Rugby league in Catalonia

Rugby league has been played in Catalonia since 2007. The governing body of the game is the Catalan Rugby League Association.

Rugby league in Catalonia
CountryCatalonia
Governing bodyAssociació Catalana de Rugby Lliga
National team(s)Catalonia
First played2007
National competitions
Club competitions

History

Rugby league started in Catalonia in autumn 2007, with the advice of people from the French Catalan region, where this sport has been played since the 1930s. The number of clubs has been growing since 3 clubs participated in the first competition to reach 9 teams in the first Catalonia Championships in April 2009.

The Catalan representative side made their debut in January 2008, when they participated in the French Interleague Championship held near Perpignan, in France.

Governing body
Main article: Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga

The governing body for rugby league in Catalonia has been the Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga, being an unranked member of the Rugby League European Federation with Official observer status since 2008.[1]

Competitions
Main article: Catalan Rugby League Championship
2009 Catalonia rugby league championship final. BUC vs Sant Cugat

The first Catalan competition, the Catalonia Cup, took place in April 2008 with 3 teams: FC Barcelona, Aligots de Girona and Nord-Català. The winners were FC Barcelona.[2]

In February 2009 the first Catalan university rugby league championship took place, with seven universities teams participating:[3] Perpinyà, Ramon Llull, Girona, Autònoma de Barcelona, Vic, Politècnica de Catalunya and Pompeu Fabra. Universitat de Perpinyà were the winners.[4]

In Spring 2009 was played the first Catalan Rugby League Championship, with nine teams in competition:[5] Barcelona Universitari Club, Club de Rugby Sant Cugat, CE INEF Lleida, GEIEG, Club Natació Poble Nou - Enginyers, Club de Rugby Tarragona, Garrotxa Rugbi Club, Club Atlètic Vic - Crancs and Club Rugby Valls. Barcelona Universitari Club were the champions.[6]

The National Team
Main article: Catalonia national rugby league team
Catalonia national rugby league team in 2009

The Catalonia national rugby league team played their first full international losing to Morocco in a game played prior to the Catalans Dragons vs Warrington Wolves Super League, on June 21, 2008.[7]

In June 2009, Catalonia beat the Czech Republic [8] in a match played prior to the Catalans Dragons vs Warrington Wolves Super League game, this time played in Barcelona. This match was an international warm-up ahead of the Euro Med Challenge contested by Catalonia, Morocco and Belgium. They lost 6-29 at home to Morocco[9] and 28-22 at Belgium.[10][11]

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-03-09. Retrieved 2008-09-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Catalonia Cup "Catalonia Cup 2008" Check |url= value (help) (in Catalan).
  3. http://www.rlef.eu.com/news.php?id=1046
  4. "2009 Catalonia Universities championship" (in Catalan).
  5. "2009 Catalan Rugby League Championship".
  6. http://www.rugbylliga.cat/noticia/el-buc-sadjudica-el-i-campionat-de-catalunya-de-rugby-lliga-112
  7. http://www.rugbylliga.cat/noticia/rugbi-xiii-catalunya-12-marroc-62-52 (in Catalan)
  8. "Catalonia won 52 to 10 in the Czech Republic". Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  9. http://www.rlef.eu.com/news.php?id=1084
  10. http://www.rlef.eu.com/news.php?id=1103
  11. http://www.rugbylliga.cat/noticia/derrota-per-la-minima-contra-belgica-137 (in Catalan)
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