Catalan Media

16/12/2024

There's a festive feel to this morning's League Express with all the latest Rugby League news and a giant Christmas Quiz to tackle along with the sprouts and mince pies... plus recent developments in Perpignan, Toulouse and Carcassonne.
Joyeux Noël!
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09/12/2024

Happy Lundis... add a little 'je ne sais quoi' to your Monday morning with the latest French Rugby League news in the bible of the game
League Express - out now in UK shops and worldwide online at Pocketmags.
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06/12/2024

TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE Director of Sport Cedric Garcia is promising a younger, faster and more mobile squad to tackle the championship in 2025 (writes STEVE BRADY).

He told Catalan Media, “We’re very happy with our squad for 2025, the players who have left have been with the blessing of the club, we haven’t lost anyone who was part of our plans on the pitch.

“We have renewed many contracts and we want to bring down the average age of the playing group. We want a game-plan based upon speed and movement.

“The club is making a big investment in a brand new centralised training centre which will be delivered in January when the club will have a really excellent facility to bring all of our players and strengths together at one venue.

“We’re happy where we are at the moment and as a sporting club we can’t wait to get out there and win the comp. We know what we need to do to get those extra 0.25 points for the grading and it starts by lifting the trophy.

“Once the RFL release their new criteria for grading for 2026 we will have individual working groups on each of the criteria to see where we can grab some more points. It’s a challenge but we’ve always been up for a challenge.

“Our coach Sylvain Houles was already signed on for the mission and he’ll be keeping his full staff, we know we’re not far off, and what’s more we know what we need to do to get over the line.”

Garcia (pictured left alongside club chairman Olivier Dubois and coach Sylvain Houles) told Catalan Media that the club had reacted angrily to reports in French and UK media which questioned the survival of the club because of proposed cuts in public funding.

A story in La Dépéche du Midi with the headline “Cuts could prove fatal” for the Rugby League club was repeated and expanded upon immediately on UK-based social media sites, leaving the Olympians with no option but to issue a formal denial.

Garcia expressed his anger at the potential damage that could have been caused by what he said was “essentially, a pack of lies.”

He explained, “It came out in La Dépéche du Midi and of all the major clubs in this big city Toulouse Olympique was the main headline, saying we were in trouble because the city council was planning to cut back on financial support for sport. Then of course it hit all of the English social media and the facts went out of the window and all of the figures got exaggerated.

“Some of these websites and social media platforms are not proper journalism, they don’t go through the correct procedures to check what is really happening before they publish their headlines.”

Garcia revealed that his boss hit the roof when he picked up his morning newspaper, adding: “My chairman (Olivier Dubois) was furious because La Dépéche du Midi are big partners (sponsors) of our club. He rang the Editor for an explanation.

“It was a bunch of lies because out of all the professional clubs in Toulouse we receive the smallest grant from the council yet we were the headline and that had all been down to one person’s decision.

“As a percentage of financial support we are one of the clubs with the highest level of private sponsorships from business and commerce. It’s never good news when revenue is about to be reduced but we are one of the clubs who will be less impacted by any council cuts.

“For example, for volleyball the grant represents 70% of their budget so it will be a huge impact for them so you can understand our confusion and anger when we were made the focus of the story.

“We are busy attracting more partners to the club and this kind of fake story can be very damaging to negotiations, which is why our chairman immediately issued a formal denial to all of the lies that were published.

“He spent much of last week trying to correct the facts when he should have been busy working hard for the future success of the club. He wasn’t very happy.

“As for the online reporting by UK-based sites, I cannot trust what they are writing any more because they just repeat what has been said without ever doing anything to check the facts.

“We have a media department here and I am always available for comment, as is our chairman and coach. Anything you want to know, just ask.”

Garcia explained that there is no formal timescale yet for any proposed cuts, adding: “The council meeting has taken place but nothing is clear for now. The city council is trying to make some savings and reduce costs and they are looking to save 20% on the grant that they make to professional sports clubs in Toulouse but at this stage they haven’t confirmed whether these cuts will take place for next season or the year afterwards.

“All of the clubs are speaking to each other and we are allowed to react to their proposals, nobody is quite sure what will happen but worst-case scenario is a 20% reduction but nothing is confirmed yet.

