France national rugby league team

The France national rugby league team represent France in international rugby league tournaments. They are also sometimes referred to as "Les Tricolores" or more commonly "Les Chanticleers". The team is run under the auspices of the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII and is largely made up of players from Super League and the Elite One Championship.

The French rugby league team first played in 1934 on a tour of England. They have taken part in all World Cups, twelve in total, with the first being held in 1954 in France. They have never won the title but have finished runners-up in both 1954 and 1968. These are often considered the glory years of French rugby league as in the 1950s and 1970s the team were strong and regularly beat Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain. Since those days though, the Tricolores have not done so well, not managing to win a single match in the 1995 World Cup, but doing slightly better in the 2000 World Cup comfortably beating Tonga and South Africa, before losing to eventual finalists New Zealand.

In 2006, the Perpignan based team Catalans Dragons entered Super League Europe, and have since produced a number of top-class French players. Despite improved professionalism France finished 10th in the 2008 World Cup in Australia. The team will play in the 2013 World Cup.

Currently the team is ranked fifth in the world, behind Fiji. In Europe alone they are ranked second, ahead of Ireland, Scotland and Lebanon, but behind their main rival England.

History

Thirties

On New Year's Eve 1933, England and Australia played in Paris – the first game of rugby league football in France. The match was one-sided, with Australia winning 63-13 in front of a crowd of about 5,000, but the seed was sown. French rugby union players, disgruntled that France had been suspended from the Five Nations Championship, formed the 'Ligue Francaise de Rugby a XIII' on 6 April 1934. Jean Galia, a former rugby union international and champion boxer, lead France on a six-match tour of England in 1934 and they recorded their first win in Kingston upon Hull. The national team's first game was in Paris on 15 April 1934, losing 21-32 to England in front of a crowd of 20,000. By 1939 the French league had 155 clubs and the national side beat England (the first French side to do so in either rugby code^[1]) and Wales to take the European championship.

Forties

The game of rugby league suffered in France during the Second World War, as the French rugby union collaberators worked with the collaborating Vichy regime to have rugby league banned. Some players and officials of the sport were punished (not reinstated in the French rugby union), whilst some of the assets of the rugby league and its clubs were handed over to the union. After the war the French game was re-established and the French became one of rugby league's major powers, competing in the Rugby League World Cup and major international series against Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand. In 1946 they became the first French sporting team to win at Wembley Stadium.

Fifties

In November 1951, France met "Other Nationalities" in an International Championship match at the Boulevard, Hull which became known as the "Battle of the Boulevard". Other Nationalities won 17-14 but the match centred on the behaviour of Edouard Ponsinet, who was involved in most of the violence that happened at the game. The Other Nationalities were down to eleven players at one stage, with Arthur Clues being the most serious casualty, hospitalised with head injuries. Eventually Ponsinet was sent off, ten minutes from time after breaking the nose of Jeff Burke. Despite this defeat France went on to retain the title with home victories over England and Wales.

In 1951 France embarked on their first ever tour of Australasia, coached by Bob Samatan and led by the legendary chain-smoking fullback, Puig Aubert. Their flamboyant style of unorthodox attacking rugby attracted huge crowds. When the two nations met for the first Test the previous month, the match became the first "all ticket" international to be staged at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and attracted a crowd of over 60,000. On Saturday 30 June 1951, Australia secured a hard-fought Second Test victory over France in Brisbane by 23 points to 11. The third Test took place at Sydney Cricket Ground three weeks later. Late tries from Duncan Hall and Brian Davies could not prevent the Kangaroos from suffering an embarrassing 35-14 defeat. France played 28 matches during the three-month tour, winning 21 matches, drawing twice and losing just five times.

In the 1954 World Cup, which was the first of either rugby code and was instigated by France, the Tricolours defeated both Australia and New Zealand, and Drew with Great Britain to reach the final. This was the closest they went to getting their hands on the World Cup, going down narrowly, 16-12, to Great Britain in the final in Parc des Princes, Paris. France donated the original World Cup trophy, but they have never won it.

France repeated the success of their 1951 tour in 1955. The 1951 and 1955 French sides that toured Australia are still regarded as two of the strongest sides ever to tour that country.

In the 1957 World Cup which was held in Australia no final was played, with the winner decided on a table standing, and France finished last, winning one match against New Zealand. History was made when the returning French and British squads visited South Africa and played a series of exhibition matches in Benoni, Durban and East London, all of which were won by the British.

Sixties

In the 1960 Rugby League World Cup France failed to win a match, and finished last for the second consecutive time.

On Sunday 8 December 1963, France defeated the Australians in the first Test of a three Test series during the Kangaroo tour of Europe. The match was held in Bordeaux.

The French managed to reach the final of the 1968 Rugby League World Cup, the last time they have achieved that feat. They beat both Great Britain and New Zealand to qualify, but lost to Australia in Sydney, and so finished runners-up again.

