Coupe de France Lord Derby
Current season or competition:
Lord Derby Cup 2023–2024
SportRugby league
Instituted1934
Country France (FFR XIII)
HoldersAS Carcassonne (2022–23)
Most titlesAS Carcassonne (16 titles)
WebsiteLord Derby Cup on FFR13.fr
Broadcast partnerviàOccitanie

The Coupe de France Lord Derby (lit. 'Lord Derby French Cup'), or just Coupe Lord Derby ('Lord Derby Cup'), is the premier knockout competition for the sport of rugby league football in France, as well as the name of its championship trophy.[1][2][3] The tournament was first contested in 1934–35, which also marked the inaugural season of the French Rugby League Championship.[3][4]

The Lord Derby Cup is currently open to all professional and amateur clubs.[5] Each round is played in single-elimination mode.[5]

History

Trophy

Following in the footsteps of his father Frederick, patron of ice hockey's Stanley Cup, Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby, donated the silver trophy that bears his name to inaugural French Cup champions US Lyon-Villeurbanne in 1935. Stanley was honorary president of the Rugby Football League, a former minister and former British ambassador in Paris.[6] The trophy was actually not presented to the Lyon players during the French Cup final. Rather, it was handed over to them one week later on 12 May 1936 by John Wilson, general secretary of the Rugby Football League, at Stade Buffalo near Paris, during a special game against Challenge Cup champions Castleford, for which Lyon had qualified by virtue of their domestic cup win.[7][8]

The actual name of the trophy, as engraved on the bowl, is Coupe de Lord Derby, although the more natural-sounding "Coupe Lord Derby" is almost always preferred. Among the rugby league crowd, the cup is affectionately known as La vieille dame ('The Old Lady').[9][10] Since 2017, each player from the winning team has received a replica of the cup for him to keep, which is slightly smaller than the original at 30 cm (12 in) in height.[11]

Format

For much of the tournament's history, games played at predetermined or mutually agreed upon neutral sites were the norm. While Toulouse struggled to field a stable team in the new code until 1937, it was still the go-to host city for many games during the tournament's formative years,[12] both because it was viewed as a key market and because the relationship with rugby union authorities was much less contentious there than elsewhere in the country.[13] In fact, Stade Toulousain considered renting its Stade Ernest-Wallon to the French Rugby League for the 1939 Lord Derby Cup final, before organizers settled on Stade du TOEC.[12] In the modern era, games at predetermined sites were gradually reduced to encourage fan attendance, and are typically only used in the last two rounds.[5]

While all divisions have been actively encouraged to send teams in recent times,[5] the level of amateur participation has varied over the years.[9]

Toulouse curse

Toulouse Olympique has endured many heartbreaks in the Lord Derby Cup, losing all of its first six finals, including three straight between 1962 and 1964. One of star player Georges Aillères' career regrets was never hoisting the Lord Derby Cup while playing for his longtime club, despite making it to four finals with them.[14] Ironically, he won the trophy in his only season played away from Toulouse, in 1965 with Lézignan.[15] Toulouse would eventually break the curse in 2014, in their seventh final appearance.[10][16]

Cinderella runs

The Lord Derby Cup has historically been dominated by first division teams. Nonetheless, one-off wins by lower division clubs are not unheard of, and a handful of underdogs have produced cinderella runs over the years. In 1983, fourth-level side Le Soler advanced to the semifinals, beating top-flight club Pia in the process, before losing to powerhouse XIII Catalan.[17] In 2005, third-level team Salses beat two Elite 1 teams (Lyon-Villeurbanne and Villeneuve-sur-Lot) before bowing out in the semifinals as well, this time to Limoux.[17]

Satellite tournaments

Junior French Cup

The equivalent of the Lord Derby Cup for Under-19 players is the Coupe Luc-Nitard ('Luc Nitard Cup'), whose final has traditionally been played as a curtain-raiser to the Lord Derby Cup final.[5]

Other cup competitions

To provide minor league clubs with a more accessible level of competition, the French federation has maintained a trio of secondary cup tournaments which are reserved for them. Each of these tournaments is marketed as a "Coupe de France" in its own right, although in practice they more closely fit the definition of a league cup.[5] They are:

