Catalan Media

23/01/2025

Anthony Marion takes over as captain of Toulouse Olympique as coach Sylvain Houles names his squad for the 2025 championship.
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23/01/2025

OK Super League style tragics... Catalans' 2025 home and away strips on parade at last night's season-launch party.
What's the verdict?
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23/01/2025

TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE have been paid the ultimate respect by their “close friends and fierce French rivals” Catalans Dragons (writes STEVE BRADY).

The two sides meet in a pre-season ‘friendly’ at Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan on Saturday February 1st and the Dragons’ coach Steve McNamara is treading very carefully in his approach.

He told Catalan Media, “There is huge respect between us and Toulouse because we’re both representing the game here in France, a real connection between both clubs.

"Ultimately they want to be our big rivals in Super League, they have already spent a year in the top flight, and if it happens again they will be our derby rivals again.

“But the deep respect is there, they are our dual-registration side and we work well together, and you will see the measure of the respect between the side in the way the players approach the pre-season friendly at the Brutus a week on Saturday.

“It’s always pretty lively between the players, they have challenged us a few times, even in opposed training sessions and that’s good to see.

“Toulouse play a different style to everyone else and it’s always valuable to play against an opposition that challenges you in different areas.

“You’ve got to be on the ball against them because they love to attack and threaten you from any angle but hopefully we’ll be ready for them.”

22/01/2025

It's all change at Stade Gilbert Brutus... the squad numbers are in for Super League 2025.
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22/01/2025

Great to see so many Super League sides splashing out on foreign pre-season jollies - this is Rovers' second this month. Yet for some reason no-one wants to pay to go to Perpignan for, you know, an actual fixture 🙃
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Not heading to the Netherlands this Saturday? Watch the Rugbyleague.com Amsterdam Challenge live stream 🎥🏉

Order your stream NOW 👉 tinyurl.com/Watch-Hull-KR

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22/01/2025

SUPER LEAGUE could face a devastating absence of its top stars at the business-end of the season if the new points-based disciplinary rules aren’t amended before the new campaign begins (writes STEVE BRADY).

That’s the view of Catalans Dragons’ coach Steve McNamara who is concerned that some of his best players could miss out on play-offs and finals with heavy bans for innocuous offences because of disciplinary points tallied up from earlier rounds in the competition under the proposed new system by the RFL.

The longest-serving coach in the competition told Catalan Media, “My fear is that there will be a glut of players missing hugely important games at the end of the season due to potentially very, very minor offences because of the points added up in previous rounds.

“I think the concept of it is good and I understand what they are trying to do but I think there are things that probably need a little more thought and discussion before it is fully implemented.

“I’m concerned that players will battle through the season to reach semi-finals and play-offs and pick up a really big ban for the most minor infringement.

“Imagine you’re three or four weeks away from a Grand Final and you have to miss it because of the slightest of mistakes or errors of judgement. I think that’s going to be a problem.”

The RFL have already indicated that the new points system will be reviewed again before implementation and McNamara added, “There’s never a perfect solution to all of this but we’ll see how we get on over the next couple of weeks.

“We probably need to take a deeper look in depth at the effect it could have.”

Meanwhile, McNamara refused to be drawn on speculation that Salford centre Nene McDonald could be heading to Perpignan during the Red Devils’ fire sale to raise revenue to avoid facing financial collapse before the season starts.

He said, “There’s a lot of sympathy for the players and staff at Salford but the reality is we are a professional sport and if players become available other clubs will look to try and strengthen their own squad.

“It’s the same scenario in the off–season or at any stage but it is very unfortunate what is happening at the moment and I don’t know too much about it to be honest.”

McNamara has turned on the floodlights for his latest training sessions at Stade Gilbert Brutus with late night practice to try to emulate conditions in the UK during the early stages of the new season.

He added, “We’ve had a few night sessions training opposed against our reserve grade, the new season is almost upon us and the conditions in England will be challenging so we’re trying to get used to cooler conditions over the last two weeks.

“To be fair it has been a bit cold in Perpignan recently but it’s back to its sunny best right now. Training is going through a different phase now as we’re getting close to the start date and we are bang on schedule.

“Young French players have joined our training group from the reserves and they are making a really big impression, it’s a careful balancing act, you want to test them out against the first team while they are still playing in the French championship.

“Unfortunately Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet has broken his scaphoid (a small bone close to the thumb) a couple of weeks back playing reserve but that can happen in training too so we just have to manage the situation as best we can and it’s going really well at the moment.”

22/01/2025

Absolutely made up to see Joe Chan moving up the ranks at NRL Melbourne Storm. Although not officially a full-fat Frenchie, he is still the pride of Perpignan.
Allez Channez!
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20/01/2025

Steve McNamara concerned over new disciplinary rules; 'no comment' on rumours linking Nene McDonald to Dragons; anticipation building for all-French pre-season friendly between Catalans and Toulouse plus the latest from FFR XIII - Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII Super XIII and Rugby League news from all over the planet.
League Express out Monday in UK shops and available worldwide on Pocketmags.
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19/01/2025

Another stellar performance and yet another try for the new French phenomenon LEO DARRELATOUR whose switch from Carcassonne rugby union has got everyone talking.
St Estève XIII Catalan 26, Limoux Grizzlies 16 in FFR XIII - Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII Super XIII.
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18/01/2025

Just been on the hotline to Stade Gilbert Brutus and all everyone is talking about is the new French sensation that is Leo Darrelatour.
14 tries in ten games for the reserves and he's straight into first-team training showing the stars how to do it 😳
Watch this space...
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18/01/2025

Fran-tastique... it's all action in French Rugby League with a pulsating round of FFR XIII - Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII Super XIII this weekend.
Check club socials for live streaming.
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17/01/2025

There is such a sense of joy in French women's Rugby League with a thriving senior national competition.
This fervour has only been intensified by the advent of the under 17s championship... if you can't be at St Estève on Saturday, don't worry, you'll hear it 😉
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16/01/2025

Another global business on board the Toulouse Olympique Express... destination Super League
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🤝 Le Toulouse Olympique est heureux d’annoncer un nouveau partenariat avec Destination Sport Travel, Leader mondial de la gestion des voyages sportifs.

