The
France national rugby league team represent France in international
rugby league tournaments. They are also sometimes referred to as "Les Tricolores" or more commonly "Les Chanticleers". The team is run under the auspices of the
Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII and is largely made up of players from
Super League and the
Elite One Championship.
The French rugby league team first played in 1934 on a tour of England. They have taken part in all
World Cups, twelve in total, with the first being held in 1954 in France. They have never won the title but have finished runners-up in both 1954 and 1968. These are often considered the glory years of French rugby league as in the 1950s and 1970s the team were strong and regularly beat
Australia,
New Zealand and
Great Britain. Since those days though, the Tricolores have not done so well, not managing to win a single match in the
1995 World Cup, but doing slightly better in the
2000 World Cup comfortably beating
Tonga and
South Africa, before losing to eventual finalists
New Zealand.
In 2006, the
Perpignan based team
Catalans Dragons entered
Super League Europe, and have since produced a number of top-class French players. Despite improved professionalism France finished 10th in the
2008 World Cup in Australia. The team will play in the
2013 World Cup.
Currently the team are ranked fifth in the world, behind
Fiji. In Europe alone they are ranked second, ahead of
Ireland,
Scotland and
Lebanon, but behind...
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