audois

…...Bernard says «Our private partners are the real lungs of the club » With more than 400 local enterprises involved bringing in 5 million euros annually. Christophe Levy is the clubs commercial manager and has been from the off. I think of late his team maybe bringing in more than they ever done. Levy has been able to concentrate more on the sponsorship with the arrival of Neil Mcllroy releasing him solely. Working in hand is the match days 1,000 lunches too. The club budget in total has reached 12 millon euros

Catalans will announce their squad at a fonction in the Perpignan town hall on 20th January

Thought it was a decent game at Toulouse. With both sides having something to dwell on. 50 points for TO was nearly the same as Carcassonne got recentley against Villeneuve. It's a long time since they're done that. The geen/whites have a couple of decent players in no.6 Masima who got a couple of tries and second rower Moannanu ran strongly through out. Toulouse moved up a place but it would take a mighty jump to reach in the top 6. It looks very much even now to see anybody outside the present six. The Aude 3 locked up already. Interesting this weekend to finally see the Miloudi brothers playing at last. Hakim at last in the orange and black of Albi and Amine at Avignon. The Tarn side ran wasn't the only to make fifty in R 10 giving a hammering to at St Gaudens - party because of the loss of centre Minga early on. The younger Miloudi's side gave comptition leaders Carcassonne a tough game. 12-12 at the break and weren't far at the end. Limoux the third Aude team to win and broke the home records of Pia in another feasty tousle in Salanque in front of a crowd of 1,700. The four tries all in the first- half. The Grizzlis ground it out with just three penalties after the break. Pia, Avignon and Albi the best bet maybe come Spring time for the Six.

St Esteve down on numbers today for the home game with Lezignan. The group counts 29 players. They are having to take 3 players from nearby Ille-sur-Tet who are presently top of Elite 2 undefeated. If they carry on like that would they look on a place in Elite 1 as diid Pia. Hearing that McNamara is taking 5 or 6 players from St Esteve into Dragons training from 2nd January. Think it's the link up with IMG future set-up. The Dragons are having a week across the border in Spain. Looking with just one warm-up game possibly against a French 'B' side.

Fred Camel is coach of Carcassonne treize . His club hasn’t been beaten at home since the spring of 2021.He finds that the level has gone up and the most satisfaction is that all 10 teams are reinforcing. The efforts are attractive with grand names in our ‘Championnat’ such as the likes of Miloudi, Puech, Escare, Whare, Paulo, Jullien, Segayaro, Clark, and Garbutt. Elsewhere in Yorkshire you find French players too Cozza and Lacans and Springer at Featherston, down the road at Halifax with Jouffret and Larroyer not forgetting Fages at Huddersfield. All which demonstrates the quality in the ‘Championnat’ across the Channel. Camel only thinks that the level has climbed since some seasons. He believes it will be interseting of confronting League 1 and the Championship across the Channel for measuring the real level !

Talk here that Tony Gigot is about to sign for Albi

Paul Sangare played this weekend against Limoux

Villenveue did ok in the first half at Carcassonne at 16-8. But fell away later taking 40 points without any of their own. Two decades back another story. The green-white ran the roost. With Wulf, Frayssinous, Rinaldi and Fakir et al. The river Lot flowed to the Atlantic and back then Villeneuve had ideas of playing in the Super League long and playing games in Bordeaux.It didn't happen. 3 of those players landed up at UTC in Perpignan and that was that. Toulouse Elite 1 or a lot better than last year even if they hold the same place presently. Limoux wanted to quickly to put the weekend behind them. As before TO did pretty well as against Lezignan earlier. Only 8-14 behind at half-time. They held on until the hour mark when behind (18-28). They lost two of their best players injured in prop Biscarro and centre Marguerite didn't help. Also had missing Australian half-back Pelligre but they had a youngster filling Baldy who showed up well. I still reckon they're far better team than last year even if the same place on the ladder. Will see

Doing a job in Toulouse https://www.to13.com/actualites/trent-robinson-intervient-a-lassociation-du-to/

I think he was

http://www.catalansdragons.com/photos-1185-1201-week-end-3-4-decembre/ These pics from last weekend indictate what the club is about and what I think Mcllroy will be getting involved in - Elite 1, U19s and Women as well as Super League

Paul Would Trent Robinson be over visiting the French inlaws in Toulouse. In the stand near to you the people mentioned also where Bernard Guasch and Neil Mcllroy the new Sporting Director

Best set of games since some time. Avignon poor in the opening game against Lezignan 0-16 after twenty minutes but after that the home side got stuck in - finished 6 a piece after that. Baby Dracs best effort this term. Seven of the team Saturday played against Wigan for the Dragons in SL last season. After a slow start new coach Eamon O'Carroll getting them now in shape. Biggest surprise of the lot in Round 8. Last time I saw them Limoux put 50 points over FCL with their Maloney/Normam in tag. Where did that come from yesterday? Pia still undefeated at home and with their new international players from SL. How will they go now into the new year. Really interesting see how they'll go. Toulouse ran them close in Salanque yesterday after their first win last weekend. They have 4 bonus points the highest of the competition. I thought Villeneuve would have got their first win against St Gaudens at home. One of the other biggest shocks of the year so far is what player/coach Mitch Garbutt has done up below the Pyrenee mountains

Pia Line up today against Toulouse Elite 1 with 2 internationals. A Kiwi in centre Dean Whare and French second rower in Benjamin Jullien. Also former St Esteve Hugo Salaboi forward. Impressive Next weekend the Catalan derby between the Baby Dracs/Pia . Think the game will be televised live on ViàOccitanie

In R4 Avignon well beat at Limoux 46-14 but two weeks later gave Albi run for their money. Should be good today against Lezignan. If they get a win shows their in the run for top 6 and the run-offs come the Spring. The three Aude sides have had domination in recent times. Could SOA, Albi and on coming up on the rails watch out for Pia.

