Frédéric "Freddie" Banquet is a French former 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 ...

and

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played representative level rugby league (RL) for

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 ...

at the

1995 Rugby League World Cup The 1995 Rugby League World Cup (also known as Halifax Centenary World Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh World Cup for mens national rugby league teams. It was held between 7–28 October and hosted by England and Wales and was wo ...

and

2000 Rugby League World Cup The 2000 Rugby League World Cup was the twelfth Rugby League World Cup, World Cup for men’s national rugby league teams, held between 28 October and 25 November and hosted between the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland and France. ...

, and at club level in France and England.

Playing career

From

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

, Banquet was an under-21 international for France when he joined

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

during the

1994–95 Rugby Football League season The 1994–95 Rugby Football League season was the 100th ever season of professional rugby league football in Britain. Sixteen teams competed from August 1994 until May 1995 for a number of titles, primarily the Stones Bitter Championship. Sea ...

. Initially signed on a one-month trial this was later extended to a long-term contract. Banquet then spent a season with the

Sheffield Eagles The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They play home games at the Olympic Legacy Park and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Sheffield's on ...

in 1996 before returning home to join new franchise,

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

for 1996's

Super League I The year 1996's Stones Bitter Super League I was the official name for the 102nd season of top-level rugby league football, and the first year of Europe's new championship: Super League. It is also the first season of rugby league to be played ...

. He played in the competition's inaugural match on 29 March 1996 when Paris Saint-Germain played the Sheffield Eagles in front of 17,873 supporters at Charlety Stadium. Paris won the match 30–24 and Banquet scored the first try in the new

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 ...

competition. However, Banquet only spent one season with Paris Saint-Germain, joining

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...

( Heritage No. 1086) in 1997. Banquet later played for the

Villeneuve Leopards Villeneuve XIII originally called Sports Athletic Villeneuvois XIII are a semi-professional rugby league team based in Villeneuve-sur-Lot in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in south-western France. Formed in 1934, the first French rugby league ...

and was part of their side the competed in the 2000 and 2001

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

s. Villeneuve released Banquet to play for

club

Castres Olympique Castres Olympique (, ) is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They pla ...

in the 2001–02 season before he returned to the Leopards. Banquet later played for

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 ...

Representative career

Banquet first represented

in 1994 when he was part of their 74–0 heavy defeat by the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

touring team during the 1994 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France. In 1995 he played in four tests for France before being named in the teams 1995 World Cup side. He continued to appear regularly for France throughout 1996 and 1997. In 1998 he was part of the first ever full international played in Ireland and scored, and converted, an injury-time try to give France a 24–22 victory. He was again named in France's

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

squad in 2000. Banquet was part of France's June–July tour to Papua New Guinea and New Zealand in 2001. However, later in the 2001 season Banquet switched codes, joining a French

club.Waite to be measured in Sella's market
''The Guardian'', 26 October 2001 By 2003 he had returned to rugby league and played in all three of France's matches during the 2003 European Nations Cup. He was part of the French sevens side at the 2004 World Sevens.France name squad for World Sevens
''leagueunlimited.com'', 12 January 2004

References

External links

Profile
at fevarchive.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Banquet, Frederic 1974 births Living people AS Carcassonne players Castres Olympique players Featherstone Rovers players France national rugby league team players French rugby league players French rugby union players Paris Saint-Germain Rugby League players Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league wingers Sheffield Eagles (1984) players Rugby league players from Carcassonne Rugby union players from Occitania (administrative region) Villeneuve Leopards players Wakefield Trinity players