“If it happens of course it is not good news but the way that it was reported in the media last week can cause far more damage than any adjustment to our grant revenue.

“Not many clubs in the championship can say that they have over £1.5 million annually in private sponsorship and we are very proud of our relationship with partners. That is why we are so angry at this fake story.”

Garcia promised to put the anger and frustration to one side as the club prepares for another year battling to reach Super League.

He added, “We were massively disappointed to lose that way in the final at Wakefield this year.

“We chose the worst night of the year to play so poorly, we were miles away from our normal level and Wakefield fully deserved their win.

“Out of the three games we played against them last year, that was our worst performance.

“Then we learned that our grading wasn’t enough to get into Super League but we got over it pretty fast because you cannot stand still in professional sport.

“We were only 0.39 behind Salford and ahead of the 14th club by over a full point so if we’d have dominated the league like Wakefield did and won the comp maybe things could have been different but we didn’t.

“So next year it’s up to us to go out there and smash it.”

04/12/2024

IT WAS home sweet home for Catalans Dragons this week as they returned to Stade Gilbert Brutus for full training sessions for the first time this pre-season (writes STEVE BRADY).

A shortage of suitable municipal pitches in Perpignan had led to a variety of different venues for the first three weeks of pre-season practise but coach Steve McNamara was delighted to get back on home turf.

He told Catalan Media, “We tried lots of different venues but there’s no place like home. We asked our groundsman nicely if we could use the pitch and he let us on it much earlier than he normally would.

“To be fair, the climate has been perfect recently for the pitch with lots of rain and extended periods of sunshine so it looks in fantastic condition.

“The boys’ faces lit up when they were allowed on the grass at the Brutus, it really adds something to the equation.”

McNamara had been hoping to arrange two pre-season fixtures as he plots the Dragons’ path towards Super League 2025 but has settled for just one.

He added, “We will confirm a pre-season fixture against Toulouse Olympique (likely to be Saturday February 1st) very soon and we also looked at a game against a Super XIII side but with the French championship in full swing that might not be possible.

“The first round of the Challenge Cup is an early away fixture against a championship team as well so we will have a couple of games plus lots of opposed sessions with our extended squad to help us prepare for Super League.”

McNamara added, “For the first time in a while we won’t be having a residential pre-season training camp, we decided to invest our resources instead into other areas including equipment in the gym.

“The camps are great, we’ve enjoyed the last two years and they are beneficial but we felt we could gain more by spending the money in different areas.

“It’s not like we’re in desperate need of sunny, warm and dry conditions because we are pretty blessed with those here in Perpignan.”

McNamara was happy with his squad’s performance so far in pre-season and he is seeing competition for back row positions heating up.

With a prospective second row of Ben Garcia and Elliott Whitehead and Oliver Partington at loose forward it is going to be difficult for others to break into the starting line up.

The coach added, “This is the challenge that we want, if we have a very strong back row and it is obviously a major hurdle for young French players to establish themselves in those positions..

“And it’s interesting because at the moment there aren’t any major standout players threatening to break through although there was a young boy training with us on Friday called Giovanni Descalzi, he’s only 18 and he’s been playing well in reserve grade.

“We’ve got a few doubling up in reserves obviously hoping to break into the first team, Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet and Yacine Ben Abdeslem are all working hard in the reserves.

“It’s really healthy to have that kind of competition in the squad."
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02/12/2024

Toulouse Olympique XIII fury at media 'lies' - Dragons Catalans Officiel touch the green green grass of home and the FFR XIII - Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII Super XIII explodes into action.
All the latest French Rugby League news (and around the planet) in this morning's League Express, available in UK shops and online via Pocketmags.
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01/12/2024

Latest recruit David Nofoaluma straight into the Pia XIII Baroudeur side alongside Harrison Hansen and Hakim Miloudi for today's FFR XIII - Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII Super XIII Derby against Saint-Estève XIII Catalan.
Great to see Tanguy Zenon back for the Dragons in what should be a cracker at Stade Daniel Ambert.
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29/11/2024

Big weekend of French Rugby League coming up with the Super XIII in full swing including a crackerjack Catalan Derby at Pia and champions Carcassonne v Toulouse Olympique.
Check club social media for live streaming.
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29/11/2024

"We've got a great squad and major investment in our new training centre. Next year we've just got to go out and win the comp."

