Among all the traditions and fanfare that comes with the Challenge Cup final, it is typical of rugby league to argue that, no matter the result, history will be made at Wembley. Yet in the 117th edition of the sport’s most prestigious event on Saturday, one result could produce an impact quite unlike anything seen before.
Until now, the short history of Catalans Dragons has been fairly unspectacular – unlike rugby league in France on a wider scale. The sport was booming in the years before the second world war, before the rugby union authorities in France utilised a position of power within the Nazi government in the French region of Vichy to ban league across the entirety of the country.
It took years for French rugby league to recover. You could argue it never really did, from the era which produced some of the greatest players ever to play the game. Perpignan, and the south of France as a whole, has maintained a strong affinity and affection for league ever since the battle to make the sport legal again – best illustrated by the presence of two major strongholds of French rugby, XIII Catalans and Saint-Estève.
But when the decision was made to merge those two clubs before entry into the Super League in 2006, it represented the most significant point in French rugby league since it became legal. Catalans have flirted with success on occasions – just as they have with disaster – but when they face Warrington at Wembley it could be the culmination of a rugby league story unlike any other.
“Do not underestimate the enormity of this weekend,” said Steve McNamara, the former England coach who has guided Catalans to within 80 minutes of their first major trophy. “It would be brilliant for French rugby league – and I think it would draw serious headlines in England, too. For a French team to win an English competition in any sport, let alone ours? From where we were, that would be unbelievable.”
And where Catalans were, as McNamara points out, makes this story all the more remarkable. Twelve months ago McNamara inherited a Dragons side who were sleepwalking towards relegation from the Super League for the first time. They only survived via the Million Pound Game, when they defeated and relegated Leigh, but since then there has been a renaissance.
They have already secured Super League status for 2019, and three weeks ago stunned the league leaders St Helens in the cup semi‑finals to reach Wembley for only the second time. Catalans have received messages of support from all over the rugby league world – even the French president, Emmanuel Macron, sent a message of good luck.
Catalans reaching the final does mean a smaller final crowd than usual but, at a time when the sport is more serious about expansion than ever before, that short-term pain could make way for long-term gain and publicity if Catalans win the whole thing. Neutrals will wear Catalans shirts on Saturday as the French bug bites – and they will also be roared on by around 5,000 of their own fans in person, something of which McNamara is immensely proud.
“I don’t know how the working‑class people are able to get there this weekend,” he said. “They’re passionate, they’re loud and they are making a huge effort to be in London when the prices are, quite frankly, extortionate for the people of Perpignan.”
In their early years Catalans relied heavily on players from Australia and New Zealand, but McNamara has retained a French core to their side since his arrival – nine of the 17 who beat St Helens were French.
Leon Pryce, the former Great Britain half-back, was the first Englishman to play in Perpignan. He said: “It’s such a fantastic city that cares deeply about rugby league. Catalans winning the Challenge Cup would create headlines that the sport has never been able to achieve before. It could genuinely be a landmark moment for our sport – not just for French rugby.”
McNamara adds: “Can you imagine that trophy being in our hands, being able to take it around schools and communities for a year? What would that do for rugby league in France and as a whole?”
If all goes to plan, he and the people who fought tirelessly to keep French rugby league alive for generations may not have to dream about that scenario any longer.
