club Albigeois XIII and more recently also known as Albi Tigers are a semi-professional rugby league team based in Albi in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie region in southern France. ...

. The club decided not to take up the offer if promotion to the top flight and this led to the team slowly breaking up. By 2012 the club were back in the 4th tier after suffering successive relegations. In 2014 a decision was made to leave their base in ''Bias'' and move to nearby ''Pujol''. The club also decided to change the name of the club to reflect this, thus becoming

. The 'Lion' was maintained in the new club's logo.

Honours

* Elite Two Championship (1): 2006–07 * National Division 1 (National 2) (1): 1994–95 * National Division 2 (Federal Division) (1): 2001–02 * Coupe Falcou (2): 1995, 2003

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gifi Bias XIII Rugby league teams in France 1961 establishments in France 2014 disestablishments in France Defunct rugby league teams in France Rugby clubs established in 1961