Catalans Dragons
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| Catalans Dragons | |
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| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Perpignan Dragons Rugby League Football Club - Catalans Dragons |
| Nickname(s) | The Dragons / The Catalans |
| Ground | Stade Gilbert Brutus, Rue Terrus, Perpignan (Capacity 12,000[1]) |
| Current | |
| Chairman |  Bernard Guasch |
| Coach |  Michael Potter |
| Captain | Grégory Mounis |
| League | Super League |
| History | |
| Founded | 2001 |
The Catalans Dragons (sometimes referred to as Les Catalans, Les Cats or the Dragons) are a professional rugby league club based in Perpignan, France. They play in both the European Super League and 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.
The club was founded in 2001 in Perpignan, France, under the name "Union Treiziste Catalane"; following the merger of the successful XIII Catalan club and close neighbours Saint Estève. They were granted admission into the European Super League, the highest tier of professional rugby league in Europe, in 2006.
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[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 abbreviated 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 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 will 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, 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 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 British rugby league clubs. Catalans Dragons won their first ever 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 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. 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. 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 25th 2007. They also managed to finish the 2007 season off the bottom of the table, ending the season in 10th place.
[edit] 2008 Squad
Although other players may play for the Catalans Dragons during the year, all Super League clubs are required to select a top tier First Grade squad at the beginning of the season. Below is the list submitted for 2008. All players are ordered by their jersey number. As of 5 March 2008 Super League Games Only
| Nationality | Squad No | Player | Position | App | Tries | Goals | DG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1 | Clint Greenshields | Fullback | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
/ /  |
2 | Justin Murphy | Winger | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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3 | John Wilson | Centre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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4 | Adam Mogg | Centre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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5 | Dimitri Pelo | Winger | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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6 | Thomas Bosc | Stand Off | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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7 | Casey McGuire | Scrum Half | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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8 | David Ferriol | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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9 | Aaron Gorrell | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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10 | Jérôme Guisset | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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11 | Sébastien Raguin | Second Row | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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12 | Jason Croker | Second Row | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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13 | Gregory Mounis | Loose Forward | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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14 | Dane Carlaw | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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15 | Mathieu Griffi | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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16 | Olivier Elima | Second Row | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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17 | Cyril Gossard | Second Row | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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18 | Vincent Duport | Centre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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19 | Alex Chan | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| / |
20 | Kane Bentley | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| / |
21 | Andrew Bentley | Loose Forward | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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22 | Jamal Fakir | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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23 | Cyril Stacul | Winger | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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24 | Remi Casty | Prop | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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25 | Younes Khattabi | Centre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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26 | Jean Philippe Baile | Winger | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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27 | Florian Quintilla | Hooker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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28 | Julien Touxagas | Second Row | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
[edit] 2008 Signings/Transfers
Gains
| 2008 Signings/Transfers | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Previous Club | Years Signed | Until the End of | |||||||
| Dane Carlaw |
Brisbane Broncos | ? | 200? | |||||||
| Olivier Elima |
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats | ? | 200? | |||||||
| Jean Philippe Baile |
? | ? | 200? | |||||||
| Florian Quintilla |
? | ? | 200? | |||||||
Losses
| Losses | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Signed for | When left | ||||||||
| Stacey Jones |
Retired | September 2007 | ||||||||
| Adel Fellous |
Toulouse Olympique | October 2007 | ||||||||
| Luke Quigley |
October 2007 | |||||||||
| Lionel Teixido |
SC Albi | October 2007 | ||||||||
| Julien Touxagas |
UTC (came back due to injuries) | October 2007 | ||||||||
| David Berthezene |
UTC | October 2007 | ||||||||
[edit] Honours
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- 2005
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- 2004-04, 2004-05
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] References
- Rugby League Tables and Statistics. The World of Rugby League. Retrieved on 14 May 2007.
- Les Catalans Dragons. Super League Statistics. Retrieved on 14 May 2007.
[edit] External links
- Catalans Dragons Online
- Catalans Dragons at Superleague.co.uk
- Sang-Et-Or
- The World of Rugby League
- League Unlimited
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Sport in the Catalan-speaking world
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National: Andorran Football Federation | Andorra national football team | Andorra national rugby union team |
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