Renaissance of French Rugby League

Renaissance of French Rugby League

Saturday 9 October 2021, 8 pm. The sky has fallen on the Catalan Dragons’ heads at the legendary Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England. In front of over 45,000 people and millions of spectators, they lost their first Super League final, the highest level rugby league championship in the Northern Hemisphere. The Catalan Dragons are the only French team in the competition. After a fierce final of rare intensity, they come to die on two points with a score of 10 to 12. Captain Benjamin Garcia arrives at a press conference with his right arm broken, it has already doubled in size. He played for a long time with injury, in passing, the highest tackler of the match with nearly fifty achievements. This is a terrible disappointment, despite the commitment and valor of the players.

But as brutal as it is, this final is also a huge achievement for the Catalan Dragons and everything they represent for the French rugby league. Committed to competition for 15 years, this small provincial club based in PĂ©rignon has grown over time to a high-level, exemplary and respected professional structure. This success is largely the result of the visionary commitment of its emblematic president, Bernard Guash. “Everything he touches turns to gold” some say. Certainly not by magic, but by a combination of his qualities: exceptional ability for work, innate business sense, unquestionable leader, idiosyncratic mindset, strong character, simplicity and “well-established” Catalantism. His visceral attachment to Catalan dragons and rugby league makes him a custodian of the temple and its values. He is admired by all lovers of the sport, whom he calls “tragicists”. No obstacle stops…

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