Stade Gilbert Brutus is a

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 ...

stadium 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 ...

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 ...

, which is the home ground of the

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 ...

History

In the 1970s and 1980s, the ground was used by both

and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

clubs in

Northern Catalonia Northern Catalonia, North Catalonia, ; french: Catalogne (du) Nord ; oc, Catalonha (del) Nòrd; es, Cataluña (del) Norte) French Catalonia or Roussillon refers to the Catalan-speaking and Catalan-culture territory ceded to France by Spain ...

. It was previously the home ground of rugby league club

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 stadium was named in honour of Gilbert Brutus, in memory of a French rugby union player, coach, chairman and referee, who was born on 2 August 1887 in

Port-Vendres Port-Vendres (; ca, Portvendres) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department, southwestern France. A typical Mediterranean fishing port, situated near the Spanish border on the Côte Vermeille in southwestern France, Port-Vendres is re ...

and, as a member of the Resistance, was murdered by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

on 7 March 1944 in Perpignan.

Expansion

Before 2007, the Stade Gilbert Brutus held 4,200, including 900 seats. This was deemed inadequate for the

who played at the Stade Aimé Giral in 2006. Expansion of the stadium began in 2006 with the aim of increasing capacity to 14,000. The first phase of construction included two covered, all-seater stands, one with hospitality suites. By the end of the 2006 season, the work was finished and Catalans moved back into the stadium for the 2007 season. Further construction in 2010 brought capacity up to 13,000, with three all-seater stands.

Rugby League Test matches

The Stade Gilbert Brutus has hosted twenty-five rugby league internationals. Twenty-four of them involved France.Stade Gilbert Brutus results @ Rugby League Project
/ref> ** Match played as part of the 1975 World Cup.
♦ Match played as part of the 1985-1988 World Cup.
♦♦ Matches played as part of the 1989-1992 World Cup.
† Match played as part of the 2013 World Cup. On 29 October 1972, the Stade Gilbert Brutus hosted a 1972 World Cup match between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

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 is ...

with an attendance of 6,324. Great Britain won 27 - 21

References

External links

{{2013 RLWC Venues Gilbert Brutus Buildings and structures completed in 2007 Perpignan Sport in Perpignan Catalans Dragons Sports venues in Pyrénées-Orientales Rugby League World Cup stadiums Sports venues completed in 1962

History

Expansion

Rugby League Test matches

See also

References

External links