Catalans have a great history

Tuesday 6th October 2009

The Catalan Dragons success story continues to scale new heights as another major milestone was reached when they finished their 2009 campaign just one game away from making the Super League Grand Final.  In fact the Dragons went within just seven points of beating Leeds on their own Headingley pitch in a semi-final in which the Catalans looked the dominant team for long periods only to be hit by a brilliant three-try blitz just before half-time.  

Going so close to reaching the Grand Final in only their fourth season in existence is mightily impressive and - added to their achievements of the previous two seasons in which the Catalan Dragons played in the first Challenge Cup Final at the new Wembley stadium and then finished third in the Super League behind only the regular Grand Finalists Leeds and St.Helens - has come far sooner than even the most optimistic French supporter dared dream  when the idea of including the Catalan team in the Super League was first mooted.

Their achievements over the past three seasons must make them the envy of many English clubs who have been unable to achieve the same kind of success. And they should provide plenty of food for thought for some people in the British game if they were to analyse just how the Catalan Dragons have managed to be so successful so quickly in our elite competition by building a team and organisation that does not include any British personnel.

The Dragons have also been entirely responsible for what is by far the most successful foray into new territory that Super League has enjoyed when they staged their 2009 home match against Warrington in Barcelona's Olympic Stadium.

The success on the field and the sell-out crowds at the Gilbert Brutus stadium clearly show the potential for top level Rugby League in France, and also confirms that successful Super League clubs can be developed very quickly in areas where Rugby League is an established part of the local culture and community. Some British fans may forget this, but Perpignan and the French Catalan area has long been a stronghold of the 13-aside game. Many Catalans have played a crucial role in the history of French Rugby League since its formation back in 1934 - indeed, its founding father Jean Galia was a Catalan - and the local Perpignan club X111 Catalan was among the most  decorated in France.

The family ties of the French game are strongly maintained by the Catalan Dragons - their president (and the real driving force behind the club) Bernard Guasch, is a former player with both X111 Catalan and St.Esteve and his father, the late Jose Guasch, was one of the iconic figures in the history of the X111 Catalan as a player, coach and president.  Two other directors of the Dragons are brothers Philippe and Thierry Arcens, whom I first met when they were just young lads before their father Henri Arcens  became president of the X111 Catalan in the early 1980s.

Could any other new Super League club achieve as much success as the Catalan Dragons have in their first four years in the competition? For a similarly rapid success story in the British game we'd have to go all the way back to Workington Town, who were created in 1945 and within seven seasons had achieved the pinnacle of winning both the game's highest honours, the Rugby League Championship and the Challenge Cup.

Of course, Workington Town entered a Rugby League world very different to today's , there was no starting in a lower division and working their way up via promotion, as all the teams were together in one league and any new club like Workington were thrown straight in at the deep end -   just like the Catalan Dragons who were a franchise created (albeit from the framework of an existing club playing in the French league) specifically to play in the Super League. 

And, whilst the weather may be very different between the north west of England and the south of France, there are many similarities and comparisons to make between the Catalans situation and what could be achieved in Cumbria.  I have no doubts that a Cumbria based franchise in Super League could have the same kind of success as the Dragons, although I must emphasise the word "could" rather than "would." Finding the right people who are able to fully utilise the area's potential and build the kind of organisation necessary for a successful full-time professional club remains the key problem to be overcome in Cumbria.

A vital factor would be having organisers who recognise the strength and qualities of their own area rather than just trying to ape everyone else. Just like the Catalans, the Cumbrians could bring something colourfully different to the Super League. Certainly the locally produced Cumbrian players would be able to fill the supporting roles in their team equally as well as the French players have done for the Catalan Dragons, but the key to success (as it may well be for any Super League club) would be their ability to recruit overseas players of the same quality as the Catalans have done.

Starting off with such an iconic figure as Stacey Jones, and then recruiting from Australia footballers of the sheer quality of Clint Greenshields and Adam Mogg, has been the vital ingredient in the success of the Catalan Dragons. That is something that numerous other Super League clubs have been unable to emulate, and many have paid a heavy price for relying on agents placing players with them rather than having their own first-hand knowledge of the Australian game. The Catalan Dragons began life with their own contacts advising on recruitment from down-under, most notably David Waite and Tas Baitieri. And, so far, they've made a pretty good job of it.

Whether the Dragons success can continue to grow will, for the foreseeable future, continue to depend on the quality of the imports they are able to recruit from Australia. Alas, they are not yet able to rely on the French game to produce enough players of the required quality - especially those who play in the back division - but hopefully that situation will improve as time goes by and more and more promising juniors are able to come through the Dragons player development programme. That will be crucial for revitalising the future health of the Rugby League game in France which, just in case anybody has forgotten, was the whole reason why the Catalan Dragons were brought into the Super League in the first place.

Read more on Rugby League, France and its history in 'Rugby League Journal.'

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