The first rugby league match
played in France was held in
Paris on 31 December 1933, between England and Australia.Icy and snowy conditions did not deter a crowd of 5,000 turning out to see Australia win
63-13.The great Dave Brown, who later
joined Warrington
scored 27 points (3 tries and 9 goals).Warrington secretary Bob Anderton ran the line, and Jack
“Cod” Miller was selected for England,
the day after playing for Warrington against Halifax at Wilderspool,
however he was unable to play.Australia had beaten Wales 51-19 at Wembley also on 30
December.Both teams travelled overnight
by boat and train to Paris
for the match.
Villeneuve embarked on a tour of
England prior to the launch
of the first ever season of rugby league in France.Their first stop was Wilderspool on 8
September 1934 when they lost an entertaining game to Warrington 32-20, winger Jack Woods scoring 4
tries for the “Wirepullers”.
At the beginning of November
1947 Warrington travelled to France for the
first time.On 1 November they defeated Perpignan 30-5 and the following day beat French
Cup-holders Carcassonne
26-6.The tour helped build team spirit
and Warrington
finished the season as Champions for the first time.
In December 1949 Warrington went on a short tour to the south of France.On 10 December they won 6-3 over a South of
France XIII at Toulouse
and the following day beat Albi 16-8.New signing Ally Naughton made
his debut after being transferred from Widnes
for a then world record transfer fee of £4,600.
On 5 October 1950 French
champions Carcassonne visited Wilderspool on a
short tour of England.After losing two days earlier at St Helens
24-22, 15,000 people saw them lose 46-3 to Warrington.Albert Johnson and Ally Naughton both scored try hat-tricks, French
legend Puig-Aubert scored the Carcassonne
try.
At the end of the 1956/7 season Warrington embarked on
four match week long tour in the South of France.Bayonne were
beaten 18-6, there were defeats to Toulouse
(7-10) and Albi (16-36) before ending with a 28-9 victory over Villeneuve.Albi visited Wilderspool in September 1957
and were easily betean by Warrington
35-5.
Paris St Germain played in Super
League for the first two seasons.Warrington won all four
matches between the two sides.In 1996 Warrington won 48-24 at Wilderspool and 26-24 in Paris.The following year Warrington
won 37-34 at Wilderspool and 17-10 in Bayonne.
Warrington’s first and to date
only French born player was Jerome Guisset.Jerome was signed from Canberra Raiders for 5,000 Aus $, in January
2000.He played is first match in France against
his home town team St Esteve, on 29 January.Warrington
won the pre-season friendly 62-12, Jerome had his nose broken by his best
friend.He made
his first team debut on 13 February 2000 as a replacement, in a 46-4 win at
Hunslet Hawks in the 4th round of the Challenge Cup.Guisset played for Warrington for five seasons making 137
appearances including 74 as substitute and scoring 25 tries.
A Lee Briers hat-trick of tries,
playing at full-back, helped Warrington
to see off Villeneuve 32-0 in the 2001 Challenge Cup quarter final tie at
Wilderspool.
In June 2002 London Broncos took
their home game with Warrington “on the road” to
Carcassonne. The Broncos won 30-18 in temperatures reaching
40°C, with Ben Westwood and Nathan Wood making their Warrington
debuts following their move from Wakefield.
Catalans Dragons made their Super League debut in 2006.Their first visit to The Halliwell Jones
Stadium on 18 March 2006 ended in a 28-26 win, which was their first on English
soil.Warrington won the return at the Stade Aime Giral 44-16.In 2007 the matches ended in victories for
the home side.Warrington won 22-18 at The Halliwell Jones
Stadium and the Dragons won both matches at The Stade
Gilbert Brutus 27-16 and 24-22.
The Halliwell Jones Stadium was
the scene of Catalans Dragons greatest triumph when they defeated Wigan 37-24 in the 2007 Challenge Cup semi-final to reach
Wembley, with scrum-half Stacey Jones controlling the match.
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