The
Catalans Dragons (sometimes referred to as Les
Catalans or the Dragons) are a professional rugby league club based in
Perpignan
, France
. They
play in the European
Super League and,
as UTC, the French
Elite One
Championship competitions and even though the club was only
recently formed they have to date achieved a championship title in
2005 and two consecutive
Lord Derby
Cups in 2004 and 2005 as well as contesting the English
Challenge Cup Final in 2007.
History
The club was founded in
2001 in Perpignan,
France, under the name
"Union Treiziste Catalan";
following the merger of the successful
XIII
Catalan club and close neighbours
Saint Estève, and they continue to play
in the
French
Championship under this name, which is often abbreviated to
UTC.
They were granted admission into the European Super League, the
highest tier of professional rugby league in Europe, in
Super League XI, the 2006 season.
XIII Catalan were founded in 1935, and thus were founding members
of the French rugby league championship. AS Saint Estève were
founded in 1965.
Both teams were from Perpignan, in the
Catalan
region of France.
In 2001 the LER should have had four Perpignan teams out of the
twelve in the comp.Pia, SC, XIII Catalan and St Estève. In the
first year of UTC games were played alternatively at St Esteve and
the Stade Jean Laffont (home of XIII Catalan). In 2002, St Cyprien
joined the merged UTC side.
They were selected ahead of
Toulouse and Villeneuve to enter the
Super League in 2006. It is hoped that they will form the backbone
of the
national
team. The club set its target that 75% of the players will be
qualified to play for
France. This is not be the
first time that a French side has played in the Super League,
though the first attempt,
Paris Saint Germain,
lasted only two seasons. Part of Paris' problem was that
both codes of rugby have their stronghold in
the south of France, while the north of France is more soccer
friendly. Another problem was that their players were on loan from
French league clubs and had to play for their own clubs as well,
training in the south before undertaking the long journey to Paris
or England for matches.
Catalans Dragons logo used in 2006 and 2007.
To ensure that Catalans Dragons had the best French players
available to them the French rugby league decided that they could
sign players from other French clubs without paying a transfer fee.
They were also been promised that they will not be relegated from
the Super League for three years even if they finish bottom. Many
believe that Catalans Dragons will be joined by other French clubs
in the Super League though the whole idea of expanding into France
is not without its critics among supporters of smaller British
rugby league clubs.
Catalans Dragons won their first ever Super
League match 38-30 against Wigan
Warriors on Saturday 11 February 2006 at Stade Aimé
Giral
. The club encountered a predictable steep
learning curve in their first season in Super League with many of
the less experienced French players running out of steam towards
the end of a gruelling, injury marred campaign. A particular loss
was that of key playmaker and Captain Stacey Jones who missed much
of the season with a broken arm. They eventually finished bottom of
the table, but due to their 3-year exemption from relegation
remained in Super League.
2007 saw strong recruitment by new coach Mick Potter with a string
of high-profile signings from Australia including Clint
Greenshields, Casey McGuire, Jason Croker and Aaron Gorrell, all
seasoned NRL campaigners. Gorrell, a goalkicking hooker, in
particular impressed in the first month but unfortunately sustained
a bad knee injury in February's win over Leeds and missed the rest
of the season. On 10 March 2007 it was announced Newcastle Knights
hooker
Luke Quigley would cover
Gorrell's absence for the remainder of the campaign but a number of
players sustained injuries throughout the campaign. Young stars
Dimitri Pelo and Vincent Duport in the backs impressed, and show
real promise for the future and for young talent in France in
general. Recent addition to the fold at the Catalan Dragons is
former Canberra Raiders, Melbourne Storm and Parramatta Eels
Halfback Andrew McFadden who is now their Assistant Coach. Andrew
said upon signing with the Dragons that he was doing it for his
cousin, former prop Joe McCarthy, who was his "shining
light".
On July
29, 2007, the Dragons became the first French side and
first non-English side to reach the final of the Challenge Cup after beating Wigan Warriors 37-24 in the semi
final. Catalans lost the 2007 Challenge Cup Final with
St Helens at Wembley Stadium
on August 25, 2007. They also managed to
finish the
2007 season off the
bottom of the table, ending the season in a respectable 10th
place.
In
2008, the Dragons secured their
first play-off berth, finishing third on the league ladder largely
on the back of a ferocious forward pack. They smashed
Warrington 46–8 in their first-ever
play-off match on 13 September in Perpignan, but on 20 September
saw
Wigan blow open what had been a
close game in the second half of their elimination semifinal, with
Wigan ultimately winning 50–26.
Coach Mick Potter left the Dragons at the end of the 2008 season to
replace Daniel Anderson at St Helens. He has been replaced by
fellow Australian
Kevin Walters.
Recruitment for 2009 has been the most exciting to date of the
Super League clubs and includes Stephen Bell and Kangaroo Jason
Ryles, replacing the retiring John 'Sargeant' Wilson and Alex
'Super' Chan. The Dragon also recruited
Greg
Bird who were due to sign with the
Bradford Bulls after his visa got refused by
the UK authorities.
In 2009, the club was involved in two historic milestones for the
sport of rugby league in Europe.
During their match away to the Welsh
club
Celtic Crusaders on 23 May, the two
clubs played the first European Super League match to not feature
an English
team.
History
was also created on 20 June when the club played in the first Super
League game ever to be played in Spain, at Barcelona
's Estadi
Olímpic Lluís Companys
, the venue for the 1992 Summer Olympics, against the
Warrington Wolves. The
Dragons led 10–6 at half-time, but Warrington finished as the
winners 12–24.
The purpose of the latter fixture was to
promote the sport in Catalonia
, with around one thousand tickets being sold in the
local area, and the game itself being televised on a Spanish
network. Immediately after the game, Walters commented that
the event to Spain could possibly become an annual one, apparently
complimenting comments made by the club's general manager about
using a new
high-speed link
between Perpignan and Spain, which was due to commence running some
time in the two years after.
2010 Squad
the 2009 squad at Headingley.
Although other players may play for the Catalans Dragons during the
year, all Super League clubs are required to select a First Grade
squad at the beginning of the season. Below is the list submitted
for 2010.
2009 Signings/Transfers
Gains
Losses
Honours
Footnotes
References
External links
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