RLWC 2025 France

[Jean de Bordeaux]

8 hours ago, Big Picture said:

I see that according to his Wikipedia entry, he used to be mayor of Prades, in Pyrénées-Orientales.  Does he by chance have any prior connection with le rugby à treize apart from having watched the Dragons play?

Like the vast majority of french people , he knows better rugby union, but he comes from the South regions where our rugby code is still alive ! His presence and speech shows a desire, at a very high level of the french government to help rugby league to progress and appear again among the major sports in our country.

[Man of Kent]

48 minutes ago, langpark said:

I was hoping to see Lyon, Montpellier and Toulon on the list.  And does anyone know which is the town up in the north-west?  I was kind of hoping it would be Nantes, seeing as they have a team, but I do not seem them listed.

Vannes, in Brittany.

[jim_57]

Slightly OT but it would be great to see Robinson & Bennett “put their money where their mouth is” so to speak and bring down a few French players to play in the Roosters/Dolphins systems in coming years.

Likely they’d spend a lot of time in NSW & QLD Cup but better than Elite 1 if they’re not a regular Catalans/Toulouse SL player.

Edited January 12, 2022 by jim_57

[UTK]

3 hours ago, jim_57 said:

Slightly OT but it would be great to see Robinson & Bennett “put their money where their mouth is” so to speak and bring down a few French players to play in the Roosters/Dolphins systems in coming years.

Likely they’d spend a lot of time in NSW & QLD Cup but better than Elite 1 if they’re not a regular Catalans/Toulouse SL player.

There were some reports at the end of the season down here in Australia that a couple of NRL clubs are looking to bring Paul Seguier across for the 2023 season, believe St George were named as the frontrunners.

Could definitely see Robinson doing it as he did with Casty, but the Storm would be my next most likely outfit. Believe they've had a few french youngsters spend some time within their youth setup on and off over the last few years, young half Cesar Rouge was meant to have a season with their feeder club the Sunshine Coast Falcons before covid interrupted things.

[Jim from Oz]

7 hours ago, langpark said:

I was hoping to see Lyon, Montpellier and Toulon on the list.  And does anyone know which is the town up in the north-west?  I was kind of hoping it would be Nantes, seeing as they have a team, but I do not seem them listed.

I thought Avignon would be on that list??!!

[Jim from Oz]

Absolutely can’t wait for this ... I’m hoping to come over for every match I can !!

[gingerjon]

8 hours ago, langpark said:

I was hoping to see Lyon, Montpellier and Toulon on the list.  And does anyone know which is the town up in the north-west?  I was kind of hoping it would be Nantes, seeing as they have a team, but I do not seem them listed.

No Calais, no Dunkerque?

You mean, I might have to *travel*?

[jim_57]

2 hours ago, UTK said:

There were some reports at the end of the season down here in Australia that a couple of NRL clubs are looking to bring Paul Seguier across for the 2023 season, believe St George were named as the frontrunners.

Could definitely see Robinson doing it as he did with Casty, but the Storm would be my next most likely outfit. Believe they've had a few french youngsters spend some time within their youth setup on and off over the last few years, young half Cesar Rouge was meant to have a season with their feeder club the Sunshine Coast Falcons before covid interrupted things.

Yeh Storm have/had a Frenchmen in support staff somewhere from memory hence the link previously with a few juniors. Add them to the list.

[langpark]

36 minutes ago, Jim from Oz said:

I thought Avignon would be on that list??!!

Oh wow,.I missed that completely! 

[langpark]

24 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

No Calais, no Dunkerque?

You mean, I might have to *travel*?

Nothing to do with travel mate. These are potentially key cities for RL in France with an actual presence and history. I would have thought it would be a more fruitful exercise targeting those cities and building on the foundations that are already in place. But if it is a case of highest bidder wins, then what can I say. 

