Le Soler XIII are 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

Le Soler Le Soler () is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Geography Le Soler is located in the canton of La Vallée de la Têt and in the arrondissement of Perpignan. Population See also *Communes of the Pyr� ...

Pyrénées Orientales The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

in the

Languedoc-Roussillon Languedoc-Roussillon (; oc, Lengadòc-Rosselhon ; ca, Llenguadoc-Rosselló) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, it joined with the region of Midi-Pyrénées to become Occitania. It comprised five departments, and ...

region. Founded in 1955 and refounded in 2008 the club plays in the Languedoc-Roussillon League in the French

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 ...

. Home matches are played at the Stade Municipal Le Soler

History

Founded in 1955 as RC Le Soler XIII by ''Noel Amoros'' and ''Pierre Aspaillange'' the new club reached their first league title final in 1959 when they finished runner-up to RC Salon XIII in the 2nd Division now called the

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 ...

league, losing by 10-21. The following season they finished runner-up again this time in the regional ''Rousillon League''. It was during the early 1980s that the club enjoyed their best spell. Under player-coach ''Cesar Rodriguez'' the club not only produced future top flight players like

Jacques Jorda Jacques Jorda, (born in Elne, on 1 April 1948) is a French former rugby league player and coach. Starting in rugby union for Stade Toulousain, he made his debut with the club in First Division in 1966 before joining Carcassonne in 1967 and then, ...

, Michel Charcos, Antoine Gonzalez and their own captain at the time Jo Bruzy they also enjoyed on the field success with these players. In season 82/83 they convincingly won the Federal Division nowadays called the

thrashing

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 final 47-0. Season 83/84 brought continued success as they went on to lift the National 2 title after beating

Saint-Paul Fenouilledes XIII 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 ...

in the final 16-10 and winning promotion to the 2nd tier. During this season they also embarked on their best

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

cup run. After despatching

Palau XIII Broncos Palau XIII Broncos also known as Palau XIII or Palau Broncos are a professional rugby league team based in Palau-del-Vidre in the Occitanie region in the south of France. They currently play in the Elite One Championship which is the top level i ...

, top tier club

Limoux Grizzlies 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 Elite One Championship. The club was formed in 1951. They have won the French ...

and

Pennautier XIII Pennautier (; oc, Puègnautièr) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. Population The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Pennautierois'' in French. Sights * Épanchoir de Foucaud * Canal du Midi See also *Commun ...

in the group stages they went and beat top flight club

SM Pia XIII The Baroudeurs de Pia XIII, later known as the Pia Donkeys, are a French Rugby league team based in Pia, Pyrénées-Orientales in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. The ''Baroudeurs'' play in the Elite Two Championship during their existence they ...

in the Quarter-Finals. At the Semi-Final Stage they were drawn against the current champions and powerhouses

XIII Catalan XIII Catalan is a rugby league team from Perpignan in the Pyrénées-Orientales region of southern France. They were founded in 1934, and thus were founding members of the French rugby league championship. In 2000 their senior team merged with n ...

. The game was played at the

Stade Aime-Giral Stade (), officially the Hanseatic City of Stade (german: Hansestadt Stade, nds, Hansestadt Stood) is a city in Lower Saxony in northern Germany. First mentioned in records in 934, it is the seat of the Stade (district), district () which bears ...

in Perpignan in front of a crowd of 5,000 and the minnows from the 3rd tier Le Soler did themselves proud in only going down 5-15. There then followed some fallow times including a couple of relegations and by the new millennium the club was struggling both on and off the field. In 2008 the club closed down but was quickly reformed under a new name Le Soler XIII. a new board was announced and the club colours were changed from the original red shirts and yellow shorts and socks (Catalan colours) to black and white hoops. The old colours remain on the club logo. In 2010 the newly reformed club won the National Division 2 Languedoc-Rousillon League and in 2011/12 they went one better and won the overall National Division 2 title beating

US Trentels XIII U.S. Trentels XIII are a French Rugby league club based in Trentels, Lot-et-Garonne in the Aquitaine region. The club plays in the French National Division 1. Their home ground is the Stade de Lustrac. History Founded as Union Sportive Trente ...

23-12 earning promotion in the process. After a couple of struggling seasons in the National Division 1 they were relegated back to the 4th tier.

Club honours

* National Division 1 (National 2) (1): 1983-84 * National Division 2 (Fédéral Championship) (2): 1982-83, 2011–12

Club Details

*President: Vincent Guittard *Club Address: Le Soler XIII, Apt. 32 Rue Pla Guillem Bat C, 66240 St Esteve *Tel: 06 26 54 06 06 *Email:

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Soler XIII Rugby league teams in France 2008 establishments in France Rugby clubs established in 2008