Saint-Estève XIII Catalan who were previously called Union Treiziste Catalane or UTC for short are a semi-professional

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 ...

team based in

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

in the region of

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ca, Pirineus Orientals ; oc, Pirenèus Orientals ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. ...

in the south of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Founded in 2000 after a merger between

AS Saint-Estève As, AS, A. S., A/S or similar may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer * "As" (song), by Stevie Wonder * , a Spanish sports newspaper * , an academic male voice ...

and

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 club plays in 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 worl ...

which is the top tier rugby league competition in France. They have won the league title once and the cup four times. Their current home stadium is the Stade Municipal and they are coached by

Jerome Guisset Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is comm ...

History

Background

In 2000 Bernard Guasch managed to bring together two highly successful Perpignan rugby league clubs in

AS Saint Estève As, AS, A. S., A/S or similar may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * A. S. Byatt (born 1936), English critic, novelist, poet and short story writer * "As" (song), by Stevie Wonder * , a Spanish sports newspaper * , an academic male voic ...

and

to form one club which he named Union Treiziste Catalane. The ultimate aim was to join the British

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

. After just one season the club won 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. The ...

beating

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 ...

38–17. Saint-Cyprien XIII of 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 ...

and also based in

joined the merger in 2002. After another cup win in 2003, in season 2004–05 they completed a league and cup double and it was at this time that the club presented a business plan to join the Super League. In 2006 they were admitted into the Super League under a new name

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons ( French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. The team competes in the Super League and are the only team from ...

Formation

Saint-Estève XIII Catalan was formed following the Dragons' transfer to the Super League, and began competing in the

, bringing back the names of the original clubs pre-2000. The club acts as a feeder team for Catalans Dragons while also providing a Perpignan presence in the French league. In 2016 the club lifted the cup again.

Colours and Badge

The team's playing colours are white, red, blue and yellow which are the colours of Catalans Dragons, incorporating the colours of the original clubs from the merger. They also share very similar badges the difference being the team name

Stadium

When the merged team began, they played at the

Stade Gilbert Brutus Stade Gilbert Brutus is a rugby league stadium in Perpignan, France, which is the home ground of the Catalans Dragons. History In the 1970s and 1980s, the ground was used by both rugby league and rugby union clubs in Northern Catalonia. It was ...

and stayed here until 2015 when they switched to the ground formerly used by ''AS Saint-Estève'' in the district of the same name on the outskirts of Perpignan. The ground has floodlights and a main stand that has 2,000 seats. In 2015 the ground hosted its first international match when

France A France A, also known as France XV and France B in the past, was the former name of the second national rugby union team of France behind the French national side. In 2011 the French Rugby Federation designated the France U20 team as the second ...

played

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

Current squad

2021-22 Season

Honours

::Winners (1): 2018–19
Runners-up (1): 2012–13 *

::Winners (1): 2015–16
Runners-up (2): 2014–15, 2018–19

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Esteve XIII Catalan French rugby league teams Perpignan Sport in Pyrénées-Orientales 2000 establishments in France Rugby clubs established in 2000