[Eddie]

8 hours ago, langpark said:

I was hoping to see Lyon, Montpellier and Toulon on the list.  And does anyone know which is the town up in the north-west?  I was kind of hoping it would be Nantes, seeing as they have a team, but I do not seem them listed.

Vichy on the list - how droll.

[Eddie]

11 minutes ago, langpark said:

Nothing to do with travel mate. These are potentially key cities for RL in France with an actual presence and history. I would have thought it would be a more fruitful exercise targeting those cities and building on the foundations that are already in place. But if it is a case of highest bidder wins, then what can I say. 

Are there already teams in Calais and Dunkerque then? 
 

By the way just because Nantes and Lyon aren’t on the list by name the stadiums may be in difference suburb municipalities so listed under a different name, though I don’t know either City to say if that is the case or not from the list, there’s a few places I’ve never heard of. 

[The Hallucinating Goose]

12 minutes ago, langpark said:

Nothing to do with travel mate. These are potentially key cities for RL in France with an actual presence and history. I would have thought it would be a more fruitful exercise targeting those cities and building on the foundations that are already in place. But if it is a case of highest bidder wins, then what can I say. 

To be fair, that map you posted does say already committed  which suggests there may be more places putting their name in the hat at a later date and it lists 38 places not 40 even though they have been very clear about it being across 40 towns and cities which is a second clue for if not being a complete list. We'll just have to wait and see. 

[theswanmcr]

Spent an hour yesterday googling all those potential host towns and cities - really exciting and fantastic that interest is right across France.

Yeah disappointing that no Lyon, Marseille etc on that list - and the emphasis is being put on towns rather than cities - but after that launch with the PM and widespread coverage then regional/city leaders may now want to get involved.

[Eddie]

2 minutes ago, theswanmcr said:

Spent an hour yesterday googling all those potential host towns and cities - really exciting and fantastic that interest is right across France.

Yeah disappointing that no Lyon, Marseille etc on that list - and the emphasis is being put on towns rather than cities - but after that launch with the PM and widespread coverage then regional/city leaders may now want to get involved.

I hadn’t spotted Marseille, I assumed the final would be in the Velodrome  

[theswanmcr]

7 minutes ago, Eddie said:

I hadn’t spotted Marseille, I assumed the final would be in the Velodrome  

Looking like Nice, Toulouse or Paris (also but unlikely Bordeaux) for the final at the minute. Could all change though!

[Damien]

1 hour ago, Jim from Oz said:

I thought Avignon would be on that list??!!

Good spot. That's a noticeable omission based on their past crowds. Hopefully they will put in a bid.

[The Hallucinating Goose]