List of Finals

Results

Year Winners Score Runner-up Venue Attendance
1934–35 Lyon 22–7 XIII Catalan Stade Jacques-Thomas, Toulouse 6,000
1935–36 Côte Basque 15–8 Villeneuve Parc de Suzon, Talence 12,600
1936–37 Villeneuve 12–6 XIII Catalan 12,100
1937–38 Roanne 36–12 Villeneuve Stade des Minimes, Toulouse 11,000
1938–39 XIII Catalan 7–3 Toulouse Stade du TOEC, Toulouse 15,200
1939–40: Final did not take place due to the Second World War1
1940–44: Rugby league banned by Vichy regime
1944–45 XIII Catalan 23–14 Carcassonne Parc des Princes, Paris
1945–46 Carcassonne 27–7 XIII Catalan Stade Jacques-Chapou, Toulouse 18,000
1946–47 Carcassonne 24–5 Avignon Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
1947–48 Marseille 5–4 Carcassonne Stade Jacques-Chapou, Toulouse
1948–49 Marseille 12–9 Carcassonne Stade Vélodrome, Marseille 24,000
1949–50 XIII Catalan 12–5 Lyon Stade Albert-Domec, Carcassonne 13,500
1950–51 Carcassonne 22–10 Lyon Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
1951–52 Carcassonne 28–9 XIII Catalan 14,384
1952–53 Lyon 9–8 Villeneuve Stade Jean-Laffon, Perpignan 12,200
1953–54 Lyon 17–15 XIII Catalan Stade Joseph-Lombard, Cavaillon 8,000
1954–55 Avignon 18–10 Marseille Stade de la Roseraie, Carpentras 11,600
1955–56 Avignon 25–12 Bordeaux Stade Jean-Laffon, Perpignan 5,800
1956–57 Marseille 11–0 XIII Catalan Stade Albert-Domec, Carcassonne 16,633
1957–58 Villeneuve 20–8 Avignon Stade Jean-Laffon, Perpignan 5,473
1958–59 XIII Catalan 7–0 Avignon Stade Albert-Domec, Carcassonne 11,000
1959–60 Lézignan 7–4 Carcassonne Stade Jean-Laffon, Perpignan 15,800
1960–61 Carcassonne 5–2 Lézignan Stade Jean-Laffon, Perpignan
1961–62 Roanne 16–10 Toulouse Stade Gilbert-Brutus, Perpignan 8,395
1962–63 Carcassonne 5–0 Toulouse 5,100
1963–64 Villeneuve 10–2 Toulouse 5,166
1964–65 Marseille 13–8 Carcassonne 8,294
1965–66 Lézignan 22–7 Villeneuve Stade Albert-Domec, Carcassonne 10,067
1966–67 Carcassonne 10–4 XIII Catalan Stade Gilbert-Brutus, Perpignan 16,250
1967–68 Carcassonne 9–2 Toulouse 6,400
1968–69 XIII Catalan 15–8 Villeneuve 9,532
1969–70 Lézignan 14–8 Villeneuve 7,460
1970–71 Marseille 17–2 Lézignan 6,310
1971–72 Saint-Estève 12–5 Villeneuve 8,250
1972–73 Saint-Gaudens 22–8 Carcassonne Stade Albert-Domec, Carcassonne 10,300
1973–74 Albi 21–11 Lézignan Stade Gilbert-Brutus, Perpignan 6,580
1974–75 Pia 9–4 Marseille 9,021
1975–76 XIII Catalan 23–8 Toulouse 6,395
1976–77 Carcassonne 21–16 XIII Catalan Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié, Narbonne 10,085
1977–78 XIII Catalan 18–7 Lézignan 15,939
1978–79 Villeneuve 15–5 Carcassonne Stadium Municipal, Albi 6,642
1979–80 XIII Catalan 18–8 Carcassonne Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié, Narbonne 8,783
