Restructure in France

[langpark]

So, it seems instead of 8 teams in Elite, the two pools of 6 in Elite 2, they are going with two divisions of 9 next season.

Notable changes include:
- Absence of Toulouse Olympique (as they move into English League One)
- Promotion of Toulouse Broncos
- Promotion of Albi XIII
- Promotion of Villegailhenc-Aragon to Elite 2
- Realmont XIII relegated from Elite 2
- Tonneins XIII relegated from Elite 2

I wonder if the latter two were struggling financially, because they did not finish bottom last season. They finished 4th and 5th respectively in the Western conference of Elite 2.

Glad to see Montpellier and Lyon have survived the axe.

 

[Foreign Legion]

Sounds good... love to see rugby league in france grab some traction.

 

[expansionist]

Theres a few names there in Elite 2 I had to google...

Its always sad to see clubs go through the doldrums - Realmont and Tonneins are both one of the originals i think

 

[hutch]

Where do you go if you're relegated rom elite 2?

 

[Evil Homer]

Where do you go if you're relegated rom elite 2?

National D1.

Regarding Realmont, they are from the same region (Tarn) as Albi and Lescure, so them dropping down gives the region a presence in three divisions. Not sure about Tonneins.

 

[langpark]

National D1.

Regarding Realmont, they are from the same region (Tarn) as Albi and Lescure, so them dropping down gives the region a presence in three divisions. Not sure about Tonneins.

Between La Reole and Villeneuve.

Type 'Realmont' (or any club you want, anywhere in Europe) in on this map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=el&authuser=0&mid=zABIgnSBr5B4.kFSu7hCmqNks

 

[Evil Homer]

Between La Reole and Villeneuve.

Type 'Realmont' (or any club you want, anywhere in Europe) in on this map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=el&authuser=0&mid=zABIgnSBr5B4.kFSu7hCmqNks

I meant their status, not the location

 

[Heritage XIII]

Villegailhenc-Aragon has a population under 2000. Not really ambitious of the FFR13. Sad when clubs like this are at the upper levels of the game when you have Marseille, Paris Charenton etc below.

 

[kdalymc]

What's the leagues like there? Were moving to Europe for a bit the next year or two, keen to have a run

 

[Ojlovednicole]

Ron Massey standard

 

[Dakink]

Troll.... or Dumb ass... Take your pic.

 

[expansionist]

Villegailhenc-Aragon has a population under 2000. Not really ambitious of the FFR13. Sad when clubs like this are at the upper levels of the game when you have Marseille, Paris Charenton etc below.

I tend to agree with you on this - for mine one of the charms of French RL is the village concept, but it is also one of the factors inhibiting mainstream acceptance and growth.

 

[langpark]

I tend to agree with you on this - for mine one of the charms of French RL is the village concept, but it is also one of the factors inhibiting mainstream acceptance and growth.

I agree with what you guys are saying, but it's not always that simple.

This Villegailhenc, seem to be the equivalent of say Leigh Cenurions, or Featherstone. Tiny towns, but seem to be pretty fanatical about Rugby League. Not sure how historical they are, nor how much junior activity there is in the area, but it's a far less risky option than a Paris team, for example.

A Paris team, already has the disadvantage of high cost of living, plus, to get to most away matches for them would be 7-8 hours on the road (each way!). This is way too much for part-timers. I cannot see Paris ever joining Elite 2. Either straight into Elite 1 (with a sizable budget), or nothing.

 

[Foreign Legion]

Bring back PSG!

 

[siv]

They should be working on trying to make FRL a equal to the ESL

Catalans and Toulouse should need to both field teams

 

[Foreign Legion]

Totally agree... model it on the aleague. 8 teams

 

[Evil Homer]

They should be working on trying to make FRL a equal to the ESL

Catalans and Toulouse should need to both field teams

I don't even know where to start with what's wrong with this.

 

[langpark]

I don't even know where to start with what's wrong with this.

I agree with him though, in a perfect world, France would have its own league that would be equal in strength to the English Super League. As we all know though, that (if it is to ever happen) is decades away, minimum.

How about this?

- Perpignan
- Toulouse
- Lyon
- Montpellier
- Paris
- Avignon
- Carcassonne
- Barcelona

Something like that should be the medium/long-term goal in France.

 

[Evil Homer]

I agree with him though, in a perfect world, France would have its own league that would be equal in strength to the English Super League. As we all know though, that (if it is to ever happen) is decades away, minimum.

How about this?

- Perpignan
- Toulouse
- Lyon
- Montpellier
- Paris
- Avignon
- Carcassonne
- Barcelona

Something like that should be the medium/long-term goal in France.

In a perfect world every country in Europe would have its own full-time league. The fact that it would take millions and millions of Euros and there are only 3 current Elite One clubs with the potential to reach that level puts paid to the idea somewhat. Toulouse should be full-time by 2017 and hopefully able to compete at a higher level after a few years, after that the best hopes would probably be a merger of the three Aude teams (unlikely given that Carcassone are already struggling financially) or an Avignon team that can barely compete in Elite One at present. Either way it's completely fantastical pie-in-the-sky talk at the moment and literally decades away. We all want the sport to progress but I really don't see the point in this kind of discussion, it doesn't achieve anything.

 

[langpark]

In a perfect world every country in Europe would have its own full-time league. The fact that it would take millions and millions of Euros and there are only 3 current Elite One clubs with the potential to reach that level puts paid to the idea somewhat. Toulouse should be full-time by 2017 and hopefully able to compete at a higher level after a few years, after that the best hopes would probably be a merger of the three Aude teams (unlikely given that Carcassone are already struggling financially) or an Avignon team that can barely compete in Elite One at present. Either way it's completely fantastical pie-in-the-sky talk at the moment and literally decades away. We all want the sport to progress but I really don't see the point in this kind of discussion, it doesn't achieve anything.

You are right, at the moment it is indeed pie-in-the-sky.

But France has loads of potential, a lot of factors that no other continental Euro nation has:
- Big RU scene, so RL is not a completely foreign concept, easier for most newcomers to grasp.
- Big population
- Decent economy
- Rugby League history

Anyway, I believe they are headed in the right direction, slowly but surely.