The
Catalans Dragons are a
French professional
rugby league club based in
Perpignan,
Pyrénées-Orientales. They currently play in the
Super League, and are the only team in the competition from outside of the
United Kingdom. Their feeder club
Union Treiziste Catalane (
UTC) competes in the
Elite One Championship in the
French Championship. The Dragons play their home games at
Stade Gilbert Brutus.
The club was formed in 2000 by a merger of two Perpignan-based clubs,
XIII Catalan and
AS Saint Estève, adopting the name Union Treiziste Catalane. They won the 2005 French Championship and the 2004 and 2005
Lord Derby Cups. In 2006 they were granted a Super League license, taking the name Catalans Dragons.
History
The club was founded in 2000 following the merger of two successful teams based in
Perpignan,
Pyrénées-Orientales, in France's
Països Catalans region:
XIII Catalan and close neighbors
AS Saint Estève. The merged venture took the name Union Treiziste Catalane, often abbreviated to UTC.
XIII Catalan were founded in 1935, and thus were founding members of the
French Championship. During their run they won eleven French Championships as well as eleven
Lord Derby Cups. AS Saint Estève were founded in 1965. They won six championships and four Lord Derby Cups. There were two other clubs in the twelve-team competition in the Pyrénées-Orientales area,
Pia XIII and Saint-Cyprien. In 2002 Saint-Cyprien joined the merged UTC side. UTC proved successful, winning the 2005...
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