Rugby league in France
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Rugby League has been played in France since the 1930s. As with Rugby Union, the heartland of the game is the south of the country.
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[edit] History
Rugby Football was introduced into France by the British in the early 1870s. It quickly began to flourish in the poorer, more rural south. The French Rugby clubs remained in affiliation with the southern British Rugby Union and IRB when Rugby split in 1895. By the 1930s the rugby union authorities concluded that the French rugby union was breaching amateur regulations, and they were suspended from playing against the other nations. Looking round for an alternative, many French players turned to Rugby League, which soon became a popular game in France, particularly in the south west of the country.
On 6 April 1934 the French Rugby League was born with the constitution of the Ligue Française de Rugby à XIII (i.e. the French RL Federation). On 12 January 1938 the Ligue Française de Rugby à XIIIe de Rugby à XIII was given official recognition by the government of Prime Minister Camille Chautemps, himself a former Rugby Union player of Stade Français. The Prime Minister took the decision rather than the Minister for Sports, Léo Lagrange, who was not in favour of such a decision as he was against professional sports and their development. Two days later, for other reasons, the government resigned.
The LFR.13's governmental recognition remained valid until October 1940 and returned in full force from September 1944 till the present time (even though the sport was forced to change its name from "Rugby of 13" to "Game of 13". This lasted for 42 years 2 months 2 days when the game was once more known as Rugby à XIII). Rugby league became wrongly associated with socialist politics in France whereas Rugby Union remained the game of the establishment.
The defeat of France in the Second World War had serious implications for Rugby League. On 15th October 1940 the French RL Federation instructed its clubs to play Rugby Union as Rugby League was banned. Only under 18 players were exempt, and only for one more year. On 29th December 1941 by a decree of the Vichy regime Rugby League was banned after a demand by Berlin. Numerous players, clubs and officials switched to Rugby Union.
Between the end of 1940 and the middle of 1942, at least 6 other French Amateur Sport Federations were also banned and destroyed by the Vichy regime, this in relation with the sport policy of the Vichy Regime and of its National revolution. A BBC reporter explained it thus: "This year (2002) a French government inquiry found that "influential officials in the French Rugby Federation endeavoured to eliminate the competitor, which they claimed was a deviant form of Rugby Union.""
"They just came to the club. I was there training in the Under 13's. They told us we had to stop playing Rugby 13. They took our kit, and even the balls" - 1942, Unknown
At the end of September 1944 the Ligue Française de Rugby à XIII was re-established but would struggle to bring French Rugby League back to the levels of popularity it had enjoyed before the war.
The consequences of the Vichy Regime's ban reverberate to this day. Assets of between 5 to 9 million French Francs of 1941 were seized, (equivalent to 9,794 to 17,630 million French Francs in 2005). These were never returned but as compensation, the French Republic has given Rugby League "Sport de Haut Niveau" status (FRL doesn't comply with all laws and regulations for this statute [1]). Consequently, the French Rugby League have received from the Republic around 1.2 million French Francs a year since 1972 in annual subsidies rising to 3,759 million in 2004 as well as Rugby League educational facilities in Carcassonne & Toulouse and 6 to 12 development officers (11 in 2007).
Although the ban on Rugby League was lifted, it was prevented from using the word rugby in its title from 24 April 1949 until 26 June 1991, having to use the name Jeu à Treize (Game of Thirteen, in reference to the number of players in a Rugby League side), this to conduct the Amateur side and the RL in general.
By a gentlemen's agreement, LFR XIII / French Republic / FFR XV of 10 July 1947, the French Republic also gave to the FFJ XIII (as from 24 April 1949 the official new name of the LFR XIII) the authorisation and recommendation of creating another association (NGO law 1901) i.e. "Ligue de Rugby à XIII" for the conducting and the controlling of the semi-professional/professional activity (i.e. the RL National division) and to register the "Ligue de Rugby à XIII" with the French National Committee of Sports. Unfortunately the LFR XIII and afterwards the FFJ XIII didn't create the association "Ligue of Rugby à XIII"; they preferred to conduct and to control the National division via an internal commission in the federation (LFR XIII, FFJ XIII after).
