Flying the flag for France

Julien Rinaldi says the appearance of Catalans Dragons in Saturday's Challenge Cup final is having a massive impact on rugby league's appeal in France.

The game may be flourishing in and around Perpignan, where the Dragons are based, but he thinks it is also gaining wider appeal across the country thanks to the exploits of his former club.

"They are already popular in the south but now they have started getting on national television," said the former Catalans hooker.

"It was a huge thing for France when they beat Wigan in the semi-finals. But to win the Cup would open a lot more doors, to television and sponsors, and make the club even bigger. It would open up so many things."

The return of the Challenge Cup final to Wembley meant Saturday was always going to be a special day, regardless of which teams were in action.

But the way the Dragons sealed a meeting against defending champions St Helens, with a stunning win over Wigan, has sent interest into overdrive.

"When they got Wigan in the semi-final everyone thought that was mission impossible, but they produced a superb performance," said Rinaldi.

"I keep in touch with a few of the boys there and they said that when they got back to Perpignan there were lots of supporters to greet them at the airport."

Catalans have only been going for two seasons, which makes their achievement all the more remarkable.

And Rinaldi, who played for the Dragons in their debut Super League season last year before moving to Harlequins, admits he is shocked by the speed of their progress.

He puts the rapid rise down to the good work going on behind the scenes and some smart recruitment.

"This year they have really good overseas players while the French players are getting more professional and stronger," he said.

"One year's experience makes a lot of difference. They've got youngsters coming through and everything is getting a lot more professional. They know the nature of the competition better now."

Catalans finished bottom of Super League last season but escaped relegation because of their three-year exemption.

That means they can end up in 12th position again this year and avoid the drop.

But Rinaldi insists the club is not content with rummaging around near the foot of the table.

"They don't think about the fact they can avoid relegation even if they finish last, that's no motivation," he said.

"They want to show the English that they can compete in this competition."

Although they have only existed in their current guise since 2005, the history of the Dragons can be traced back to 1934.

Then they were known as Treize Catalans and were among the leading lights of the pre-war French rugby league championship.

For five seasons, the competition was hugely popular, but the sport was deliberately killed off by the Vichy regime following the German invasion of France.

In short, many collaborationists in positions of power were union men who were jealous of league's popularity and regarded it as a bastardisation of their own game.

Not only that, the Vichy regime was against professional sports like rugby league because it thought they had lost their educational value.

"What was done to rugby league was unprecedented," said Mike Rylance, who has written a book - The Forbidden Game - on the subject of French rugby league.

"The game was presented to the sports minister, tennis player Jean Borotra, as a professional version of union but with fewer players.

"Several of Borotra's colleagues supported the rugby union line, so he was happy to go along with them."

After the war, fans of rugby league did their best to re-establish their clubs, prompting the game to enjoy some kind of revival, but the damage had been done.

"There was a good deal of initial success, culminating in a 1951 tour of Australia, where France won two out of three Tests," said Rylance.

"But they were building on unstable foundations because their assets had been seized during the war."

Although Rylance is not quite as enthusiastic as Rinaldi when it comes to Saturday's game and its importance to rugby league in France, he says the presence of a French side at Wembley is a reward for everyone in the country who kept a candle burning for the sport over the years.

"It would be silly to say this is the springboard for widespread development of the game," he said.

"It's just one factor, but it would give tremendous impetus to what's going on in Perpignan.

"Rugby league people old and new are emboldened and given confidence by what a French club has managed to do.

"For the Dragons to have gone so far in only their second season is unparalleled."

Source: BBC Sport