Catalonia national rugby league team

The Catalonia national rugby league team represents Catalonia in the sport of rugby league football, running under the auspices of the Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga.

See also: Spain national rugby league team

Catalonia

Team information
Governing body	Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga
Region	Europe
Head coach	Eric Delherbe
Captain	Albert Homs
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First game
Catalonia 12–62 Morocco  (Perpignan, 21 June 2008)
Biggest win
Czech Republic 16–66 Catalonia  (Prague, 10 July 2010)
Biggest defeat
Catalonia 12–62 Morocco  (Perpignan, 21 June 2008)

Catalonia national rugby league team in 2009

History

Rugby league started in Catalonia in autumn 2007, with the advice of people from the French Catalan region, where this sport has been played since the 1930s.

The number of clubs grew since 3 clubs participated in the first competition in southern Catalonia in 2008 (FC Barcelona, Aligots Girona and Nord-Català),[1] to reach 9 teams in the first Catalonia Championships in April 2009: CR Tarragona, CR Valls, CR Sant Cugat, INEF Lleida, GEiEG, Poble Nou Enginyers, BUC, RC Garrotxa and Vic Crancs.[2] Also, the first Rugby League Catalan University Championship was played in February 2009, with 9 teams in competition.[3]

Catalonia used to be an unranked member of the Rugby League European Federation;[4] however, their participation in some international rugby league competitions, such as the World Cup, has been questioned as Catalonia is not a sovereign nation.

Catalonia played their first match in January 2008 when they participated in the French Interleague Championship held near Perpignan, France. In June of the same year, Morocco beat Catalonia in a match played in Perpignan, 62–12.

In June 2009, Catalonia beat the Czech Republic[5] in a match played prior to the Catalans Dragons vs Warrington Wolves Super League game. This match was an international warm-up ahead of the Euro Med Challenge contested by Catalonia, Morocco and Belgium. They lost 6–29 at home to Morocco, and 28–22 at Belgium.[3][6]

In 2010 Catalonia played only friendlies, with a win over Czech Republic 16–66 in Prague.[7]

Following further disputes over their RLEF status, the Catalonia national team did not subsequently participate in international competition and their RLEF affiliation was later dropped. They are currently not active in international competition, and any further international activity will likely fall under the umbrella of the Spain national rugby league team.

All-Time Results

Team	1st Played	Play	Win	Draw	Loss	Points For	Points Agn.
Morocco	2008	2	0	0	2	18	91
Czech Republic	2009	2	2	0	0	118	26
Belgium	2009	1	0	0	1	22	28

Team Matches to Date

French championships interleagues – Short game[8]
Date	Opponents	Result	Venue	Crowd	Competition
26 January 2008	Languedoc-Roussillon	0–24	Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque	200	French Interleague Championship
27 January 2008	Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur	4–14	Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque	200	French Interleague Championship
27 January 2008	Île-de-France	14–26	Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque	200	French Interleague Championship

Date	Venue	Home	Result	Away	Crowd	Competition
7 June 2008	Girona	Catalonia	18–64	French Universities	150	Friendly
21 June 2008	Perpignan	Catalonia	12–62	Morocco	2,000	Friendly
20 June 2009	Barcelona	Catalonia	52–10	Czech Republic	18,150	Friendly
4 July 2009	Torroella de Montgrí	Catalonia	6–29	Morocco	1,000	RLEF Euro Med Challenge
25 July 2009	Wavre	Belgium	28–22	Catalonia	400	RLEF Euro Med Challenge
10 July 2010	Prague	Czech Republic	16–66	Catalonia		Friendly

Players

2009

Catalonia vs. Morocco, 4 July 2009 Name Club Debut Julien Lebon CNPN Enginyers Pau Puigdollers CR Sant Cugat Jose A. Pleguezuelos CR Tarragona Fernando Fernández BUC Roger Ferraté BUC 2008 Albert Homs GEiEG 2008 Aitor Figueruelo BUC Calvin Tchoumi CE INEF Lleida Joan Miquel Petanàs CE INEF Lleida Sergi Petanàs CE INEF Lleida Sebastién Amigas UTC Jordi Giménez Sergi Calzada BUC Marc López CNPN Enginyers Ermengol Alemany BUC Raül Vall-llosada CA Vic Crancs 2008 Christian Pelissier GEiEG Jordi Sánchez CNPN Enginyers

Catalonia vs. Belgium, 25 July 2009.[9] Name Club Debut Ermengol Alemany BUC Sergi Petanàs CE INEF Lleida Roger Ferraté BUC 2008 Aitor Figueruelo BUC Pau Puigdollers CR Sant Cugat Raül Vall-llosada Vic 2008 Sergi Calzada BUC Jose A. Pleguezuelos CR Tarragona Calvin Tchoumi CE INEF Lleida Joan Miquel Petanàs CE INEF Lleida Albert Homs GEiEG 2008 Joaquim Sala GEiEG Òscar Mercè CE INEF Lleida Juan Pablo Pistone BUC Jordi Pallàs RC Garrotxa Julien Lebon CNPN Enginyers Javier López BUC

2010

Catalonia vs. Czech Republic, July 10, 2010.[10] Name Position Club Pau Puigdollers Fullback CR Sant Cugat Raül Vall-llosada Wing Free Agent Richard Cottrell Centre Free Agent Xavi Zubero Centre BUC Marc Forman Wing CR Sant Cugat Alex Carrasco Five-eighth Free Agent Ermengol Alemany Halfback BUC Mariano Lago Prop Free Agent Joan Porras Hooker BUC Joan Miquel Petanàs Prop CE INEF Lleida Òscar Mercè Second-row CE INEF Lleida Sergio Calzada Second-row BUC Albert Homs Loose forward GEiEG Julien Lebon Interchange CNPN Enginyers Calvin Tchoumi Interchange CE INEF Lleida Jose Plegueauelos Interchange CR Tarragona Joaquim Sala Interchange GEiEG Javier López Reserve BUC Marco Pasarello Reserve Free Agent

See also

• Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga
• Rugby League European Federation
• Catalans Dragons

References

1. "El FC Barcelona guanya la primera Copa Catalunya de Rugbi Lliga". vilaweb.cat (in Catalan). 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
2. "Associació Catalana – Rugby Lliga – I Campionat de Catalunya de rugby lliga". rugbylliga.cat. 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
3. "Catalonia – Introduction". rlef.eu.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
4. Archived March 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
5. "Catalonia won 52 to 10 in the Czech Republic". Associació Catalana de Rugby Lliga. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-06-30.
6. "Derrota per la mínima contra Bèlgica". rugbylliga.cat (in Catalan). 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
7. "Catalonia win over Czech Republic" (in Catalan). ACRL. July 13, 2010.
8. "Debut molt satisfactori de la Selecció Catalana de rugbi a XIII". rugbylliga.cat (in Catalan). 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
9. "Catalunya prepara el partit contra Bèlgica". rugbylliga.cat (in Catalan). 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
10. "Roster Czech Republic-Catalonia" (in Catalan). ACRL. 2010-07-08.

External links

• Catalan Rugby League Association
• Rugby League European Federation
• Highlights video: Catalonia-Morocco
• Highlights video: Belgium-Catalonia