After the war the French game was re-established and the French became one of Rugby League’s major powers. The first Rugby League World Cup was held in France in 1954 in order to raise funds. France played major international series against Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. The 1951 and 1955 French tours of Australia are still regarded as two of the strongest sides ever to tour Australia.
However the game has since declined in France. Over the years some players have defected to play Rugby Union, which has overshadowed Rugby League since the war; but from 1934 to 1972 the Rugby Union players who defected to play Rugby League were very numerous: Desclaux, Dauger, Dop, Puig-Aubert, Merquey, Jimenez, Mantoulan, Capdouze, P. Lacaze, Blain, Bonnal, Ruiz, Aillères, Marracq, Marsolan, Barthe, Quaglio, Biffi, Zacariotto, Rebujent, Mas, Sauret, Erramouspé, ..... .
Indeed in 2005, during a scheduled game between France and Australia, the local Rugby Union forced the rescheduling of the match to a less opportunistic period for it.[citation needed]
[edit] Governing body
Since 26 June 1991 the governing body for Rugby League in France has been the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII (i.e. formerly Ligue Française de Rugby à XIII then, Fédération Française de Jeu à XIII). The Federation is a founding member of and a full member of the Rugby League International Federation (i.e. IRLB Jan. 1948) and of the Rugby League European Federation (i.e. May 2003).
[edit] Competitions
The French Rugby League Championship has been the major Rugby League tournament for semi-professional clubs in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the thirties. The championship is divided into several divisions; the top league is currently titled Elite Championship.
The premier knock-out cup is the Lord Derby Cup.
In the early Super League (Europe) -Feb. 1996- a new team, Paris Saint Germain took part, the players being drawn from the French League. It failed -Oct. 1997- partly because Paris was not in the southern heartland of French Rugby League and partly because the players had the double burden of playing for both Paris and their original club.
However the links between French and English Rugby League did not die with the demise of the Paris club. Each year four French teams take part in the Challenge Cup, and since February 2006 the Perpignan based club formerly known as UTC (Union Treiziste Catalan), now known as Les Catalans, play in Super League. Other French clubs such as Toulouse may follow.
[edit] Popularity
In 2002, it was estimated that Rugby League had around 10,000 regular players in France, compared with around 215,000 for Rugby Union. The game struggles for attention in the national media, but it is covered by local outlets in the south. However the introduction of Catalans Dragons into Super League has seen substantial with articles appearing in national newspapers such as L'Équipe, Libération and Le Figaro during 2006. It is assumed that the game will reach its previous levels of popularity and make inroads into Rugby Union's dominance.
[edit] The National Team
The French national Rugby League team are often nicknamed les Chanteclairs, after the cockerel which is the emblem of the team, or as les Tricolores. They have competed in every World Cup and European Nations Cup, as well as playing in other tournaments such the Victory Cup.
It was announced that from 2009, France would enter into the current Tri-Nations setup involving Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain. The introduction of Les Catalans into the Super League, and recent strong outings from the international side led to this decision. This should benefit the Rugby League world as a whole.
[edit] See also
- Sport in France
- Rugby union in France
- Many official documents in: FFR XIII, révolution nationale Sport policy, and Interdiction du rugby à XIII par le régime de Vichy
[edit] References & external links
- [1] Haut Niveau Sport Statute and FRL Haut Niveau Sport Statute
- 6 other French amateur sport federations banned and destroyed by vichy regime: Table tennis, Jeu de paume, Badminton, FSGT (for workers), UFOLEP and USEP (respectively for scholars and collegians)
- France Rugby League
- French RL Banned
- 21 April 1999, the French Republic's Homage to all sportmen, sportwomen, clubs and federations (FRL included) having had to suffer from the vichy regime and of its national revolution
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