XIII Catalan is a

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 from

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

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 ...

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 nearby neighbours AS Saint Estève to form Union Treiziste Catalane, now better known in the English-speaking world by their

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 ...

identity 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 ...

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 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 status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

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 they finished 6th that season and in 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 ...

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. Their home stadium is ...

. XIII Catalan lifted their first French rugby league championship in the second season beating Bordeaux XIII 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 clu ...

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 (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...

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 competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Com ...

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 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 French rugby league championship 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 Super XIII and are one of th ...

and

Marseille XIII Marseille XIII was a French rugby league club from the city of Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and o ...

in front of 18,000 spectators * Stade Gilbert Brutus 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 * Paul Dejean * Guy Delaunay * Georges Gauby * Ivan Grésèque * Bernard Guasch *

José Guasch José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

* Guy Laforgue * Claude Mantoulan * Francis Mas * Jep Maso * François Noguères * Jean Pambrun *

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 AS Carcassonne, Carcassonne, XIII Catalan, Celtic ...

* 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 * 1967-1969 : René Peytavi * 1969-?? : Jean Barthe * ??-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 * 1991-1993 : Ivan Grésèque * 1993-1994 : Pierre Zamora and Jean Baco * 1994-1996 : Jean-Christophe Vergeynst * 1996-1997 : Jacques Jorda * 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 Rugby league teams in France Sport in Perpignan Catalans Dragons Rugby clubs established in 1935 Defunct rugby league teams in France