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Catalans Dragons

Club information
Full name	Catalans Dragons Wheelchair Rugby League Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Dragons
Colours	White, Red and Gold
Website	catalansdragons.com
Current details
Chairman	Bernard Guasch
Competition	Elite 1
2022–23	(Champions)
Current season
Uniforms
Home colours Away colours
Records
Elite 1	At least 8 (2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2022–23)
Lord Derby Cups	?
Challenge Cups	1 (2023)
European Club Challenges	2 (2023, 2024)

The Catalans Dragons Wheelchair Rugby League Football Club are a French wheelchair rugby league club based in Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales. The club competes in the Elite 1 Championship, the top tier of the French rugby league system.

History

Catalans Dragons wheelchair teams is though to be one of the world's oldest wheelchair rugby league football clubs. Like the French Elite 1 Championship itself, it its unclear at exactly what point the club was formed, though are known to have been in existence during 2011–12 season in which they finished runners-up. Following this, Catalans established themselves as the dominant force in French wheelchair rugby league, winning every national championship with the exception of their 2016–17 Grand Final defeat to Toulouse Olympique. In 2022, Catalans player Sebastien Bechara won the IRL Golden Boot. Along with, the French league and cup, the teams also has started to compete in the British Wheelchair Challenge Cup, which they won their inaugural title in 2023 after finishing runners-up the year before. 2023 saw another Catalans player win the IRL Golden Boot, this time Jérémy Bourson. Also in 2023, as winners of the previous season's national championship, Catalans qualified for a new competition, the European Club Challenge, in which the French league champions would compete against the British league champions for the de facto European title. The Dragons shared the 2023 title with Halifax Panthers after a 32–32 draw, before qualifying again the following year and taking the title outright after a 68–28 defeat of Wigan Warriors.

Seasons

Honours

Leagues

• Elite 1

Winners (At least 8): 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2022–23

Cups

• Lord Derby Cup

Winners (?):

• Challenge Cup

Winners (2): 2023, 2024

International

• European Club Challenge

Winners (2): 2023, 2024

References

1. "Les chiffres de la saison 2011-2013". FFRXIII (in French). 3 July 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
2. "XIII fauteuil : Cahors champion". FFRXIII (in French). 12 June 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
3. "Le TO XIII/St Jory Champion de France". FFRXIII (in French). 3 May 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
4. "International Rugby League Golden Boot Awards". Rugby League International Federation. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
5. "Catalans Dragons 66-20 Leeds Rhinos: French side clinch Wheelchair Challenge Cup final victory". Sky Sports.
6. Hall, Ben (June 26, 2022). "Rhinos slay Dragons to win third Wheelchair Challenge Cup in a row".
7. "Fisher-Harris, Hale and Bourson named 2023 Golden Boot winners". National Rugby League. 6 December 2023.
8. https://www.rugby-league.com/article/62078/wheelchair-rugby-league-european-club-challenge
9. https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2024/04/06/warriors-beaten-in-wheelchair-european-championship/

• Catalans Dragons
• Wheelchair rugby league teams