French Championship

This article is about the premire rugby league competition in France between 1934 and 2002. For the structure as a whole, see French rugby league system.
"French Championship" redirects here. For other uses, see French Championship (disambiguation).
French Rugby League Championship
SportRugby league
Founded1934
Ceased2002
Replaced byElite 1 and Elite 2
No. of teams20
Country France
Most titles XIII Catalan (11 titles)

The French rugby league championship (French: Le Championnat de France de Rugby à XIII) was the top tier of the French rugby league system from its inception in 1934 until 2002 when the league was split into two divisions; the Elite One Championship and Elite Two Championship.[1][2]

In all seasons except for the first, a play-off structure leading to a championship final has been used to determine the fate of the championship.

List of Grand Finals

Toulouse Olympique celebrating victory in 1973 and 1975
Season Winners Score Runner-up Venue Attendance
1934–35 Villeneuve 1 No final played, champion was first placed team in regular season
1935–36 Catalan 25–14 Bordeaux XIII Parc de Suzon, Bordeaux 14,150
1936–37 Bordeaux XIII 23–10 Catalan 14,300
1937–38 Albi 8–5 Villeneuve 14,880
1938–39 Roanne 9–0 Villeneuve Stade Velodrome de Lescure, Bordeaux 19,788
1939–40 Catalan 20–16 Pau XIII Stade des Minimes, Toulouse 10,000
1940–44: Rugby league outlawed by Vichy regime
1944–45 Carcassonne 13–12 Toulouse Stade Jean Laffon, Perpignan
1945–46 Carcassonne 12–0 Toulouse Stade de Gerland, Lyon
1946–47 Roanne 19–0 Carcassonne 15,000
1947–48 Roanne 3–2 Carcassonne Marseille 20,000
1948–49 Marseille 12–5 Carcassonne Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne 23,500
1949–50 Carcassonne 21–7 Marseille Perpignan 18,000
1950–51 Lyon 15–10 Catalan Stade Chapou, Toulouse 21,933
1951–52 Carcassonne 18–6 Marseille 16,645
1952–53 Carcassonne 19–12 Lyon 22,000
1953–54 Bordeaux XIII 7–4 Marseille 8,000
1954–55 Lyon 7–6 Carcassonne 12,000
1955–56 Albi 13–5 Carcassonne 15,850
1956–57 Catalan 14–9 Avignon 9,000
1957–58 Albi 8–6 Carcassonne 16,163
1958–59 Villeneuve 24–16 Lézignan 13,000
1959–60 Roanne 31–24 Albi 13,800
1960–61 Lézignan 7–4 Roanne 6,998
1961–62 Albi 14–7 Villeneuve 12,068
1962–63 Lézignan 20–13 St Gaudens 12,200
1963–64 Villeneuve 4–3 Toulouse 5,166
1964–65 Toulouse 47–15 Villeneuve 8,837
1965–66 Carcassonne 45–20 St Gaudens 11,244
1966–67 Carcassonne 39–15 St Gaudens 10,779
1967–68 Limoux 13–12 Carcassonne 14,432
1968–69 Catalan 12–11 St Gaudens 8,326
1969–70 St Gaudens 32–10 Catalan 21,300
1970–71 St Estève 13–4 St Gaudens 8,179
1971–72 Carcassonne 21–9 St Gaudens 11,566
1972–73 Toulouse 18–0 Marseille 13,827
1973–74 St Gaudens 21–8 Villeneuve 5,696
1974–75 Toulouse 10–9 St Estève 5,015
1975–76 Carcassonne 14–6 Lézignan 14,000
1976–77 Albi 19–10 Carcassonne Stadium Municipal d'Albi, Albi 18,325
1977–78 Lézignan 3–0 Catalan Toulouse 10,358
1978–79 Catalan 17–2 Carcassonne 13,202
1979–80 Villeneuve 12–7 St Estève 10,029
1980–81 Villeneuve v Catalan abandoned after six minutes due to fighting; no championship awarded.
1981–82 Catalan 21–8 St Estève Toulouse 8,504
1982–83 Catalan 10–8 Villeneuve 10,628
1983–84 Catalan 30–6 Villeneuve 8,182
1984–85 Catalan 26–6 Le Pontet XIII 8,797
1985–86 Le Pontet XIII 19–6 Catalan 8,000
1986–87 Catalan 11–3 Le Pontet XIII 4,350
1987–88 Le Pontet XIII 14–2 Catalan 9,950
1988–89 St Estève 23–4 Le Pontet XIII Parc des Sports Et de l'Amitie, Narbonne 9,936
1989–90 St Estève 24–23 Carcassonne 8,000
1990–91 St Gaudens 10–8 Villeneuve Toulouse 6,031
1991–92 Carcassonne 11–10 St Estève 6,000
1992–93 St Estève 9–8 Catalan 10,000
1993–93 Catalan 6–4 Pia Stade des Sports Et de l'Amitie, Narbonne 12,000
1994–95 Pia 12–10 St Estève 13,200
1995–96 Villeneuve 27–26 St Estève 10,000
1996–97 St Estève 28–24 Villeneuve 12,000
1997–98 St Estève 15–8 Villeneuve 12,000
1998–99 Villeneuve 33–20 St Gaudens Paris 7,592
1999–00 Toulouse 20–18 St Estève 6,500
2000–01 Villeneuve 32–20 Toulouse Toulouse 9,000
2001–02 Villeneuve 17–0 Union Treiziste Catalane Stade de la Mediterranee, Béziers 8,000
From the 2002–03 season, the French Rugby League Championship split into two divisions: Elite One Championship and Elite Two Championship.

Champions by club

Club Wins Runners
up 		Winning Years
1 XIII Catalan 11 7 1935–36, 1939–40, 1956–57, 1968–69, 1978–79, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1993–94
2 AS Carcassonne 10 10 1944–45, 1945–46, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1975–76, 1991–92
3 Villeneuve Leopards 8 10 1934–35, 1958–59, 1963–64, 1979–80, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02
4 AS Saint Estève 6 7 1970–71, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1992–93, 1996–97, 1997–98
5 RC Albi 5 1 1937–38, 1955–56, 1957–58, 1961–62, 1976–77
6 Toulouse Olympique 4 4 1964–65, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1999–2000
7 RC Roanne XIII 4 1 1938–39, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1959–60
8 St Gaudens 3 7 1969–70, 1973–74, 1990–91
9 Lézignan Sangliers 3 2 1960–61, 1962–63, 1977–78
10 Le Pontet XIII 2 3 1985–86, 1987–88
11= Bordeaux XIII 2 1 1936–37, 1953–54
11= Lyon Villeurbanne XIII 2 1 1950–51, 1954–55
13 Marseille XIII 1 4 1948–49
14 Pia XIII 1 1 1994–95
15 Limoux Grizzlies 1 0 1967–68
16= SO Avignon 0 1
16= Union Treiziste Catalane 0 1

Footnotes

  1. Won title on points: no play-off was used
  2. Match abandoned after six minutes after the beginning due to fighting; no championship awarded.

Books

  • Le Rugby à XIII le plus français du monde −1934 to 1996– by Louis Bonnery,
  • The Forbidden game by Mike Rylance.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Championnat Elite 1". Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII (in French). Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  2. ^ "Championnat Elite 2". Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII (in French). Retrieved 2022-11-03.