There is a Dragons related tip to this thread before it gets locked down by the Gaffer!

I have been reading some of Paul Goze (USAP owners) comments in L'Independant recently and it appears that their free spending days in top14 rugby union are over.

The new coach is looking to develop their own players from the youth system and be a self sustaining club.

He mentions the economy in Catalunya and a dearth of sponsors as contributing factors.

So, although Catalan Dragons play a different sport altogether from USAP, could it be a case of us profiting from their challenges (released players etc.) or are we in the same boat?

In French Top 14, there is not salary cap, no overseas players' quotas.

The bigs clubs like Toulon, Toulouse, Racing Métro, Stade Français and Clermont are buying all the best players in the world because they have lot of money. USAP can't compete against them, because they have a huge budget (Stade Toulousain have a 30M€ of budget).

So USAP is forced to produce his own players because they can't afford some stars. Dan Carter in 2009 was a big gift of our city hall.

In a few years, they will be playing in ProD2 (second division).

And no, we are not in the same boat.

Shame for USAP (dont tell anyone on Sang-et-or, but I bought their Euro shirt this season), good news Dragons are in a good place.

Salary cap coming into force in Top 14 either next season or the one after. Clubs spending money now in order to comply with that later, much like the Premier League football clubs and UEFA's financial fair play rules. So get yer boots out and affect a Kiwi accent boys. There's contracts to be had. Doesn't matter if you've not played union before - they'll take any owd bugger.

Salary cap for next year is too high to stop big clubs buying an all-star team.

Whilst on the topic of les quinzistes, Stade Francais & FCL are looking at the strong possibility of playing each other next month in a game of one half union, the other half league. Didn't Wigan do something similar some years ago?

Stade Francais, seriously? That's some great exposure for FCL, but surely it will be a complete mismatch?

Quote ="phil4.13"Whilst on the topic of les quinzistes, Stade Francais & FCL are looking at the strong possibility of playing each other next month in a game of one half union, the other half league. Didn't Wigan do something similar some years ago?'" https://twitter.com/fcl13/status/83878683198238720 Yes we did. We also went down to the Middlesex sevens and we were bloody good.

Quote ="phil4.13"Whilst on the topic of les quinzistes, Stade Francais & FCL are looking at the strong possibility of playing each other next month in a game of one half union, the other half league. Didn't Wigan do something similar some years ago?'" https://twitter.com/fcl13/status/83878683198238720 Yes we did. We also went down to the Middlesex sevens and we were bloody good.

Confirmed to be played at Lezignan Wednesday evening 27th July, a full game of league

Far be it from me to care about what sounds like an out-and-out gimmick, but I hope Les Pinkies fecking smash 'em. Forget the score - crack some heads. Hope Cologni plays and plays like he used to; clothesline-tastic.

Massive exposure for FCL. No idea why the Paris would want to do this, exposure for the XIII game, if they win then they're the megabucks team beating a local side, if they lose they look really stupid (and chances are they will lose playing a different game).
Could it be that this is Paris investigating the option of starting a league side?

Maybe it was the fact that both teams have played in Pink? Stade are doing pre-season training in the area and the players suggested it would be a good training exercise seems to be the only reason. I think both teams are treating it as a friendly runabout, rather than a serious inter-code point proving thing. Three twenty-minute periods.

Rumours to that end have been flying about for a while now

But the guy who gave rise to all those rumours (Max Guazzini), by turning up to the France/Australia game and reminiscing about watching Mille RL as a kid, is no longer the clubs owner/president. As SF nearly went bust last month, can't see an RL club being high on the agenda of the new owner.

www.fcl13.fr/equipes/equipe-elit ... fiche.html?

www.fcl13.fr/equipes/equipe-elit ... fiche.html?

Oh did they? My heart bleeds.
Maybe paying super-annuated Australian RL players isn't the best business plan after all. *cough* Toulon *cough cough*

I've heard Stade Français are training for the game in Castelnaudary.

Yes they played Bath. I went to the game.

Won the first half (League) but got well beaten in the second half (Union)

There were two games, one of each code. Did you go to the game at Maine Road or Twickenham? The biggest cheer of the night at Maine Road was when Bath scored their try. Phil De Glanville did himself proud. Jeremy Guscott was a disgrace.

They are attending FCL's defensive training tomorrow night. FCL are without their foreign legion & the Bentleys while Stade won't have their internationals.

Stade win 32-28 in front of more than 4000 spectators. They changed their whole team every 10min & played with full body protection! FCL played with 8 juniors who by all accounts did very well.

Boo. FCL should be chucked out of the league for bringing the game into disrepute.

Great pictures of Jc Hall, who is on RLFans (his name is Hall66). Credits : www.hall66.com

Great pictures of Jc Hall, who is on RLFans (his name is Hall66). Credits : www.hall66.com

That padding

What are they f---ing scared of? Bunch of -----s