The Baroudeurs de Pia XIII, later known as the Pia Donkeys, 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 11 ...
team based in
Pia,
Pyrénées-Orientales 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 b ...
region. The ''Baroudeurs'' play in the
Elite Two Championship during their existence they were the reserve team of the
Elite One Championship
Elite 1 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 wor ...
team SM Pia XIII (the original Pia Donkeys), until that team ceased competing in Elite One and the reserve Baroudeurs were absorbed under the ''SM'' banner. Home games are played at the
Stade Daniel-Ambert
History
The club was formed in 2000 by the former successful top flight club SM Pia XIII to act as their official reserve side. The Baroudeurs, which translates as ''Fighters'' were one of the strongest clubs at their level. In season 2003/04 they reached their first league final in the National Division 1 but lost against
Vedene 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 ...
6-42. The next two seasons brought more final heartache as they lost firstly against
Salses XIII
Salses XIII are a French Rugby league club based in Salses-le-Château, Pyrénées-Orientales in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. They play in the French National Division 2 Languedoc-Rousillon League. Home games are played at the Stade Fontv ...
20-36 and then to
Villeneuve Tolosane
Villeneuve, LaVilleneuve or deVilleneuve may refer to:
People
* Villeneuve (surname)
Places
Australia
* Villeneuve, Queensland, a town in the Somerset Region
Canada
* Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a Formula One racetrack in Montréal
* Villeneu ...
14-30, that season 2005/06 did bring some success 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 ...
to win their first trophy. 2006/07 brought relegation but the following season they registered a league and cup double. They beat
RC Lescure-Arthes XIII 'A' in the league 30-6 and also lifted the Coupe Falcou for a second time. As a reserve side they wouldn't have been allowed to play in the same league as their first team and so when SM Pia XIII announced they were going to drop out of the top flight at the end of season 2012/13 the reserve Baroudeurs were absorbed under the ''SM'' banner. In the 2018-19 season the Baroudeurs returned to the Elite Two Championship.
Current squad
2021-22 Squad;
[https://treizemondial.fr/equipe/baroudeurs-de-pia-xiii/ Baroudeurs de Pia XIII Jouers]
*Adrien Bansept
*Etienne Bezo
*Arthur Bidaut
*Elian Billerach
*Tom Bonillo
*Sylvain Bonnet
*Quentin Brail
*Maxime Capdeillayre
*Kader Cherat
*Theo Coll
*Joao Paulo de Oliveira
*Nito de Souza
*Hugo Fenoy
*Nicolas Franck
*Maxime Garcia
*Gregory Gimenez
*Vincent Gonzalez
*Marc Janicot
*Anthony Leger
*Sofian Madani
*Adam Madouri
*Mathias Marty
*Sylvain Masuaute
*Quentin Maury
*Quentin Maussang
*Clement Meunier
*Quentin Morlaas
*Cedric Pacull
*Nicolas Roca
*Loic Rosemplatt
*Olivier Ruiz
*Laurian Regne
*Sebastien Terrado
Honours
* French Championship (4): 1995–96, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2012–13
* Lord Derby Cup (3): 1975, 2006, 2007
* National Division 2 (1): 2016–17
Records
* Biggest Victory: 126-4 against Carpentras in the 2005/2006 season of the Elite Championship.
* Biggest Defeat: 0-72 against Whitehaven in the 2006 Challenge Cup.
References
External links
Pia fansite
{{Rugby League in France
French rugby league teams
Sport in Pyrénées-Orientales
1960 establishments in France
Rugby clubs established in 1960