Toulouse Olympique chief Cedric Garcia in bullish mood, with chairman Olivier Dubois + coach Sylvain Houles. Full story in Monday's League Express.
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28/11/2024

Mickael Goudemand will link up with his former Catalans Dragons' team-mate Tony Gigot after signing on for a season in the sun at ambitious Albi Rugby League - Tigers.
Last year's FFR XIII - Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII Super XIII Grand Finalists have added massive strength and experience to the pack at Stade Mazicou.
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27/11/2024

Just hearing from FFR XIII - Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII sources that there were over 2,000 supporters at Saint Lô, Normandy, for France's feisty wheelchair win over England... and three French players (Nicolas Clausells, Damien Doré and Léo Hivernat) have been nominated for the International Rugby League Golden Boot.
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26/11/2024

CATALANS DRAGONS face an uphill climb at the end of Super League 2025 with six out of eight of their final fixtures away from home but coach Steve McNamara says he is relishing the challenge (writes STEVE BRADY).

The competition’s only overseas club is already preparing detailed logistics to cope with a series of double-away games throughout next season.

McNamara told Catalan Media, “I think every club would like to be home and away, home and away and blocks of away games are particularly difficult for us to manage with travel and accommodation to organise but all clubs have their own unique requests from the fixture planners and we realise how difficult the process is.

“Three teams share grounds with football clubs so there are restrictions there and you have to accept what you’re given.

“You can’t please everyone and it’s fair to say that at this stage every year nobody’s happy but we all take it on the chin, and say “it is what it is” let’s go.

“Six out of our last eight games are away from home but there’s no point moaning, we see it as a challenge and we make plans for segments of the season and treat each and every one with individual attention.

“When the fixtures don’t look that good it motivates you as a challenge and you attack it with more intent.”

McNamara oversaw week three of pre-season training last week with the Dragons taking training on the road in and around Perpignan.

McNamara added, “We’ve been using facilities near Canet and we’re going to be floating around a little, back to our reserves ground at St Esteve for a couple of days and elsewhere so we’ve got plenty to work with.

“Every coach will say the same at this stage, all the players are working hard, I can’t fault the attitude and the condition that the players have turned up with.

“We’ve got a lot of new players and staff and there are so many new things that we are doing, it’s really refreshing, everyone has brought enthusiasm and it’s not like the old days where players might return from holiday a little out of shape.

“There’s a lot of personal professional pride and players are very competitive, they all want to be the quickest, strongest and healthiest they can be.”

As well as new arrivals Tevita Pangai Junior, Ellliott Whitehead, Nick Cotric, Tommy Makinson and Oliver Partington, McNamara was pleased to see the return of a promising young French full-back.

He said, “It’s great to have Tanguy Zenon back, he’ll play with the reserves this weekend against Carcassonne, he’s an exciting young player who burst onto the scene and then got injured and was out for a year.

“It’s great to see him running out in the French championship and we’ve got a few in the same situation with Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet, Yacine Ben Abdeslem and Ben Lam. "We’re different to other clubs in that respect with having that winter competition and we’ll take every advantage of the situation.”

25/11/2024

France are back on top of the world in wheelchair Rugby League, Les Dracs are back on track in training, Toulouse are rebuilding for 2025 and the Super XIII is beginning to bubble as we approach Christmas.
All the latest from France and the rest of the Treiziste world in this morning's League Express, available in UK shops or worldwide online at Pocketmags.
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24/11/2024

The return of Nicolas Clausells inspired France to a revenge victory over England which regained the Fassolette-Kielty Trophy in a compelling and often brutal Wheelchair Rugby League International in Normandy.

21/11/2024

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21/11/2024

Some tasty treats on the menu at Perpignan's Theatre Of Dreams, Stade Gilbert Brutus... the fixtures are out for Les Dracs 2025.
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📅 𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓
La Super League vient de dévoiler le calendrier de la saison 2025.

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🇬🇧 https://shorturl.at/TWdTt

21/11/2024

You sometimes have to pinch yourself when you see posts like this... France v Ireland in a Rugby League wheelchair international.
In Nantes.
Today.
Fantastique!
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18/11/2024

Another continental culture shock for dyed in the wool traditionalists... Catalans Dragons' third strip for 2025, following last week's reveal of the first kit.
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