Elite One Championship 2020–2021

The 2020–21 Elite One Championship will be the 86th season of France's domestic rugby league competition and the 20th season known as the Elite One championship. There are ten teams in the league. Each team plays 19 matches in the regular season. The top six teams progress to the finals series.

There are no draws. In case of an equal score, the rule of the "Golden point" is applied.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, games are played behind closed doors.

Some games are televised on the free to air TV regional channel Via Occitanie. Yet, as this channel is facing economic difficulties, the clubs tend to broadcast their home games via the social networks.

Ladder[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	AS Carcassonne	20	17	0	3	597	378	219	53
2	FC Lézignan	20	16	0	4	662	387	275	51
3	Saint-Estève Catalan	20	13	0	7	573	408	165	44
4	Limoux Grizzlies	19	12	0	7	530	348	182	41
5	SO Avignon	20	12	0	8	589	455	134	40
6	Villeneuve Leopards	19	11	0	8	497	448	49	35
7	Albi Tigers	18	4	0	14	366	549	-183	19
8	Palau Broncos	18	4	0	14	308	583	-275	17
9	Toulouse Olympique Broncos	18	3	0	15	376	585	-209	17
10	Saint-Gaudens Bears	18	3	0	15	297	654	-357	13

At the end of the preliminary phase, the top two clubs qualify for the semi-finals.

The other ones play the Playoffs. The third and fourth best-placed clubs host the Elimination finals.

Source:^[1]

Playoffs[]

Elimination-Finals				Semi-Finals				Grand Final
				AS Carcassonne	27
Limoux	22			SO Avignon	18
SO Avignon	24							AS Carcassonne	12
								FC Lézignan	16
				FC Lézignan	26
Saint-Estève Catalan	43			Saint-Estève Catalan	18
Villeneuve Leopards	24

All playoffs games are broadcast on YouTube.

Grand Final[]

FC Lézignan v AS Carcassonne

20 June 2021	FC Lézignan	12 – 16	AS Carcassonne	showStade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse
15:00 UTC+02:00 (CEST)		Report

Media[]

Television[]

Unlike, for instance, the BBC, France Television don't offer any program to the French public about Rugby League. This has been a real issue for the game. Explanations usually given are the low number of participants in France but also pressure which would be made by the Union authorities on the French Public Television Group.

In the early 2020s, some Elite 1 games are televised by a local channel ; this is a free-to-air channel in the South of France but they are also available on the internet and via the triple play internet devices. Therefore, they offer, indirectly, a nationwide coverage of the domestic championship.

Presently, French clubs have to fund the broadcast of their own games or to televise their own matches themselves via the social networks or Youtube.

Radio[]

Radio Marseillette, a local Southern radio, has rugby league debate and news every Saturday from 10:00 to 12:00. They also have commentary on some Elite League games.

Press[]

The French national mainstream media barely follow the game. Very occasionally, some articles about the sport are published in newspapers such as Le Monde, Le Figaro or the national Sport newspaper L'Équipe.

Nevertheless, there is undoubtedly a French specificity : the Weekly Rugby Union magazine Midi Olympique has a one-page section devoted to Rugby League. However, only two local newspapers genuinely cover the game ; L'Indépendant ( based in the South of France) and la Dépêche du Midi (based in the South west of the country).

The British Rugby League press cover this championship; for example magazines like Rugby Leaguer & League Express offer a weekly report of the games. In Australia, the monthly publication  [Fr] offer a few columns about the games as well.

See also[]

• Rugby league in France
• French Rugby League Championship
• Elite One Championship

References[]