Paris - Parc des Princes - 48,583

           - Stade Sebastian Charlety - 20,000

           - Stade Jean Bouin - 20,000

           - Accor Arena (arena) - 15,500

Bordeaux - Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux - 42,115

Nice - Allianz Riviera - 36,178

Toulouse - Stadium Municipal - 33,150

                   - Stade Ernest Wallon - 19,500

Le Mans - MMArena - 25,064

Perpignan - Stade Aime Giral - 14,593

                    - Stade Gilbert Brutus - 13,000

Albi - Stadium Municipal d'Albi - 13,000

Montauban - Stade Sapiac - 12,600

Lourdes - Stade Antoine-Beguere - 12,000

Narbonne - Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié - 12,000

Besancon - Léo-Lagrange Stadium - 11,500

Martigues - Stade Francis Turcan - 11,500

                    - Palais des Sports (arena) - 4,000

Beauvais - Stade Pierre Brisson - 10,000

Begles - Stade Andre Moga - 10,000

Carcassonne - Stade Albert Domec - 10,000

Perigueux - Stade Francis-Rongiéras - 10,000

Limoges - Stade municipal de Beaublanc - 9,872

                 - Palais des Sports de Beaublanc (arena) - 6,500

Vannes - Stade de la Rabine - 9,500

Libourne - Stade Jean-Antoine Moueix - 8,500

Boulazac - Le Palio (arena) - 5,200 

Roanne - Halle André Vacheresse (arena) - 5,020

Limoux - Stade de l'Aguille - 5,000

Villeneuve-sur-Lot - Stade Max Rousie - 5,000

Vichy - Stade Louis Darragon - 4,900

Chambery - Le Phare (arena) - 4,500

                    - Stade Municipal - 3,500

Pia - Stade Daniel Ambert - 4,500

Blagnac - Stade Ernest-Angeles - 4,000

Massy - Stade Jules-Ladoumègue - 3,200

Montlucon - Stade Dunlop - 3,200

Trelissac - Stade Firmin Daudou - 3,000

Arras - Stade Degouve-Brabant - 2,800

Villefranche-de-Rouergue - Stade Henri Lagarde - 2,700

Marmande-Tonneins - Stade Michelon - 1,700

Autun - Stade Saint Roch -

Biganos - Stade de la Verrerie - 

Issoire - Complexe sportif Jacques-Lavédrine - 

Le Creusot - Stade Montporcher - 

Salon-de-Provence - Stade Marcel Roustan - 

Chatillon - 

----------------

I was bored, I decided to look up every single place on the list and try to find the biggest stadiums in those places. I might have missed some stadiums cos if I couldn't immediately find a stadium with a quick search I looked up local football clubs but that doesn't mean there might not be yawnion clubs in some of these places that I didn't come across.

Also the ones listed at the bottom I couldn't find capacities for which suggests they are probably just fields with a tiny stand or something. I guess these places are the places looking more at being training bases, along with some of the other very small stadiums. I couldn't even find a stadium in Chatillon. 

It struck me that masses of these places are small towns of only 20,000 or so people with very little sporting presence. Not many of them are suburbs of larger cities. 

You'll notice as well, I've listed arenas I came across during my search in the main list due to some of these places having both a stadium and arena, though you will see a couple of the places have arenas only. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by The Hallucinating Goose

[Davo5]

Can’t wait,a month travelling around France watching RL could be the perfect start to retirement,just need to convince the ball & chain.

Hopefully Roanne gets a game & I can go back 43 yrs after playing there.

[Exiled Wiganer]

2 minutes ago, Davo5 said:

Can’t wait,a month travelling around France watching RL could be the perfect start to retirement,just need to convince the ball & chain.

Hopefully Roanne gets a game & I can go back 43 yrs after playing there.

Sounds great. They will have probably repaired the club house by then from the damage you caused last time.

[Heritage XIII]

Anybody know how much the French govt have chipped in?

[Davo5]

19 minutes ago, Exiled Wiganer said:

Sounds great. They will have probably repaired the club house by then from the damage you caused last time.

Just some minor repairs needed,we were U16s,they limited us to 10 pints !!

[Yakstorm]

21 minutes ago, The Hallucinating Goose said:

