Tonneins XIII are a French
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 ...
club based in
Tonneins
Tonneins (; ) is a town in the Lot-et-Garonne Departments of France, department of south-western France. It stands above the river Garonne, between Marmande to the west and Agen to the east, and is the first major town below the confluence of t ...
,
Lot-et-Garonne
Lot-et-Garonne (, ) is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the rivers Lot and Garonne, it had a population of 331,271 in 2019.[Aquitaine
Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...]
region. They play in the French
Elite 2 championship. The club plays its home games at the
Stade Jean-Bernege
History
Founded in 1934 making them one of the earliest Rugby League teams in France. They spent their early years in the lower leagues, indeed it wasn't until the 1990s that the club began to win major honours. A Federal Cup win 1990 was quickly followed In 1992 by a runners-up spot in the National 2 league now called the
National Division 1 after losing out to
Saint-Hyppolite XIII 12-20. The club was offered and accepted promotion to the 2nd tier. After a couple of seasons in mid-table they then reached the league final in 95/96 losing out to
RC Salon XIII 16-30. Two seasons later they once again reached the final but this time were victorious 36-12 against
SO Avignon and were promoted to the top tier. Unfortunately despite playing in the top flight off the field the club was struggling after such a massive rise. After a couple of seasons in the top tier relegation followed but the worst was still to come and while in the 2nd tier the club was demoted to the 4th tier Federal Division. In their first season at the bottom 2005/06, they reached the final losing to
Sauveterre de Comminges XIII 14-20 but were promoted. Season 2009/10 saw the club lose out in the league final 16-33 to
Le Barcares XIII but a year later they were back in the final again and this time won promotion to 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 ...
following their 20-16 victory over
Sauveterre de Comminges XIII. It was during this time that they made the
Paul Dejean Cup their own winning it for three successive years. 2009 against
Realmont XIII 13-12, 2010 against
Gifi Bias XIII 22-16 and in 2011 against
Sauveterre de Comminges XIII 27-23. Season 2011/12 brought relegation to the National Division 1
The club runs a successful youth set up down to u7s. The u19s have been crowned champions in both 1991 and 2000
In 2019, Tonneins won the Paul Dejean Cup for a fourth time by defeated Realmont 46–12 in the final.
In May 2022, Tonneins defeated Realmont in the National Division final and were promoted to the Elite 2 championship for the 2022–23 season.
Stadium
The club plays at the Stade Jean-Bernege, a ground that has two stands along the length of the pitch, behind one end there is a white fence while the other also has a hedge alongside the fence. The players train on the nearby College Germillac
Honours
* Elite Two Championship (National League 1) (1): 1997-98
* National Division 1 (1): 2010-11
* Coupe Falcou (1): 1990
* Paul Dejean Cup (4): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2019
References
* Glayroux, Alain (2014). ''Les 80 ans de Tonneins XIII''.
External links
*
Old website(archived 2016)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonneins XIII
Rugby league teams in France
1934 establishments in France
Rugby clubs established in 1934