Catalonia national rugby league team

The Catalonia national rugby league team represents Catalonia in the sport of rugby league football, running under the auspices of the Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga.

See also: Spain national rugby league team
Catalonia
Team information
Governing bodyAssociació Catalana de Rugby Lliga
RegionEurope
Head coachEric Delherbe
CaptainAlbert Homs
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First game
 Catalonia 12–62 Morocco 
(Perpignan, 21 June 2008)
Biggest win
 Czech Republic 16–66 Catalonia 
(Prague, 10 July 2010)
Biggest defeat
 Catalonia 12–62 Morocco 
(Perpignan, 21 June 2008)
Catalonia national rugby league team in 2009

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 grew since 3 clubs participated in the first competition in southern Catalonia in 2008 (FC Barcelona, Aligots Girona and Nord-Català),[1] to reach 9 teams in the first Catalonia Championships in April 2009: CR Tarragona, CR Valls, CR Sant Cugat, INEF Lleida, GEiEG, Poble Nou Enginyers, BUC, RC Garrotxa and Vic Crancs.[2] Also, the first Rugby League Catalan University Championship was played in February 2009, with 9 teams in competition.[3]

Catalonia used to be an unranked member of the Rugby League European Federation;[4] however, their participation in some international rugby league competitions, such as the World Cup, has been questioned as Catalonia is not a sovereign nation.

Catalonia played their first match in January 2008 when they participated in the French Interleague Championship held near Perpignan, France. In June of the same year, Morocco beat Catalonia in a match played in Perpignan, 62–12.

In June 2009, Catalonia beat the Czech Republic[5] in a match played prior to the Catalans Dragons vs Warrington Wolves Super League game. 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, and 28–22 at Belgium.[3][6]

In 2010 Catalonia played only friendlies, with a win over Czech Republic 16–66 in Prague.[7]

Following further disputes over their RLEF status, the Catalonia national team did not subsequently participate in international competition and their RLEF affiliation was later dropped. They are currently not active in international competition, and any further international activity will likely fall under the umbrella of the Spain national rugby league team.

All-Time Results
Team1st PlayedPlayWinDrawLossPoints ForPoints Agn.
Morocco200820021891
Czech Republic2009220011826
Belgium200910012228

Team Matches to Date
French championships interleagues – Short game[8]
Date Opponents Result Venue Crowd Competition
26 January 2008 Languedoc-Roussillon 0–24 Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque 200 French Interleague Championship
27 January 2008 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 4–14 Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque 200 French Interleague Championship
27 January 2008 Île-de-France 14–26 Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque 200 French Interleague Championship
Date Venue Home Result Away Crowd Competition
7 June 2008 Girona Catalonia 18–64 French Universities 150 Friendly
21 June 2008 Perpignan Catalonia 12–62 Morocco 2,000 Friendly
20 June 2009 Barcelona Catalonia 52–10 Czech Republic 18,150 Friendly
4 July 2009 Torroella de Montgrí Catalonia 6–29 Morocco 1,000 RLEF Euro Med Challenge
25 July 2009 Wavre Belgium 28–22 Catalonia 400 RLEF Euro Med Challenge
10 July 2010 Prague Czech Republic 16–66 Catalonia Friendly

Players

2009

2010

See also

References
  1. "El FC Barcelona guanya la primera Copa Catalunya de Rugbi Lliga". vilaweb.cat (in Catalan). 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  2. "Associació Catalana – Rugby Lliga – I Campionat de Catalunya de rugby lliga". rugbylliga.cat. 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  3. "Catalonia – Introduction". rlef.eu.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  4. Archived March 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Catalonia won 52 to 10 in the Czech Republic". Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
  6. "Derrota per la mínima contra Bèlgica". rugbylliga.cat (in Catalan). 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  7. "Catalonia win over Czech Republic" (in Catalan). ACRL. July 13, 2010.
  8. "Debut molt satisfactori de la Selecció Catalana de rugbi a XIII". rugbylliga.cat (in Catalan). 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  9. "Catalunya prepara el partit contra Bèlgica". rugbylliga.cat (in Catalan). 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  10. "Roster Czech Republic-Catalonia" (in Catalan). ACRL. 2010-07-08.
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