Paris - Parc des Princes - 48,583

           - Stade Sebastian Charlety - 20,000

           - Stade Jean Bouin - 20,000

           - Accor Arena (arena) - 15,500

Bordeaux - Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux - 42,115

Nice - Allianz Riviera - 36,178

Toulouse - Stadium Municipal - 33,150

                   - Stade Ernest Wallon - 19,500

Le Mans - MMArena - 25,064

Perpignan - Stade Aime Giral - 14,593

                    - Stade Gilbert Brutus - 13,000

Albi - Stadium Municipal d'Albi - 13,000

Montauban - Stade Sapiac - 12,600

Lourdes - Stade Antoine-Beguere - 12,000

Narbonne - Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié - 12,000

Besancon - Léo-Lagrange Stadium - 11,500

Martigues - Stade Francis Turcan - 11,500

                    - Palais des Sports (arena) - 4,000

Beauvais - Stade Pierre Brisson - 10,000

Begles - Stade Andre Moga - 10,000

Carcassonne - Stade Albert Domec - 10,000

Perigueux - Stade Francis-Rongiéras - 10,000

Limoges - Stade municipal de Beaublanc - 9,872

                 - Palais des Sports de Beaublanc (arena) - 6,500

Vannes - Stade de la Rabine - 9,500

Libourne - Stade Jean-Antoine Moueix - 8,500

Boulazac - Le Palio (arena) - 5,200 

Roanne - Halle André Vacheresse (arena) - 5,020

Limoux - Stade de l'Aguille - 5,000

Villeneuve-sur-Lot - Stade Max Rousie - 5,000

Vichy - Stade Louis Darragon - 4,900

Chambery - Le Phare (arena) - 4,500

                    - Stade Municipal - 3,500

Pia - Stade Daniel Ambert - 4,500

Blagnac - Stade Ernest-Angeles - 4,000

Massy - Stade Jules-Ladoumègue - 3,200

Montlucon - Stade Dunlop - 3,200

Trelissac - Stade Firmin Daudou - 3,000

Arras - Stade Degouve-Brabant - 2,800

Villefranche-de-Rouergue - Stade Henri Lagarde - 2,700

Marmande-Tonneins - Stade Michelon - 1,700

Autun - Stade Saint Roch -

Biganos - Stade de la Verrerie - 

Issoire - Complexe sportif Jacques-Lavédrine - 

Le Creusot - Stade Montporcher - 

Salon-de-Provence - Stade Marcel Roustan - 

Chatillon - 

----------------

I was bored, I decided to look up every single place on the list and try to find the biggest stadiums in those places. I might have missed some stadiums cos if I couldn't immediately find a stadium with a quick search I looked up local football clubs but that doesn't mean there might not be yawnion clubs in some of these places that I didn't come across.

Also the ones listed at the bottom I couldn't find capacities for which suggests they are probably just fields with a tiny stand or something. I guess these places are the places looking more at being training bases, along with some of the other very small stadiums. I couldn't even find a stadium in Chatillon. 

It struck me that masses of these places are small towns of only 20,000 or so people with very little sporting presence. Not many of them are suburbs of larger cities. 

You'll notice as well, I've listed arenas I came across during my search in the main list due to some of these places having both a stadium and arena, though you will see a couple of the places have arenas only. 

Thanks for sharing.  You'd hope for the Men's matches that none will be played in any venues smaller than 10K (preferably closer to 20K+) with the smaller venues predominantly used for the Youth tournament and some of the smaller Women's matches.

I wonder if there has been a push by the French Government for the RLWC to have some matches in towns / regions that have missed out on the Union World Cup, previous Euros and the Olympics? Whilst of course the preference would be to improve our presence in the cities of France, I think we'd all agree we're happy just to see French RL expand its footprint. 

[ATLANTISMAN]

This is the initial list many more places to come:)

 

Paul

[The Hallucinating Goose]

21 minutes ago, Yakstorm said:

Thanks for sharing.  You'd hope for the Men's matches that none will be played in any venues smaller than 10K (preferably closer to 20K+) with the smaller venues predominantly used for the Youth tournament and some of the smaller Women's matches.

I wonder if there has been a push by the French Government for the RLWC to have some matches in towns / regions that have missed out on the Union World Cup, previous Euros and the Olympics? Whilst of course the preference would be to improve our presence in the cities of France, I think we'd all agree we're happy just to see French RL expand its footprint. 

Yeah I was thinking same as you that they are wanting to take games to smaller places that aren't involved in any of the other international events. Plus taking games to smaller places might actually get them more exposure in the local area. If said areas never get international events, having one will probably capture the imagination of the public more, as opposed to yet another international event in one of the bigger cities where people might not even take notice. 

There's 16 places on that list with 10k+ stadiums which would be enough for the men's world cup (3 of those places having more than 1 10k+ stadium as well) and as we've established, it doesn't appear to be a complete or finalised list so there could be more added. I think I'd like to see a couple more 20k+ grounds and I really want the final at the Velodrome but whatever they decide I'll be happy. Just very happy the world cup is in France and only in 3 years!