XIII Catalan 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 ...

team from

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

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. ...

region of southern France. They were founded in 1934, and thus were founding members of the

French rugby league 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. ...

. In 2000 their senior team merged with nearby neighbours

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 ...

to form Union Treiziste Catalane, now better known in the English-speaking world by their

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 ...

identity of

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 1888 rugby was introduced to Perpignan by students returning from the Lycée Michelet in Paris. Rugby League arrived in the form of XIII Catalan in 1934 under the guidance of

Marcel Laborde Marcel may refer to: People * Marcel (given name), people with the given name Marcel * Marcel (footballer, born August 1981), Marcel Silva Andrade, Brazilian midfielder * Marcel (footballer, born November 1981), Marcel Augusto Ortolan, Brazilian s ...

so becoming one of the founder members of the first league in France. The club's first chairman Dr Gaston Banet and Roger Ramis the head coach, found many early difficulties the main one being unable to secure a stadium to use. The local rugby club USAP Perpignan successfully blocked their attempts to hire a stadium and for the first month of the season they had to play all away matches. In October 1934 English side

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

RLFC toured the fledgling rugby nation and one of the matches planned was in Perpignan. The club finally found some land to use and after volunteers had demolished a house and marked out a pitch builders then erected a stand. The first ever Rugby League match was then able to take place. The locals saw their side beaten by Salford 16-41, but one of their own scored the historic first try in Aime Bardes. The team's first league match on 7 October also ended in defeat 25-48 at

US Villeneuve 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 ...

they finished 6th that season and in 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 ...

they reached the final but lost to

Lyon Villeurbanne Lyon Villeurbanne XIII are a semi-professional rugby league club from the town of Lyon, Rhône-Alpes in France. Formed in 1934 they are one of the oldest clubs in France. During the 1950s they won both the league and cup. They currently play in ...

. XIII Catalan lifted their first

in the second season beating

Bordeaux XIII Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture o ...

in the final. The following season they reached both league and cup finals but lost both. In 1938-39 season they won the cup for the first time beating

Toulouse Olympique Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship. The cl ...

at their own ground 7-3. The last season before the war saw them win the league again when they beat Pau XIII 20-16 in front of 10,000 fans in Toulouse. During the war the

Vichy Government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...

banned Rugby League in France. XIII Catalan had to change their name to XV Catalan and were forced to play rugby union. Before the war ended they changed their name again to Racing Catalan. After the war the club went back to Rugby League and on 29 December 1948 they beat the mighty touring

Australia national rugby league team The Australian National Rugby League Team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of Rugby league in Australia, the 'Northern Union game' in Australia in 1908. Admin ...

20-5 in front of 12,254 fans. They repeated the feat in 1964 winning 15-11 other honours came their way with a title in each decade 57,69 and 79. The 1980s would prove to be the club's most successful period. The era didn't start very well when the club was suspended by the league in 1981 for their players misbehaviour in the suspended 1981 final in Toulouse, but they bounced back and they won the title 5 times, including four consecutive seasons from 81-82. The cup was also won in 1985 to complete a league and cup double they were also runner up in the league 3 times and the cup twice. After a lean patch during the 1990s Bernard Guasch had a vision of a super club in the region and in 2000 he was able to bring together XIII Catalan and local rivals

AS Saint Esteve 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 ...

as one club Union Treiziste Catalane. The club continues to exist in locals and youth competitions

Stadium

* Stade Jean Laffon was the club's first home ground, after initially being refused access by USAP Perpignan the local council stepped in and XIII Catalan remained at the ground until they moved in 1962. The club's record crowd came on 29 December 1948 when they beat the touring

in front of 12,254 spectators. The grounds all-time record attendance was also for a Rugby League game when it hosted the 1950

Final between

AS Carcassonne Association Sportive of Carcassonne are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in Carcassonne in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie in the south of France. They play in the French Elite One Championship and a ...

and

Marseille XIII Marseille XIII was a French rugby league club from the city of Marseille. History Marseille XIII were founded in 1946. The club has only won the French Championship once, in 1949. They have however lost three finals, in 1950, 1952 and 1973. Desp ...

in front of 18,000 spectators *

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 ...

was the club's second and final destination when they moved into the ground when it opened in 1962. Known locally as Brutus the ground was named after a famous Catalan rugby player who died under Nazi Gestapo torture in 1944. The ground has hosted many Rugby League internationals it is now the home of

since 2007.

