Super XIII

Super XIII is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions worldwide. The clubs play each other home and away then they enter into a play-off series culminating with a Grand Final. The competition was founded in 2002, as the Elite One Championship and renamed as Super XIII at the start of the 2024–2025 season. The competition is the continuation of the French Rugby League Championship, which began in 1934.

History

Prior to the creation of Elite 1, the French Rugby League Championship was the top tier of the French rugby league system.

The competition was founded in 2002, as the Elite One Championship, following the splitting of the French Rugby League Championship into two divisions. The format stayed the same with teams playing each other home and away, before a play-off series would determine the Champions. The club finishing bottom would not be automatically relegated, it would be dependent on whether the club finishing top of Elite Two Championship either wanted to be promoted or their facilities were up to standard.

The 2002–03 season, the first of the Elite 1 championship, saw the defending champions of France, Villeneuve, up against Saint-Gaudens in the final. Villeneuve had won the league championship in 2000–01 and completed a league/cup double in 2001–2002. Having already won the Lord Derby Cup in 2003, they achieved a second consecutive double with a 31–18 win to retain the Max Rousié Trophy. Their opponents, Saint-Gaudens, had not won a championship since the early 1990s, but the following season they defeated Union Treiziste Catalane 14–10 to claim the title and in doing so prevent UTC from claiming the double. That achievement would come for UTC the following year as they went undefeated throughout the 2004–05 season and beat Toulouse 66–16 in the championship final. The following two seasons saw Pia claim consecutive doubles. In the 2007–08 season Lézignan began a run of four consecutive title wins becoming only the second club, after Catalan in the early 1980s, to achieve this feat.

The competition was renamed as Super XIII at the start of the 2024–2025 season. In September 2024, the president of the French Rugby League Federation, , gave an interview published in La Dépêche in which he discussed plans to increase the number of teams in the Super XIII and the possibility of moving the season to run between February and September from 2026.

Teams for 2025–26 season

Super XIIITeamStadiumLocation Albi RL Stade Mazicou Albi, Tarn SO Avignon Parc des Sports (Avignon) Avignon, Vaucluse AS Carcassonne Stade Albert Domec Carcassonne, Aude FC Lézignan Stade du Moulin Lézignan-Corbières, Aude Limoux Grizzlies Stade de l'AiguilleLimoux, Aude Pia XIIIStade Daniel-AmbertPia, Pyrénées-Orientales Saint-Estève Catalan Stade Municipal Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales Saint-Gaudens Bears Stade Jules Ribet Saint-Gaudens, Haute-Garonne Toulouse Olympique Broncos Stade des Minimes Toulouse, Haute-Garonne Villefranche XIII Aveyron Stade Henri Lagarde Villefranche-de-Rouergue, Aveyron Villeneuve Leopards Stade Max Rousie Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Lot-et-Garonne

Results

Year Winners Score Runners-up Venue Attendance 2002–03 31 – 18 Parc des sports et de l'amitié, Narbonne 8,000 2003–04 Saint-Gaudens Bears 14 – 10 Union Treiziste Catalane Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan 7,500 2004–05 Union Treiziste Catalane 66 – 16 Toulouse Olympique XIII Parc des sports et de l'amitié, Narbonne 5,000 2005–06 Pia XIII 21 – 18 Toulouse Olympique XIII Stade des Minimes, Toulouse 5,462 2006–07 Pia XIII 20 – 16 FC Lézignan Stade Michel-Bendichou, Colomiers 7,882 2007–08 FC Lézignan 26 – 16 Pia XIII Stade de la Mediterranee, Béziers 8,233 FFRXIII 2008–09 FC Lézignan 40 – 32 Limoux Grizzlies Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne 11,263 2009–10 FC Lézignan 32 – 22 Pia XIII Altrad Stadium, Montpellier 6,612 2010–11 FC Lézignan 17 – 12 Limoux Grizzlies Parc des sports et de l'amitié, Narbonne 11,874 2011–12 AS Carcassonne 26 – 20 Pia XIII Parc des sports et de l'amitié, Narbonne 8,980 2012–13 Pia XIII 33 – 26 Saint-Estève Catalan Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan 6,732 2013–14 Toulouse Olympique XIII 38 – 12 FC Lézignan Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan 7,245 2014–15 Toulouse Olympique XIII 20 – 12 AS Carcassonne Stade Michel-Bendichou, Colomiers 5,800 2015–16 Limoux Grizzlies 26 – 24 AS Carcassonne Stadium municipal d'Albi, Albi 5,420 2016–17 Limoux Grizzlies 24 – 22 FC Lézignan 8,270 2017–18 Sporting Olympique Avignon 30 – 28 Limoux Grizzlies Stadium municipal d’Albi, Albi 5,000 2018–19 Saint-Estève Catalan 32 – 24 AS Carcassonne Stadium municipal d’Albi, Albi 1,5002019–20Competition abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France2020–21 FC Lézignan 16 – 12 AS Carcassonne Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse 3,2002021–22 AS Carcassonne 20 – 16 Limoux Grizzlies Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié, Narbonne 8,2312022–23 Limoux Grizzlies 34 – 24 AS Carcassonne Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié, Narbonne 8,2212023–24 AS Carcassonne 8 – 6 Albi RL Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié, Narbonne 5,5782024–25 Albi RL 26 – 16 AS Carcassonne Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié, Narbonne 5,1912025–26 Pia XIII 31 – 30 AS Carcassonne Stade Jean-Bouin, Paris Source:

Winners # Club No. Year(s) 1Lézignan Sangliers52007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2020–212Pia XIII42005–06, 2006–07, 2012–13, 2025–263AS Carcassonne32011–12, 2021–22, 2023–24Limoux Grizzlies2015–16, 2016–17, 2022–235Toulouse Olympique22013–14, 2014–156Villeneuve Leopards 12002–03Saint-Gaudens Bears2003–04Union Treiziste Catalane2004–05SO Avignon2017–18Saint-Esteve XIII Catalan2018–19Albi RL2024–25

Media coverage

Television Unlike, for instance, the BBC, France Television didn't offer any program to the French public about Rugby League.

Sport en France cover the Championship across their television platforms nationwide. Coverage includes the match of the week and one match from each week of the playoffs including the Grand Final.

From 2020, some Elite 1 games are televised by a local channel ViàOccitanie; this is a free-to-air channel in the South of France but they are also available on the internet and via the triple play internet devices. Therefore, they offer, indirectly, free nationwide coverage of the domestic championship.

Presently, French clubs have to fund the broadcast of their own games or to televise their own matches themselves via the social networks or YouTube.

Radio Radio Marseillette, a local Southern radio, has rugby league debate and news every Saturday from 10:00 to 12:00. They also have commentary on some Elite League games.

Press The French national mainstream media has, for a long time, been disinterested to follow the game, occasionally, some articles about the sport are published in newspapers such as Le Monde, Le Figaro or the national Sport newspaper L'Équipe.

Nevertheless, there is undoubtedly a French specificity: the Weekly Rugby Union magazine Midi Olympique has a one-page section devoted to Rugby League. However, only two local newspapers genuinely cover the game; L'Indépendant ( based in the South of France) and la Dépêche du Midi (based in the South west of the country).

The British Rugby League press cover this championship; for example magazines like Rugby Leaguer & League Express offer a weekly report of the games. In Australia, the monthly publication Rugby League Review offer a few columns about the games as well.

Gallery

Super XIII

Bron en licentie