yeah, thats what not having a SL club means.

their crowds are more than acceptable for the division of RL they are playing in.

they have the financial backing to build a strong side.

what were crowds of St esteveste and X111 Catalan before they merged? what were the crowds like of the merged club?

guess what, they went up quite a lot in SL.

and toulose is a lot bigger than Peripgnan.

but hey, if talking to 3 people is how youve formed your opinion, go with it

I think it was a bit of a "build it and they will come" type thing.

Not sure if going above 16 teams is viable (unless we go down the line of having confrences). I would like to see tolouse and widnes brought in next time to bring it up to 16, then maybe another french team replacing them in the championship. I agree with odemwingie that a french league has to be the way to go, it will all depend on tv deals, until recently they had to pay french tv to broadcast games, now they do it for free, hopefully by the next tv deal they will be paying for french rl games, when that payment builds up to a decent level the idea of a french pro league will become viable.


I think the sl's long term aim should be to be made up from teams of the british isles, with a french league that gradaully expands to other countries bordering france (ie spain, germany, italy, belgium etc).

This however is likely to take decades, but will be well worth it in the long run.

To be fair, I bet very few had heard of the Dragons/UTC before they made it to SL (or were announced). Toulouse don't have that profile until they get that nod, and that's when they can build. Until then, they aren't really newsworthy and thus no-one will know them.

As for them getting bigger crowds to Catalans because they have a bigger population, will people ever learn? Potentially, yes. But it never works out that way. I'd be very happy with 5-6k in their first year and growth thereafter, like Catalans. That should be the aim of all new clubs. Any clubs that are still getting that level of crowd need to be looked at (Quins, Salford, Wakey).

Then that's something the RFL should be working with alongside Toulouse's local council and the club themselves etc; they need to be a ready made Super League side if/when they join, rather than only beginning to learn once they're in there.

i read somewhere that Canal + paid sky good money to get the TV rights for the SL finals, including Les Catalans.

as RL grows again in france no doubt the TV rights will be worth a bit and hopefully eventually fund a fully pro league.

it will never happen in NZ though, well have to support them via their clubs in the NRL. they dont have the population or the money, france certainly does.

ive also thought a fully pro french league could then add a catalans team from spain, and maybe some of the ex RL clubs in italy which now play union.

thats the potential the game has.

i cant see france not being big again, its just a matter of time

thats why they moved from the Elite to your division one.

they will have had a better preparation than LEs Cats.

not only competing against better clubs that UTC did in the Elite, but also getting used to all the travel as well they will have to do as a SL club

you sure about that dalls? which year?

TO could make it in SL next time, but ONLY if they get all the best non-catalan french players involved NOW. Waiting until after they have made SL is not soon enough, they must develop the players before, not later.

Looking at the current French squad, there's plenty of potential, but unless TO do their job of developing them then they shouldn't be given the reward of a chance to develop them.

im not sure. it was for this years finals apparently when les cats made it????

i read it either here or some rL messageboard but you cant always take that stuff as 100%.

You are the RFL/SL marketing director and I claim my £5

Oh for the days when a team earned the right to play in Super League by being promoted, I dread to think that Rovers would have lost out to some made up team from another country.

Maybe mate, I know last time Canal+ (sport+) took the RL they had to be given it and still didnt show the games live.

I thought most of the RL in France this year was on Orange TV

The fun will start when a HKR, Cas, Wakey, etc makes way for one soon.

With rumours about Stade Francais looking at a team in Paris and Olympique Lyonnais taking over the RL club in Lyon, Toulouse might not even be the strongest French applicant in 2012?

Until they become anything more than rumours, no chance.

Even if the rumours are true a viable third Superleague applicant is a long way off. The FRL have attempted to establish elite teams in some of the bigger Southern Cities ( Lyon, Mille) with limited success so far.

Toulouse will be a Superleague team at some point but there will not be a third for quite a while (if ever).

Quote ="Noel Cleal"Even if the rumours are true a viable third Superleague applicant is a long way off. The FRL have attempted to establish elite teams in some of the bigger Southern Cities ( Lyon, Mille) with limited success so far.'" Both Mille & Lyon have won the league in the past, in fact. The Olympique Lyonnais story does seem to have a slight basis in fact - M. Aulas the club president did mention Rugby XIII in the context of re-developing the stadium. www.liberation.fr/sports/0101600 ... trop-payes

Quote ="Noel Cleal"Even if the rumours are true a viable third Superleague applicant is a long way off. The FRL have attempted to establish elite teams in some of the bigger Southern Cities ( Lyon, Mille) with limited success so far.'" Both Mille & Lyon have won the league in the past, in fact. The Olympique Lyonnais story does seem to have a slight basis in fact - M. Aulas the club president did mention Rugby XIII in the context of re-developing the stadium. www.liberation.fr/sports/0101600 ... trop-payes

Quote ="JonM"M. Aulas the club president did mention Rugby XIII in the context of re-developing the stadium. www.liberation.fr/sports/0101600 ... trop-payes'" Though only after mentioning the quinzistes and women's football Quote un stade moderne pour une équipe de Top 14, une grosse équipe féminine de foot, voire du rugby à XIII.'"

Quote ="JonM"M. Aulas the club president did mention Rugby XIII in the context of re-developing the stadium. www.liberation.fr/sports/0101600 ... trop-payes'" Though only after mentioning the quinzistes and women's football Quote un stade moderne pour une équipe de Top 14, une grosse équipe féminine de foot, voire du rugby à XIII.'"

So what, we may as well have Hunslet and Swinton in SL on that basis, and Manningham for that matter. Mille folded within less than a season of French Elite and Lyon dragged along the bottom a few years before dropping out. Ancient history is irrelevent

TBF, the women's football team is pretty well supported - got 13 000 to a recent game. Lyon Villeurbanne XIII would consider 130 a bigger than normal crowd.

The background is that GL events (who sponsor Catalans Dragons & LV XIII) are trying to broker a deal merging local RU clubs in as part of Olympique Lyonnais FC. And the argument is that as France's richest sports club, with annual revenues approaching a couple of hundred million euros, they could spend a fraction of the football budget on putting together decent rugby teams - particularly as they'll soon have two big stadia at their disposal. Aulas runs the place as a business (OLGroupe is listed on the european stock exchange), so a RL team will only happen if he thinks there's money in it.

I sort of assumed he was talking about "une grosse équipe" rather than a team of "dames grosses"

So you don't think there's any hope for a viable SL club in Leeds, Manchester or Bradford then?

Lyon & Mille both won stuff more recently than Warrington have won our league

Anyway, interesting times. Good to see the French media giving RL a bit of coverage - L'equipe even had a story about the Kangaroos and a reporter at the reception at the Aussie embassy.

I can't see the situation where Toulouse will not be in SL from 2012.
They are in the Championship and will develop quickly. They know if they are to compete in SL they have to attract quality players. Perhaps the first is Vincent Duport.
There will also be plenty RU players who will be familiar with League and could switch easily.
I do expect to see Catalans and Toulouse in SL from 2012.

toulose are the standouts for next time

paris is a pipe dream and i wouldnt want to waste a limited SL spot on paris over toulose.

it would be nice if strong elite clubs in lyon and mille can develop, and then go onto NL1. but thats at least 5 - 10 years away. after toulose, there will be a while for another club.

but 2 SL clubs will help the game grow a lot and encourage other clubs to aim for it