1980-81: Final cancelled2
1981–82 Avignon 18–12 Carcassonne Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié, Narbonne 4,663
1982–83 Carcassonne 10–3 XIII Catalan 7,235
1983–84 Villeneuve 18–7 Limoux 6,851
1984–85 XIII Catalan 24–7 Limoux 11,362
1985–86 Le Pontet 35–10 Saint-Estève
1986–87 Saint-Estève 20–10 XIII Catalan 8590
1987–88 Le Pontet 5–2 Saint-Estève 5,000
1988–89 Avignon 12–11 Saint-Estève Stadium Municipal, Albi 6,000
1989–90 Carcassonne 22–8 Saint-Estève 6,832
1990–91 Saint-Gaudens 30–4 Pia Stade Albert-Domec, Carcassonne 6,000
1991–92 Saint-Gaudens 22–10 RC Carpentras Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié, Narbonne 7,000
1992–93 Saint-Estève 12–10 XIII Catalan 6,401
1993–94 Saint-Estève 14–12 XIII Catalan Stade Albert-Domec, Carcassonne
1994–95 Saint-Estève 28–8 Pia Stade Gilbert-Brutus, Perpignan 6,000
1995–96 Limoux 39–12 Carcassonne 9,000
1996–97 XIII Catalan 25–24 Limoux Stade Albert-Domec, Carcassonne 8,000
1997–98 Saint-Estève 38–0 Avignon 7,000
1998–99 Villeneuve 20–5 Lézignan Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié, Narbonne 9,000
1999-00 Villeneuve 34–14 XIII Catalan 9,000
2000–01 Union Treiziste Catalane 38–17 Limoux 8,000
2001–02 Villeneuve 27–18 Pia Stade Albert-Domec, Carcassonne 8,500
2002–03 Villeneuve 16–14 Pia 7,000
2003–04 Union Treiziste Catalane 36–24 Carcassonne 10,500
2004–05 Union Treiziste Catalane 31–12 Limoux 11,000
2005–06 Pia 36–20 Lézignan 9,344
2006–07 Pia 30–14 Carcassonne 5,500
2007–08 Limoux 17–14 Albi 9,000
2008–09 Carcassonne 18–16 Limoux Stadium Municipal, Albi 6,600
2009–10 Lézignan 18–14 Limoux Parc des Sports, Avignon 6,000
2010–11 Lézignan 27–18 Pia Stade Albert-Domec, Carcassonne 5,350
2011–12 Carcassonne 14–12 Pia Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié, Narbonne 6,892
2012–13 Avignon 38–37 Limoux Stade Albert-Domec, Carcassonne 5,000
2013–14 Toulouse 46–10 Carcassonne 6,763
2014–15 Lézignan 27–25 Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 4,124
2015–16 Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 33–16 Limoux 4,200
2016–17 Carcassonne 30–24 Lézignan Parc des Sports, Avignon 5,500
2017–18 Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 30–26 AET Limoux Stade Gilbert-Brutus, Perpignan 5,243
2018–19 Carcassonne 22–6 Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 5,000[19]
2019–20 Competition abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France[20]
2020–21 Competition cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France[21]
2021–22 Competition abandoned due to a resurgence of COVID-19 induced by the Omicron variant[22]
2022–23 Carcassonne 36–12 Albi Stade Gilbert-Brutus, Perpignan 4,102[23]
1964 Final
AS Carcassonne win in 2009

