Current season, competition or edition: Super XIII 2025–2026 | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002; 23 years ago (2002) |
| No. of teams | 11 |
| Country | France |
| Most recent champion | Albi RL (2024-25) |
| Most titles | FC Lézignan (5) |
| Broadcasters | viàOccitanie,Sport en France |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Elite 2 |
| Domestic cup | Lord Derby Cup |
| Official website | Official site |
Super XIII is the top levelrugby league competition inFrance, sanctioned by theFrench Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions worldwide. The clubs play each other home and away then they enter into a play-off series culminating with a Grand Final. The competition was founded in 2002, as theElite One Championship and renamed as Super XIII at the start of the 2024–2025 season. The competition is the continuation of theFrench Rugby League Championship, which began in 1934.[1]
Prior to the creation of Elite 1, theFrench Rugby League Championship was the top tier of theFrench rugby league system.
The competition was founded in 2002, as the Elite One Championship, following the splitting of theFrench Rugby League Championship into two divisions. The format stayed the same with teams playing each other home and away, before a play-off series would determine the Champions. The club finishing bottom would not be automatically relegated, it would be dependent on whether the club finishing top ofElite Two Championship either wanted to be promoted or their facilities were up to standard.
The 2002–03 season, the first of the Elite 1 championship, saw the defending champions of France,Villeneuve, up againstSaint-Gaudens in the final. Villeneuve had won the league championship in 2000–01 and completed a league/cup double in 2001–2002. Having already won theLord Derby Cup in 2003, they achieved a second consecutive double with a 31–18 win to retain the Max Rousié Trophy. Their opponents, Saint-Gaudens, had not won a championship since the early 1990s, but the following season they defeatedUnion Treiziste Catalane 14–10 to claim the title and in doing so prevent UTC from claiming the double.[2][3] That achievement would come for UTC the following year as they went undefeated throughout the 2004–05 season and beatToulouse 66–16 in the championship final.[4] The following two seasons sawPia claim consecutive doubles.[5][6] In the 2007–08 seasonLézignan began a run of four consecutive title wins becoming only the second club, afterCatalan in the early 1980s, to achieve this feat.[7]
The competition was renamed as Super XIII at the start of the 2024–2025 season.[8] In September 2024, the president of the French Rugby League Federation,Dominique Baloup [fr], gave an interview published inLa Dépêche in which he discussed plans to increase the number of teams in the Super XIII and the possibility of moving the season to run between February and September from 2026.[9]
| # | Club | No. | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lézignan Sangliers | 5 | 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2020–21 |
| 2 | Pia XIII | 3 | 2005–06, 2006–07, 2012–13 |
| AS Carcassonne | 2011–12, 2021–22, 2023–24 | ||
| Limoux Grizzlies | 2015–16, 2016–17, 2022–23 | ||
| 5 | Toulouse Olympique | 2 | 2013–14, 2014–15 |
| 6 | Villeneuve Leopards | 1 | 2002–03 |
| Saint-Gaudens Bears | 2003–04 | ||
| Union Treiziste Catalane | 2004–05 | ||
| SO Avignon | 2017–18 | ||
| Saint-Esteve XIII Catalan | 2018–19 | ||
| Albi RL | 2024–25 |
Unlike, for instance, theBBC,France Television didn't offer any program to the French public about Rugby League.
Sport en France cover the Championship across their television platforms nationwide.[13] Coverage includes the match of the week and one match from each week of the playoffs including the Grand Final.
From 2020, some Elite 1 games are televised by a local channelViàOccitanie; this is a free-to-air channel in the South of France but they are also available on the internet and via thetriple play internet devices. Therefore, they offer, indirectly, free nationwide coverage of the domestic championship.[14]
Presently, French clubs have to fund the broadcast of their own games or to televise their own matches themselves via thesocial networks orYouTube.
Radio Marseillette, a local Southern radio, has rugby league debate and news every Saturday from 10:00 to 12:00. They also have commentary on some Elite League games.
The French national mainstream media barely follow the game. Very occasionally, some articles about the sport are published in newspapers such asLe Monde,Le Figaro or the national Sport newspaperL'Équipe.
Nevertheless, there is undoubtedly a French specificity: the Weekly Rugby Union magazineMidi Olympique has a one-page section devoted to Rugby League. However, only two local newspapers genuinely cover the game;L'Indépendant ( based in the South of France) andla Dépêche du Midi (based in the South west of the country).
TheBritish Rugby League press cover this championship; for example magazines likeRugby Leaguer & League Express offer a weekly report of the games. InAustralia, the monthly publicationRugby League Review offer a few columns about the games as well.
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