French round-up: Pelissier open to Super League move, bonus points for clubs with U19s teams & young half-back trains with Catalans

James Gordon

Photo courtesy of Richard Long

All the latest from across the Channel, in partnership with TreizeMondial.fr.

Pelissier open to Super League move

France international hooker Eloi Pelissier says he is staying in shape in case the opportunity to return to Super League this year arises. Pelissier, 29, has spent the past three seasons with London Broncos and is on contract until the end of 2021, but with the Broncos not in action now until 2021, he is open to a possible temporary move elsewhere. He told L’Independant: “I owe it to myself to keep in shape. I go to the gym in Claira four times a week and go for a regular run on the stadiums with friends who like to do races, or on my own. If it goes like in NRL, there are going to be injuries and I have to be ready if an opportunity arises. If a club needs a hooker fast, I need to be able to be up and running. Mentally, I am surrounded by good family and I use all the right signals to increase the intensity of the sessions a little more each day.”

Bonus points for clubs with junior and women’s teams

The French Federation has confirmed an innovative, if unusual, bonus point system for next season. Clubs in the French Elite 1 Championship will receive an additional two points to their season tally if they have a junior (U19s) and/or a women’s team complete the season. In Elite 2 Championship, two points will be on offer for those with a junior side. The move is aimed to encourage the development of rugby league in France. The points system in France sees teams earn three points for a win.

Young half-back trains with Catalans

Young Limoux half-back Cesar Rouge has been training with Catalans Dragons. Rouge, 17, spent time with Melbourne Storm earlier this year and took up an invitation to train with the Dragons for a fortnight. He plans to go Down Under to join Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Queensland Cup from November.

More fixtures revealed

The fixture list is now known for the entire French rugby league system, after the National, Federal and Women’s calendars were announced. We published the French Elite 1 and Elite 2 Championship fixtures last week, with the season due to start at the end of October. In the National Division, there are three pools – two of six teams and one of seven – as opposed to the usual two. The Federal divisions will be split in to five pools – three of five teams and two of four teams – leading up to a play-off format in May/June. Five teams play in Elite 1 and Elite 2 of the Women’s game, with a further eight teams split across two pools in the Women’s DN third tier.

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