Footnotes

  1. Both semifinals were scheduled for 5 May 1940. Côte Basque beat XIII Catalan 14–5 in Bordeaux for the first final spot,[24] but prior commitments at Toulouse's Stade des Minimes forced the postponement of the second semifinal between Pau and Carcassonne to 12 May.[13] On 10 May, German troops invaded Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, forcing the cancellation of the remainder of the competition, whose final was scheduled for 19 May 1940 in Bordeaux.[25]
  2. The final between AS Carcassonne and XIII Catalan was cancelled as a result of a game-ending brawl involving XIII Catalan at the championship final the previous week.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ Revello, Alain (14 January 2012). "FCL XIII : 1/8e de Coupe Lord Derby et Nitard au menu". midilibre.fr. Société du Journal Midi Libre. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  2. ^ Jacquemart, Nicolas (15 December 2018). "Florent Lazaro : 'La Coupe de France c'est mythique'". treizemondial.fr. Dicodusport. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Coupe de France : l'autre convoitise". midi-olympique.fr. Groupe La Dépêche du Midi. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Palmarès Coupe de France Lord Derby". treizemondial.fr. Dicodusport. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Tirage au sort pour le prochain tour de la Coupe de France Lord Derby, la Coupe de France U19, la Coupe Division Nationale et la Coupe Division Fédérale". ffr13.fr. Fédération Française de rugby à XIII. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Vous avez dit Lord Derby ?". broncos-palau13.com. Racing Club Palauenc Palau XIII. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  7. ^ De Lascoumettes, Jean (14 May 1935). "Castleford bat Lyon-Villeurbanne en rugby-treize". Match (in French). No. 457. Paris. p. 15.
  8. ^ Bardet, O. (13 May 1935). "Castleford a éprouvé une peine infinie à vaincre l'US Lyon-Villeurbanne". L'Auto. Paris. p. 4. Carrying the magnificent silver cup gifted by Lord Derby to the French Cup winners [...]
  9. ^ a b "Coupe Lord Derby : Le 1er Tour débute ce week-end". ffr13.fr. Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Carcassonne. 'Cuits ! cuits ! cuits !'". ladepeche.fr. Groupe La Dépêche du Midi. 14 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Coupe de France Lord Derby, les trophées". ffr13.fr. Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  12. ^ a b Dayroze, Franck (28 March 2020). "La difficile naissance du rugby à XIII à Toulouse". surlatouche.fr. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  13. ^ a b Grosmolard, Pierre (2 May 1940). "Une demi-finale de la Coupe de France des treize reportée". L'Auto. Paris. p. 1.
  14. ^ Jamet, Michel (10 April 2014). "Toulouse. Georges Aillères : 'Ce TO a tout'". ladepeche.fr. Groupe La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  15. ^ Navarre, Didier (6 January 2016). "Aillères : 'Heureusement que je l'ai gagnée avec Lézignan'". midi-olympique.fr. Groupe La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  16. ^ Jamet, Michel (14 April 2014). "Pour la première fois Dame Coupe sourit à Toulouse". ladepeche.fr. Groupe La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Coupe Lord Derby : entre rêve et réalité". ffr13.fr. Fédération Française de rugby à XIII. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  18. ^ Navarre, Didier (21 June 2016). "Le Challenge Georges-Aillères ou la Coupe de France de l'élite 2". midi-olympique.fr. Groupe La Dépêche du Midi. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Carcassonne a fait bloc". ffr13.fr (in French). 9 June 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  20. ^ "Coronavirus : la Fédération française met fin aux compétitions de rugby à XIII cette saison". lequipe.fr. Groupe Amaury. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  21. ^ Jacquemart, Nicolas (17 August 2021). "Le programme complet de la Coupe de France Lord Derby 2021-2022". treizemondial.fr. Dicodusport. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  22. ^ Q.G. (8 January 2022). "Rugby à XIII : la coupe de France Lord-Derby annulée pour cette saison". laprovence.com. Groupe La Provence. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  23. ^ Frejebise, Michel (22 April 2023). "Rugby à XIII – Finale de Coupe Lord Derby : l'histoire attendra pour Albi Rugby League, battu par Carcassonne (12–36)". La Dépêche (in French). Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  24. ^ Labarthe, Léon (6 May 1940). "Demi-finale à Bordeaux". L'Auto. Paris. p. 1. [...] the French Cup semifinal which pitted, yesterday in Bordeaux, the Côte Basque squad to the one from the Catalans.
  25. ^ Labarthe, Léon (11 May 1940). "Pau doit être finaliste en Coupe comme en Championnat". L'Auto. Paris. pp. 1–2.
  26. ^ "René Mauriès s'éteint à l'âge de 80 ans". rds.ca. Bell Globemedia. 31 December 2000. Retrieved 22 April 2021.

Bibliography

External links

Rugby league in France
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