Paris Saint-Germain Rugby League, commonly known as Paris Saint-Germain () and familiarly as PSG Rugby League or PSG RL, was a French 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 ...

club founded in 1995, and based in the city of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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 ...

. The club was the rugby league department of

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...

until 1997. PSG Rugby League played in the highest tier of European rugby league football, the

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 ...

Stade Sébastien Charléty Stade Sébastien-Charléty (; ), also known as Stade Charléty or Charléty, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, France. Comprising a running track and a football field, the stadium is a 20,000-seat sta ...

in Paris, with a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 20,000 spectators, was their home ground. However, the capital club played once at Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié in

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...

. PSG RL débuted against

Sheffield Eagles The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club that play in the Championship (rugby league), Betfred Championship. The club play their home games at the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) on the former site of Don Valley Stadium, their forme ...

at the Charléty in front of 17,873 spectators on March 29, 1996, with a team composed of a mixture of French, Australian and New Zealand players. An initiative from former French

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 ...

player and manager

Jacques Fouroux Jacques Fouroux (24 July 1947 – 17 December 2005) was a French rugby union player and coach. He captained France when they won the Grand Slam in 1977, and was the manager when the side repeated the feat in 1981 and 1987. Player Fouroux, who pl ...

, the Super League project lasted only two seasons (1996 and 1997), in which PSG RL also played in the 1997 Challenge Cup, 1997 World Club Challenge and the 1997 Premiership Trophy. A scandal over undeclared contracts led to the dissolution of PSG Rugby League in September 1997. PSG RL played its last match against

Salford Reds The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play in the Super League. Formed in 1873, they have won six Championships and one Challenge Cup. Their home ground since 2012 has been the ...

in the Premiership Trophy on September 7, 1997.

History

1996 season

Paris Saint-Germain Rugby League was officially founded as the rugby league department of parent club

on December 23, 1995. Led by

, PSG RL became the only foreign club in the

, at the time it was exclusively composed of English teams. Fouroux pre-selected 40 players in the French championship, before announcing the final list of 26 players, with 9 foreigners (Australians, New Zealanders, Samoans, but also a Moldavian and a Pole). Darren Adams, former

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name to ...

player, was the star of the team. On March 29, 1996, PSG Rugby League, managed by Michel Mazaré and assisted by David Ellis, made its Super League debut with a 30–24 victory over

in front of 17,873 spectators. However, the rest of the season wouldn't be as successful. PSG RL was given a reality check by

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors are a professional rugby league club in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the Super League. Formed in 1872 as Wigan Football Club, Wigan was a founding member of the Rugby Football League, Northern Rugby ...

(8–76), leading to a downward spiral of 11 defeats in a row. The catastrophic season saw the capital club finish 11th (out of 12) with only 3 wins and a draw in 22 games, while club president Jacques Fouroux resigned from all his duties at PSG on September 1, 1996, leaving the club in debt and facing an uncertain future.

1997 season

PSG Rugby League, led by new club president Jacques Larrose, almost missed out on its second

season due to budget problems. The club had originally envisioned a 13 million francs budget, but fell short. To make up for the missing 5 million francs, PSG RL had to settle for just three French players ( Pascal Bomati, club captain Pierre Chamorin and Fabien Devecchi) in the squad now managed by the Australian Peter Mulholland. As odd as it was beginning the season in the 1997 Challenge Cup (an English cup competition), even more incredible was the fact that PSG's squad consisted of 22 foreign players (21 Australians, one New Zealander) and only two of them were present the previous season:

Deon Bird Deon Bird (born 27 January 1976) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played at club level for Paris Saint-Germain, the Adelaide Rams ( Heritage № 38), Gateshead Thunder, Hull F.C. ...

and Jason Sands. And just like its first season, PSG RL started with a win over

(18–4) before a series of defeats derailed its ambitions. Even though PSG defeated rock-bottom

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed i ...

(13–8), English manager

Andy Goodway Andy I. Goodway (born 2 June 1961) is a former English professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played for Oldham (two spells), Wigan and Leeds in the Championship and Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NSWRL competition. He played as ...

was brought in to replace Mulholland. In June, the club took part in the 1997 World Club Challenge, and against all odds came out on top against Australian team

Western Reds The Western Reds were a rugby league football club based in Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1992 as the Western Reds, they entered into the Australian Rugby League competition in 1995 before defecting to the rival Super League competition ...

(24–0) at the

. PSG RL followed up with mixed displays in the Super League: a win over Halifax (14–12) and then a loss to Castleford (8–20). In July, PSG returned to Australia for a disappointing second leg of the World Club Challenge before creating a major shock by dominating

(30–28) in the Super League, one of the best English clubs at the time, in Charléty. A scandal followed, unfortunately. Two PSG board members in dispute with the Super League denounced the contracts of some club players (mostly the Australians) to the authorities. Instead of employment contracts, these players had tourist visas to avoid paying certain taxes in France. Even though the club, once again, finished 11th (out of 12) in the Super League, its statistics had improved with 6 wins in 22 games. However, the scandal led to the dissolution of PSG Rugby League just a week after the end of the Super League. On September 7, 1997, PSG RL played its last match against

Salford Red Devils The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play in the Super League. Formed in 1873, they have won six Championships and one Challenge Cup. Their home ground since 2012 has been t ...

in the 1997 Premiership Trophy.

