Saint-Estève XIII Catalan are a semi-professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

team based in

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

in the region of

Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ; ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a departments of France, department of the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spain, Spanish ...

in the south of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Founded in 2006 following the transfer of

Catalans Dragons The Catalans Dragons (French language, French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan language, Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. Despite being based in France the ...

from the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

British rugby league system The British rugby league system is based on a five-tier structure administered by the Rugby Football League. Professional clubs The following is a list of professional and semi-professional clubs in the British rugby league system: *''*capaci ...

, the club plays in the

Super XIII Super XIII 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 w ...

(the top tier rugby league competition in France), and effectively replaced Catalans Dragons in the French league, and thus is, in effect, Catalans Dragons reserves. The club takes its name from AS Saint-Estève 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 ...

, the two clubs that merged to form Catalans Dragons. 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 (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

History

Background

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

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

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

. After just one season the club won the

Lord Derby Cup The Coupe de France Lord Derby (), or just Coupe Lord Derby ('Lord Derby Cup'), is the premier knockout competition for the sport of rugby league football in France, as well as the name of its championship trophy. The tournament was first conte ...

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 Super XIII. The club was formed in 1951. They have won the French rugby league ...

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 Super XIII, but above the National Division 1. The season runs from September to April. The clubs play each other hom ...

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

Formation

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

Elite One Championship Super XIII 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 ...

, 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 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.

Current squad

Squad for 2024-25 Season

Honours

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

::Winners (3): 2015–16, 2017–18, 2024–2025
Runners-up (2): 2014–15, 2018–19

References

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