Seventies

France managed one victory in the 1970 Rugby League World Cup, a narrow win over Australia, who went on to win the Cup in the final. In 1972 France hosted the sixth World Cup and again only got the one win, in the opening match against New Zealand. The trend of underperforming in the World Cup continued for the French in the expanded 1975 tournament in which they got a lone win over Wales and a draw against New Zealand. Two years later in the 1977 World Cup they didn't win a match at all. But then in 1978 France beat the Kangaroos 13-10 and 11-10 which remained Australia's last failed attempt to win an international series or competition until 2005. But for many it is this victory that signalled the end of French international competitiveness.

Eighties

Rugby league in France went through a riotous period at the beginning of the 1980s.^[2] From 1985 to 1987 the team were beaten by New Zealand in Perpignan, drew with Great Britain in Avignon and were thrashed 52-0 in Carcassonne against Australia. Away from home they suffered a large defeat against Great Britain in Leeds. The team recorded their only win of the World Cup beating Papua New Guinea in front of 3,500 people in Carcassonne.

Nineties

In 1990 a Great Britain team including Shaun Edwards, Garry Schofield, Martin Offiah and Denis Betts were embarrassed by a 25-18 loss, which was France's first victory on English soil for 23 years. The team then met Papua New Guinea on Sunday 30 June 1991 in Rabaul, where they were beaten 28-24. On Sunday 7 July 1991, the two sides met again for a World Cup encounter at Danny Leahy Oval, Goroka. The heat and humidity caused France all kinds of problems, but the Tricolores squeezed home 20-18.

On Sunday 27 October 1991, the first ever Test match involving the Soviet Union took place at the Stade Georges Lyvet, Villeurbanne, near Lyon, France. The Bears were beaten 26-6 by France. The Papua New Guinea national team wound up their 1991 tour of Europe with a World Cup rated Test match against France, which was played on Sunday 24 November at the Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne. France defeated their visitors 28-14. In the 1995 World Cup France had to play the Samoans three days after taking a physical pounding from the Welsh in Cardiff.

John Kear was briefly in charge of Les Tricolours in 1997.

France took on Italy at the Parc des Sports, Avignon in November 1999. France needed a draw to win the Mediterranean Cup. The Italians, registered a memorable 14-10 victory, which handed the cup to the Lebanon.

The New Millennium

France travelled to Pretoria for a match against South Africa on Saturday 3 November 2001. The French were too good for a young and inexperienced South African side. They scored four tries in each half, and won 44-6 after leading 24-0 at half-time.

In 2002, france lost to Lebanon 36–6 in front of 9,713 spectators at Tripoli in the Mediterranean Cup final.^[3]

In 2004 the French returned to form with a narrow 20-24 defeat of New Zealand and a losing but creditable performance against Australia. However, the game was played under modified rules and was not at the time considered an official test match. Shortly afterwards the game was retrospectively awarded test status. In 2005, the Tricolores played Australia again in Perpignan. They suffered a 44-12 defeat. Unlike their last match against Australia, this game was played under normal rules and is considered a regular test match. This was their best performance in an official test match against Australia since 1990.

In the Winter of 2007, Papua New Guinea toured France, and in both matches that the two nations played, France won. After those two games a match in Paris was scheduled against New Zealand, on their way back from a 3-0 test defeat against Great Britain. A last minute try secured a 21-16 New Zealand win in front of a decent crowd despite Paris rail strikes. France participated in the 2008 World Cup after being granted automatic qualification. They were drawn in Group B with Scotland and Fiji. Winning only one game and losing two, France finished the tournament in last place.

France participated in the first 2009 Four Nations tournament against England, New Zealand and Australia. The following year, the tournament was held in Australia and New Zealand, with France's place being taken by a pacific qualifier. With the Four Nations returning to Europe in 2011, France needed to qualify by winning the 2010 European Cup, but failed to do so, with Wales qualifying instead. In 2011 the English team, rather than playing their annual test against France, instead arranged the inaugural 2011 International Origin match.

2011 Squad

Notable players

• Puig Aubert
• Jean Dop
• Jean Galia
• Max Rousié
• Jacques Merquey
• Gilbert Benausse
• Georges Ailleres
• Joel Roosebrouck
• Jean-Pierre Clar
• Clovis Carrive-Meyer
• Fabrice Estebanez

Fixtures/Results

Record

Rankings

Match Officials

Referees

• Thierry Alibert
• Dave Segura
• Mohammed Drizza
• Christophé Grandjean
• Richard Frileux

Touch Judge

• Jose Perriera
• P. Saubel

See also

• Elite One Championship
• Lord Derby Cup
• European Nations Cup
• Victory Cup
• Union Treiziste Catalane
• Federation Shield
• France national rugby union team

References

External links

• Federation Francaise de Rugby a Treize national team page (in French)
• France 1951
• France Rugby League Fans Forums - RugbyLeague.org
• 2008 Rugby League World Cup Site
• French Rugby League Team History at lemondedurugby.chez-alice.fr