Seasons

:''Only

matches.''

Competitive record

:''As of the 1997 season.''

Notable former players

:''As of the 1997 season.'' * Darren Adams * Jerome Azema * Frédéric Banquet *

Troy Bellamy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Çan ...

Phil Bergman Phil Bergman (born 12 February 1971) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand Māori and played professionally for Paris Saint-Germain in the Super League. Playing career Bergman signed with the Auckland Warr ...

* Vea Bloomfield * Pascal Bomati * John Boslem *

Hadji Boudebza Hadj Boudebza (born in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque, on 1 October 1966) is a French former professional rugby league footballer who represented France at the 1995 World Cup. Playing career Boudebza played for Paris Saint-Germain in the 1996 S ...

* Todd Brown *

Justin Bryant Justin Bryant (born August 24, 1966, in Melbourne, Florida) is an American writer and former soccer goalkeeper. Youth and college Bryant grew up in Florida, and attended Radford University in Radford, Virginia. While at Radford, he played on the ...

* Didier Cabestany *

Laurent Cambres Laurent may refer to: *Laurent (name), a French masculine given name and a surname **Saint Laurence (aka: Saint ''Laurent''), the martyr Laurent **Pierre Alphonse Laurent, mathematician **Joseph Jean Pierre Laurent, amateur astronomer, discoverer ...

* Arnaud Cervello * Pierre Chamorin * Alexandre Couttet * Nicolas Couttet * David Despin * Fabien Devecchi *

Thierry Devergie Thierry Devergie (born 27 July 1966 in Marseille) is a French former rugby union footballer. He played as a lock and as a flanker. He also had a brief stint as a professional rugby league footballer. Career Devergie played for RC Nîmes and fo ...

* James Durkin * Jason Eade * Abderazak El Khalouki *

Patrick Entat Patrick Entat (born ) is a French rugby league footballer who represented France at the 1995 World Cup. Playing career From the Sporting Olympique Avignon club in France, Entat made his début for the France in 1986. He went on to play in 34 t ...

* Paul Evans * Kirby Faciane * Jonathan Griffiths * Anthony Hancock *

Michael Hogue Michael Hogue (born 31 March 1975) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s. Primarily a , he was a foundation player for the North Queensland Cowboys. Background Born in Townsville, Queensland, Hogu ...

Nicholas Hyde Sir Nicholas Hyde (c. 1572 – 25 August 1631) was Lord Chief Justice of England. Origins Hyde was born at Wardour, in Wiltshire, a son of Lawrence Hyde (d. 1590) of West Hatch, Wiltshire, MP for Heytesbury in 1584, by his second wife Anne ...

* Pascal Jampy *

Gregory Kacala Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname Places Australia *Gregory, Queensland, a town in the Shire of ...

* Jason Keough * Mark Lane *

David Lomax David Walter Lomax (born 21 September 1970) is a New Zealand rugby league coach and former player who represented New Zealand. He is the brother of another international, John Lomax. Early years Lomax grew up playing rugby league for the Wainu ...

Laurent Lucchese Laurent Lucchese (born 4 April 1973) is a French former professional rugby league footballer who played as a fullback for Huddersfield, Sheffield Eagles and Paris Saint-Germain. He also represented France at international level. Lucchese played ...

* Shaun Mahoney * Jason Martin * Craig Menkins * Wilfried Moulinec * Matt O'Connor *

David O'Donnell David John O'Donnell (born in Nelson in 1956) is a theatre director, actor and academic based in Wellington, New Zealand. He has been a full professor at Victoria University of Wellington since 2019. Education O'Donnell has a diploma in Acting ...

* Jamie Olejnik * Jules Parry * Regis Pastre-Courtine * Jacques Pech * Adam Peters * Mikhail Piskunov * Anthony Priddle *

Jean-Luc Ramandou Jean-Luc may refer to: In politics: * Jean-Luc Bennahmias (born 1954), a French politician and Member of the European Parliament * Jean-Luc Dehaene (1940–2014), a Flemish politician * Jean-Luc Laurent (born 1957), a French politician * Jean-Luc ...

* Philippe Ricard * Jeremy Robinson * Ian Russell * Jason Sands * Phillip Shead *

Wayne Sing Wayne Sing (born 8 January 1968) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played professionally who played in the 1980s and 1990s. Primarily a er, he played for the Balmain Tigers, Eastern Suburbs Roosters, North Queensl ...

* Daniel Smith * Romain Sort * Romain Taylor * Frederic Teixido * Patrick Torreilles * Ian Turner *

Gregory Tutard Gregory may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gregory (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gregory (surname), a surname Places Australia *Gregory, Queensland, a town in the Shire of ...

* Eric Van Brussel * Eric Vergniol * Anthony "Tony" Wall * George Wilson *

Vincent Wulf Vincent Wulf (born 5 January 1973) is a former France international rugby league footballer who represented France at the 2000 World Cup. Playing career A Marist Saints representative in the Auckland Rugby League competition, Wulf first moved ...

* Bagdad Yaha * Ronel Zenon

Personnel

:''As of the 1997 season.''

Presidents

Managers

References

External links

;Official websites
PSG.FR - Site officiel du Paris Saint-Germain
{{Rugby League in France Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Super League teams French rugby league teams Defunct rugby league teams in France 1995 establishments in France 1997 disestablishments in France Rugby clubs established in 1995 Sports clubs in Paris