Notable players

* Pascal Bomati * Jacques Cabero * Jean Capdouze * André Clerc *

Gaston Comes Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) * Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston ...

* Paul Dejean * Guy Delaunay * Georges Gauby * Ivan Grésèque * Bernard Guasch * José Guasch * Guy Laforgue *

Claude Mantoulan Claude Mantoulan, nicknamed ''La Mantoule'', ( Pau, 5 March 1936 – Perpignan, 9 September 1983) is a French former rugby union and rugby league player. Biography A fly-half, centre or fullback, he had excellent technical and offensive qual ...

* Francis Mas * Jep Maso *

François Noguères François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King ...

Jean Pambrun Jean Pambrun (25 December 1929 – 18 July 2006) was a French rugby league player who represented France in the 1954 World Cup. His usual position was second row. He was born in Mérilheu and died in Cabestany. Playing career Pambrun pl ...

Puig Aubert Puig Aubert (born Robert Aubert Puig, 24 March 1925 – 3 June 1994), is often considered the best French rugby league footballer of all-time. Over a 16-year professional career he would play for Carcassonne, XIII Catalan, Celtic de Paris and Ca ...

* Roger Ramis * Pierre Saboureau * Frédéric Trescazes * Ambroise Ulma * Pierre Zamora

Coaches

* ??-?? : Martin Serres * ??-?? : Roger Ramis * 1939-1953 : Augustin Saltrailles * 1953-?? : Jep Maso * ??-1967 :

Louis Mazon Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

* 1967-1969 : René Peytavi * 1969-?? :

Jean Barthe Jean Barthe (22 July 1932 – 2 December 2017) was a French Rugby League and Rugby Union player. Playing career Rugby union Jean Barthe was born in Lourdes and started his career at FC Lourdes. With this club, he won three French Championships ...

* ??-1972 : Jean Verges * 1972-1973 : René Peytavi and André Bourreil * 1973-1974 : Pierre Estirach * 1974-1975 : René Peytavi * 1975-1981 : Francis Mas * 1981-1986 : Yvon Gourbal * 1986-1988 : Jean-Jacques Cologni * 1988-1989 : Francis Mas * 1989-1991 :

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, ...

* 1991-1993 : Ivan Grésèque * 1993-1994 : Pierre Zamora and Jean Baco * 1994-1996 : Jean-Christophe Vergeynst * 1996-1997 :

* 1997-1999 : Jean-Christophe Vergeynst * 1999-2000 : Jean Jorda and Guy Delaunay * 2000-2001 : Guy Laforgue and Marc Guasch

Matches v Australia

* 15 January 1938 lost 2-53 : 8,000 * 29 December 1948 won 20-5 : 12,254 * 31 December 1956 lost 14-20 : 7,900 * 1 January 1960 lost 8-32 : 8,198 * 1 January 1964 won 15-11 : 4,524 * 28 January 1967 lost 7-37 : 3,000 * 22 November 1978 lost 15-26 : 2,270 * 12 December 1982 lost 2-53 : 4,000

Honours

* French rugby league championship (11): 1935-36, 1939–40, 1956–57, 1968–69, 1978–79, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1993–94 * Lord Derby Cup (10): 1939, 1945, 1950, 1959, 1969, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1985, 1997

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catalan 1935 establishments in France 2000 disestablishments in France French rugby league teams Sport in Perpignan Catalans Dragons Rugby clubs established in 1935 Defunct rugby league teams in France