A Scot I think - who has become the Sporting Director at Gilbert Brutus after spending nearly twenty years at the Clermont Top 14 rugby union club. Taking over the CEO Christophe Jouffret position which was made vacant some years back. This post though is very different to the one Jouffret held. Mcllroy role will be that of developing all the teams at the Dragons from the Academy upwards. He feels that the recent World Cup indicted a need for improvement. He wants to see more French players than overseas players in the long term at Brutus.

See that Pat Moran has returned to Avignon. From Newcastle, Rochdale and London Broncos. A decent prop - should help the Provence club in their hope of a top 6 finish come the Spring time

Limoux did yesterday as we thought ran over St Gaudens with ease. They did the same too with FCL weeks before. Their Australian half-back Templement didn't play Sunday and they expect to have their other Australian full back Santo back next month. This coming up weekend Championship holders Carcassonne are up at L'Aiguille to take on the Grizzils. Should be a belter. The Canari have up to now beat everybody at Domec with ease - with games being over by half- time. Yesterday it was the opposite until the hour mark with Pia showing up. The former St Helens forward Paulo leading the visitors with aplomb. Pia were in the game till nearly the hour mark after having two players yellow carded earlier. Good to see Toulouse reservers to get their first win of the season at Arnaune against the younger Dragons reserves. The Perpignan side lead up to half-time (12-22) but the more experienced out-fit roared home (38-28)

Going into Round 7 we see 1 to 7 teams have won all home games presently. Encouragingly including Pia who were promoted and St Gaudens who hardly won a game last year. It will I think come to an end this weekend for the latter as they host Limoux. Last night a super game up in the Tarn with Albi just about got over Avignon on the bell after leading most of the time. SOA were hopelous recently at Limoux but last night a different team. No sign of big brother Miloudi yet to wear the Albi colours but his lttle brother Amine had plenty of tricks in the blue and white of the visitors here. TO reservers and the Dragons reservers should be interesting this afternoon too. The Toulouse out-fit interesting. They have players who look like could be in the Championship come 2023 with the likes of Lima and Marguerite who played for the French 'B' team against the English Knights add on tothe likes of Biscarro, Australian Pelligra and Brochon who has played Super League with the Dragons

See that forward Hugo Salabio has joined Pia. Jullien and Whare two international players - who have come from the Dragons are expected next month too. The Salanque side could be heading up later on.

It's worth remembering that France were only 18-14 down at Bolton at half-time against England. Against Samoa the injuries in the backs made it impossible. England should go without NRL players next April. France with Bousquet and Navarrete fit adding along with other forwards Sangare, Springer and Dezeria could make a difference up front too.

The Lezignan centre Bousquet was sent off for biting in the 16 th minute. The home side were already six poins up and the visitors couldn't put the finger in the dyke. Four tries added on for a 28-4 lead at the break. Another 6 tries followed. The only light in the FCL was the two tries from the new Aussie Norman. A bit bizarre that FCL a week before saw the same thing happening but in their favour against Pia. Like too - that also had players yellow carded and finished with eleven. Interesting too that Limoux lost their winning run at Albi the week before but this time the home side could win in over time after having a play dismissed early in the second half.

The 16 yr old USA Asian lad gave me one of the best images of the whole RLWC today. He only came on late on looking lost with the French 45 yr old man of the match. The youngster with little space just about did it with a lovely delicate inside pass to his partner to get their one score. I saw on the replay the teenager jumped for joy. Fantastic!

What a game at Albi 22-22 all against undefeated Limoux. It took eleven minutes in overtime for Pierre Carivenc to get the ball over the cross bar.and the Tarn side the victory. This now gives the Grizzles with the the two other Aude sides with one losses followed by Albi, Avignon and St Gaudens with 2 losses after five rounds. That leaves new comers Pia with 3 losses all away from home.Crushed at Lezignan with Australians Malony and newcomer Norman from Toulouse to the forte. Pia had it hard just after the break with one sent off and a second player yellow carded. The bottom gives us with 4 losses. The Baby Dragons, now more than ever called with such a name, with one win against Villeneuve/Lot. The Catalans were all over the place at Stade Domec as the Canari ran riot first half. To their due though the visitors respounded with some gusto which may keep them on an upward curve later on. That leaves us with TO Elite 1. They have only played four games as the opener at Villenueve was posponed as some players were called up to play for the French 'B' team to play against the England Knights. The last two games though have seen them go down by just 2 points once against Lezignan. I think there's a chance to see them also better times.

The two best maybe FCL-Pia along with Albi at home to unbeaten Limoux. The Catalan club unbeaten at home and gave Limoux a tough game up the Aude valley earlier. Albi after losing away at both Pia and Carcassonne need to show up in the Tarn on Saturday. On Sunday last year's champions Carcassonne face up to the Dragons' reserve side at Stade Domec after the young side got their first victory against Villeneuve last week. Be interesting to see if Morgan Escare turns out for the Canari. Interesting too up in the Pyrenees with home side St Gaudens receiving TO and hoping to hold on to their undeafted two home game record. The visitors with no wins yet but got very close last week against Lezignan - just two points the difference