Villefranche XIII Aveyron
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| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Villefranche XIII Aveyron |
| Website | Website |
| Colours | Red & Blue |
| Founded | 1950 |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) |
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| CEO(s) |
 Jérôme Gasc, Sébastien Marty, Nicolas Alquier, Alain Reygasse |
| Coach |
Andrei Olari, Jean-François Rios |
| Captain(s) |
Bastien Dintilhac |
| Competition | Elite Two Championship |
| 2011/12 | 9th |
Villefranche XIII Aveyron are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in southern France that represents the sous-préfecture area of Aveyron and also the Villefranche-de-Rouergue commune. They currently play in the French rugby league championship, but to date have never won any major trophies in France collecting neither a Championship or a Lord Derby Cup.
The club was founded in 1950 under the name Villefranche XIII and originally played in the amateur and French lower divisions until 1985 when it was finally promoted to the French Championship. The following years saw the club relegated back to the lower leagues until it was finally promoted again in 1999 and has remained in the Championship ever since.
History
The club was originally formed in the early part of the 20th century under the name Villefranche and originally played rugby union for several years until several disagreements occurred between the club and the governing bodies in France. On January 8, 1950 the club held a meeting of its leaders and at the resolution decided to create a new club that would play the rival code of rugby league and so applied to the French Federation Rugby XIII, under the name of Villefranche XIII, with André Rotambourg as its president. This was decided after the town's rugby union club, Stade Villefranchois, had played Toulouse Cheminots Marengo Sports in a Pyrénées Division 2 game. The game ended in fighting and the club was suspended from all rugby union activity. It was this suspension that led the club's committee to switch to Rugby League with immediate effect. The club was accepted for the 1950 season and began at the lowest echelon of French rugby league.
On the field the club tasted immediate success and was promoted to the Federal division of France in 1952. In 1953 they lost the Division 2 final 10-13 against Arcachon. Four years later they reached their only Coupe Falcou final but lost to Facture After this initial success it would be a long time before the club would taste any more; it would take until 1962 for the club to be crowned Division 2 Champions, defeating La Reole 21-3 to gain promotion to the top division. They remained amongst the elite until 1976 when they were relegated. They immediately won promotion back to the elite, but their stay was short-lived, only one season.
The club finished top of the table in the French second division after the completion of the 1984 season and was promoted to the French rugby league championship. After high expectations for the clubs first year in the top flight in 1985 they performed dismally on the field and were eventually relegated the following year. In 1990 Le Barcares defeated Villefranche 12-6 in the Elite 2 final to deny the club promotion. The feat was achieved in 1992 when they beat Limoux 12-6 to regain their place in the top echelon. They were relegated after only twelve months and had to wait six years to return, courtesy of a 38-18 win over Saint Cyprien in 1999 and be promoted from the French second division where once they gained promotion changed the name of the club to Villefranche XIII Aveyron and gave the club the nickname the Wolves.
Financial problems off the pitch almost led to the club's demise and in 2004 it forced a merger with Cahors XIII. In 2008, the club cancelled its merger with "Cahors XIII".
Crest
The Villefranche XIII Aveyron clubs crest of the wolf was most likely selected because of the Cévennes National Park a local tourist attraction in Aveyron where wolves are sometimes seen, although numbers have decreased greatly over the years. There is also a local folklore story about a Beast of Gevaudan that would reside in and around the local areas, with many tales describing the beast as a large wolf or wolf-like creature.
Current squad
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Honours
- Elite Two Championship
- Winners - 1992, 1999
- Runners Up - 1990
- National Division 1
- French National 2
- Winners - 1988 (as Cahors XIII)
Club details
- Presidents: Jerome Gasc, Sébastien Marty, Nicolas Alquier, Alain Reygasse
- Club Address: Villefranche XIII-Aveyron, BP 267, 12200 Villefranche de Rouergue
- Tel/Fax: 05 65 45 27 82
- Contacts: Nicolas Alquier (06 88 30 58 63) - Jerome Gasc (06 80 35 21 42)
- Email: villefranche13@orange.fr
External links
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