CHAMPIONSHIP FOCUS
FRENCH FANCIES
GARETH WALKER looks back at a fleeting Rugby League tournament GARETH tournament
TWENTY-TWO years ago this week, one of British Rugby League’s most innovative yet typically short-lived innovations was reaching its conclusion.
On November 1, 1998, Villeneuve Leopards lifted the inaugural - and only - Treize Tournoi trophy by beating Lancashire Lynx in front of 10,283 fans at the Stade de Toulouse.
It was the culmination of a month of thrilling action between three clubs from England and their French counterparts.
The Division One Grand Finalists Wakefield Trinity and Featherstone Rovers joined the Preston-based Lynx, with Villeneuve representing France alongside St Estève (one half of what is now Catalans Dragons) and Limoux.