Raymond Gruppi (born in

Villeneuve-sur-Lot Villeneuve-sur-Lot (; in the Languedocien dialect of Occitan language: ''Vilanuèva d'Òlt'' ) is a town and commune in the southwestern French department of Lot-et-Garonne. The commune was formerly named ''Villeneuve-d'Agen''. Villeneuve-sur-L ...

, on 30 September 1937), is a French former

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 ...

player who played as centre and wing and later was a coach.

Personal life

He is the brother of the former rugby league player Jacques Gruppi, as well of the former rugby union player Pierre Gruppi. His sons are Enzo Gruppi and Thibaut Gruppi, who play for

Villeneuve XIII RLLG 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, the ...

. In the civil life, outside the field, he worked as a seedsman. He is also a horse trainer

Biography

He spent most of his playing career at

, playing the

French Championship The French rugby league championship (french: Le Championnat de France de Rugby à XIII) has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. ...

, which eventually ended as runner-up in 1965, and at the

Lord Derby Cup The French Rugby League Cup (french: Coupe de France de Rugby à XIII), also called Lord Derby Cup (french: Coupe Lord Derby) after its championship trophy, is the premier knockout competition for the sport of rugby league football in France. Th ...

a season later. With his club performances, he was called up several times for the French national team between 1959 and 1971, taking part in the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

and

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

. Later, he was appointed as coach for

with new successes with the victory at the

in 1979 and in the

in 1980. He was also appointed as coach for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

alongside Jean Panno, debuting with a 24-16 win against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

on 17 March 1985. He was called up for the France squad at the

1960 Rugby League World Cup The 1960 Rugby League World Cup was the third staging of the tournament and the first Rugby League World Cup to be held in Great Britain. The same format as used in 1957 was used, with a group stage leading to a final table. The 1960 World Cup ...

alongside his teammates Angélo Boldini, Jacques Dubon, André Lacaze and Jacques Merquey. Later, he was called up again to represent

at the

1970 Rugby League World Cup The fifth Rugby League World Cup was held in Great Britain in 1970. Britain, fresh from defeating Australia in the Ashes during their Australasian tour earlier in the year (the last time as of 2017 that they would win The Ashes), were hot favo ...

with his new team mates Jean-Pierre Clar, Gérard Cremoux, Daniel Pellerin and Christian Sabatié.

Honours

As player

* Team honours : ** Winner of the

: 1964Did not play the final due to injury. (

). ** Winner of the

: 1964 (

). ** Runner-up at the

: 1962 et 1965 (

). ** Runner-up at the

: 1966 et 1969 (

As coach

* Team honours : ** Winner of the

: 1980 (

). ** Winner of the

: 1979 (

). ** Runner-up at the

: 1981The final could not arrive at its end. (

References

External links

Raymond Gruppi
at rugbyleagueproject.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruppi, Raymond French rugby league coaches France national rugby league team players Sportspeople from Lot-et-Garonne 1937 births Living people Villeneuve Leopards players Villeneuve Leopards coaches Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers French horse trainers French rugby league players