Catalans Dragons

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Les Catalan Dragons

Full name	Perpignan Dragons Rugby League Club - Catalans Dragons
Nick name(s)	The Dragons, the Catalans
Emblem	Dragon
Colours	Red & Yellow
Founded	2000
Sport	Rugby league
League	Super League (Europe)
Ground	Stade Aimé Giral
Capacity	12,000
Coach	Michael Potter
Captain	Stacey Jones
Chairman	Bernard Guasch
League Wins	(0)
Grand Final Wins	(0)
Challenge Cup Wins	(0)
Official website	www.catalansdragons.com

Catalans Dragons are a French rugby league club based primarily in the town of Perpignan in the south of France. They began playing in Super League, the highest tier of professional rugby league in Europe, in the 2006 season. Under the name Union Treiziste Catalane they play in the French Championship, and will continue to do so whilst in Super League.

1 History
2 Honours
3 Current squad
4 2007 Transfers
- 4.1 Transfer for 2007 (In)
5 External links

[edit] History

The club was formed in 2000 as Union Treiziste Catalane, from a merger of the famous XIII Catalan and St Estève clubs, and they continue to play in the French Championship under this name, which is often abbreivated to UTC.

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.

They were selected ahead of Toulouse and Villeneuve to enter Super League in 2006. It is hoped that they will form the backbone of the national team. The club has as its target that 75% of the players will be qualified to play for France.

This will not be the first time that a French side has played in 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, whilst 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.

To ensure that Catalans Dragons have the best French players available to them French rugby league has decided that they can sign players from other French clubs without paying a transfer fee. They have also been promised that they will not be relegated from 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 the supporters of British rugby league clubs.

Catalans Dragons won their first ever European Super League match 38-30 against Wigan Warriors on Saturday 11th February 2006 at Stade Aimé Giral. The club experienced a difficult first season in Super League with many of the less experienced French players running out of steam towards the end of a gruelling campaign. They eventually finished bottom of the table, but due to their 3-year exemption from relegation it was 11th-placed Castleford who dropped down to National League One.

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 but unfortunately sustained a bad knee injury in February's win over Leeds and is likely to miss 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. Young stars Dimitri Pelo and Vincent Duport in the backs have impressed, and show real promise for the future and for young talent in France in general.

[edit] Honours

French Championship: 2005
Lord Derby Cup: 2003-04, 2004-05

[edit] Current squad

As of 3rd March, 2007:

Number	Player	Position	Previous Club
1	Clint Greenshields	FB	St George Illawarra Dragons
2	Justin Murphy	W	UTC
3	John Wilson	C	Wests Tigers
4	Adam Mogg	C	Canberra Raiders
5	Dimitri Pelo	W	Burleigh Bears
6	Casey McGuire	SO	Brisbane Broncos
7	Stacey Jones(C)	SH	New Zealand Warriors
8	David Ferriol	P	Limoux
9	David Berthezène	H	UTC
10	Jérôme Guisset	P	Wigan Warriors
11	Sébastien Raguin	SR	Toulouse Olympique
12	Jason Croker	SR	Canberra Raiders
13	Gregory Mounis	LF	UTC
14	Thomas Bosc	C	UTC
17	Frédéric Zitter	W	Barrow Raiders
19	Alex Chan	P	Melbourne Storm
20	Adel Fellous	P	UTC
21	Julien Touxagas	SR	UTC
22	Jamal Fakir	SR	UTC
23	Aaron Gorrell	H	St George Illawarra Dragons
24	Rémi Casty	P	Lézignan FC
26	Vincent Duport	SR	UTC
27	Lionel Teixido	SR	UTC
29	Younes Khattabi		UTC
30	Mathieu Griffi		UTC

[edit] 2007 Transfers

[edit] Transfer for 2007 (In)

Name	Signed From	Fee	Date
Adam Mogg	Canberra Raiders	N/A	2006
Jason Croker	Canberra Raiders	N/A	2006
David Ferriol	Limoux Grizzlies	N/A	2006
Sebastian Raguin	Toulouse Olympique	N/A	2006
Casey McGuire	Brisbane Broncos	N/A	2006
Clint Greenshields	St George Illawarra Dragons	N/A	2006
Aaron Gorrell	St George Illawarra Dragons	N/A	2006

[edit] External links

Official Website
Online resource for the Aude & Pyrénées-Orientales, including information for Catalans Dragons & Perpignan
Fan site (in French)
Profile Dragons on itsrugby.co.uk
Fansite run by English Dragons supporters

Super League (Europe)
Bradford Bulls \| Catalans Dragons \| Harlequins Rugby League \| Huddersfield Giants Hull FC \| Hull Kingston Rovers \| Leeds Rhinos \| Salford City Reds St Helens RFC \| Wakefield Trinity Wildcats \| Warrington Wolves \| Wigan Warriors

French Rugby League - Elite Championship
AS Carcassonne \| Carpentras XIII \| Les Catalans \| Lézignan Sangliers \| Limoux Grizzlies \| Lyon Villeurbanne \| Marseille XIII \| Pia XIII \| St Gaudens \| Toulouse Olympique \| US Villeneuve \| Villefranche XIII Aveyron

French Rugby League links
Competitions French Championship \| Lord Derby Cup \| Challenge Cup \| Super League
National side France
International Competitions Rugby League World Cup \| Rugby League European Nations Cup