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Coupe de France Georges-Aillères

The Georges Aillères French Cup (French: Coupe de France Georges-Aillères) is a French rugby league tournament. It is the league cup competition for Elite 2 teams.[1]

Coupe de France Georges-Aillères
SportRugby league
Formerly known asChallenge Georges-Aillères
Instituted2012 (Invitational)
2016 (National)
Country France (FFR XIII)
HoldersRC Baho XIII (2018-19)
WebsiteGeorges Aillères Cup on FFR13.fr
Related competitionElite 2
Poster for the 2012 edition, showing host team Toulouse Broncos in their original colors.

History

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Early years

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Originally called Challenge Georges-Aillères, it started as an invitational preseason tournament hosted by Toulouse XIII Broncos at their home venue Stade Philippe-Struxiano.[2] It was named after retired player Georges Aillères, who played most of his career for Toulouse area rugby league and rugby union clubs.[1] The original format was a single-day round robin consisting of abridged 30-minute games.[2] Toulouse's two main teams, the home side Broncos (Elite 2) and the Olympique (Elite 1), were mainstays while the two remaining spots were filled on a year-to-year basis.[2] The Broncos won the 2012 edition, the earliest on record, losing to fellow Elite 2 members Lescure d'Albigeois, but beating both Elite 1 participants Toulouse Olympique and Limoux.[3] The 2013 edition was won by Lézignan.[4]

Hiatus

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In 2015, tournament hosts Toulouse Broncos were absorbed by the Toulouse Olympique organization and the event went dormant.[5] Instead, the preseason featured a "Friendship Trophy" game between Toulouse's newly merged team and Albi, with the proceeds going to Albi product and Toulouse Olympique player Yoann Didone, who had recently suffered grave injuries in a road accident.[6]

Relaunch

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In 2016, the French Rugby League Federation took over the tournament's name and relaunched it under an entirely different format. The new version serves as a secondary cup competition open to all Elite 2 teams, using full-length games and a more spread-out schedule akin to other league cups.[7] In 2019, the tournament was renamed Coupe de France Georges-Aillères, as part of a general strategy by the federation to brand its various cup competitions "Coupe de France", regardless of their level.[1]

In the French rugby league pyramid

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The Georges Aillères Cup is one of three minor French Cups offered for competition by the national federation, together with the Paul Dejean Cup (French: Coupe Paul-Dejean) for National Division clubs, and the Albert Falcou Cup (French: Coupe Albert-Falcou) for Federal Division clubs.[1] The country's major cup tournament is the Lord Derby Cup (French: Coupe Lord Derby), which is open to clubs from all divisions but typically dominated by Elite 1 teams.[1]

Finals

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List of finals
Year Winning team Score Losing team Ref.
2017 RC Baho XIII 33–29 Villefranche XIII Aveyron [8]
2018 Villegailhenc-Aragon XIII 20–17 Villefranche XIII Aveyron [9]
2019 RC Baho XIII 40–12 Baroudeurs de Pia XIII [10]
2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19[a]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Villefranche XIII Aveyron and Villegailhenc-Aragon XIII had qualified for the final at the time the competition was suspended[11][12][13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Ne m'appelez plus jamais Challenge…". ffr13.fr. Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "TO XIII : Rendez-vous avec le Challenge Georges Ailleres". toulouseblog.fr. Decanet. 14 September 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Les Broncos remportent le challenge Georges Ailleres". toulouse13broncos.overblog.com. Toulouse XIII Broncos. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Retour sur les matchs amicaux" (in French). FFRXIII. 18 September 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Toulouse Olympique Broncos – Le calendrier de la saison 2015/2016". to13.fr. Toulouse Olympique XIII. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Trophée de l'Amitié – De belles promesses malgré la défaite". to13.fr. Toulouse Olympique XIII. 30 August 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Un Challenge Georges Aillères pour l'Élite 2". ladepeche.fr. Groupe La Dépêche du Midi. 19 June 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Trois Coupes aux couleurs sang et or". FFRXIII. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Pelo et Anderson offrent à Villegailhenc le Challenge Georges Aillères". FFRXIII. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Baho dominates Pia and wins the Coupe de France Georges Aillères". Treize Mondial. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Villefranche passes Carpentras and qualifies for the final". Treize Mondial. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  12. ^ "The VARL beats Entraigues and joins Villefranche in the finale". Treize Mondial. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  13. ^ "French rugby league championships suspended". Treize Mondial. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
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