Olivier Dubois : "𝗡𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗲̀𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘂𝘅 𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘃𝗲𝗮𝘂 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗰 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹, 𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝘂 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁."
▶️ https://www.to13.com/actualites/le-toulouse-olympique-et-destination-sport-travel-signent-un-partenariat/

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16/01/2025

If you don't like this sport, what's wrong with you?
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15/01/2025

TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE are building from the ground up with continued development at grass roots level.

Story: STEVE BRADY 15/01/2025

The club’s Association (its founder amateur organisation) is at the heart of everything and Director of Sport Cedric Garcia said it is going from strength to strength.

He told Catalan Media, “In France, the base of most sports clubs is a non-profit Association, if you begin to grow and look to become professional then French sporting law obliges you to create a sports company separate to the Association which remains the heart of the club.

“The professional club cannot exist without the Association.

“All the teams from under-seven to Academy and Elite One are governed by the Association, it is the bedrock of the club.

“It’s clear that one of the main targets of our new chairman (Olivier Dubois) is to have a very strong Academy which delivers every year at least a couple of professional contracts.

“They have the open age team in the French championship which is very dynamic, the women’s and the wheelchair teams which are really getting together, all of these things provide a solid platform for the club and the Association have now launched a Silver XIII which is for older people to stay involved with Rugby League.

“We are one big club but it is so important to have these two separate entities, with their own ideas and input, pulling in the same direction.

“We support each other, if one succeeds then so does the other and it goes the same when times are tough. The Association is a vital support network for this club.”

15/01/2025

"There are unique challenges for a French club taking part in an English comp but we relish that challenge. There is a real fighting spirit here at Catalans, the club will face any odds.”
Coach Steve McNamara on Les Dracs' 20th season in Super League.

Story: STEVE BRADY 15/01/2025

CATALANS DRAGONS will embark upon their 20th campaign in Super League this year with an extra incentive to finally achieve the holy grail of Grand Final glory.

The milestone season would be the perfect time for an historic breakthrough for the French club and coach Steve McNamara has ensured his players are fully aware of the ambitions of fans at Stade Gilbert Brutus.

He told Catalan Media, “We’re all aware that it is an important year for us as a club. We are still so very young in comparison to our competitors and although we’ve made incredible progress we are still finding our roots to some extent. Most of the clubs we face in England are over 100 years old so we know where we stand but at the same time we are incredibly proud of what we have achieved in our first two decades.

“It’s an incredible achievement already but there is so much more to come. There are unique challenges for a French club taking part in an English comp but we relish that challenge. There is a real fighting spirit here at Catalans, the club will face any odds.”

McNamara explained that the battling nature of French Rugby League is the driving force behind the club, adding: “It was a difficult birth because there was fierce rivalry between the French clubs who were asked to merge (XIII Catalan and St Esteve) to put the Dragons together.

“But it’s been a big success and in the short period of time we’ve been around we’ve been to a couple of Grand Finals and won and lost two Challenge Cup finals so there’s plenty to be proud of.

“We make this clear to players, particularly some from overseas who may be unaware of the history of French Rugby League, when they arrive we do a detailed presentation on the game here, how it started, the difficulties it has endured and the brief history of Catalans Dragons. We tell them some of the good things, and some of the bad things like the perceptions that were created of the game here in recent history.

“We make sure they are fully aware of who we are and what we represent and it’s always good to see the attention that the players give to it.”

Alongside the Dragons’ 20th season, it is the eighth full start for coach McNamara in Perpignan, he is the longest-serving coach in Super League, but there is no sign of him easing off in his relentless pursuit of the main prize.

“I didn’t really know the full extent of the challenge when I joined,” he said.

“That was one of the exciting things about it, there was an element of the unknown coaching a French club in Super League. But it continues to be a superb experience and I am enjoying it as thoroughly now as I did from day one.

“There are so many challenges and there’s never a dull day but I love every minute of it.”

McNamara paid tribute to fellow Frenchies Toulouse Olympique who the Dragons will face in a pre-season friendly on Saturday February 1st at Stade Gilbert Brutus.

He said, “There is huge respect between us and Toulouse because we’re both representing the game here in France, a real connection between both clubs. Ultimately they want to be our big rivals in Super League, they have already spent a year in the top flight, and if it happens again they will be our derby rivals again.

“But the deep respect is there, they are our dual-registration side and we work well together, and you will see the measure of the respect between the sides in the way the players approach the pre-season friendly at the Butus a week on Saturday.

“It’s always pretty lively between the players, they have challenged us a few times, even in opposed training sessions and that’s good to see.

“Toulouse play a different style to everyone else and it’s always valuable to play against an opposition that challenges you in different areas.

“You’ve got to be on the ball against them because they love to attack and threaten you from any angle but hopefully we’ll be ready for them.”

14/01/2025

Toulouse Olympique are relentless on their quest to return to former glories. They will not rest until the Rugby League good times return to France's third largest city.
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