The 2017–18 Coupe de France Lord Derby was the 80th edition of the Coupe de France Lord Derby, the premier rugby league knockout competition in France. It began on 4 November 2017 and ended with the final at the Stade Gilbert Brutus on 10 June 2018.

The defending champions were AS Carcassonne who defeated FC Lézignan XIII in the 2016–17 final. In the 2017–18 competition, Carcassonne were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Lézignan who then lost in the semi-final to eventual champions Saint-Estève XIII Catalan who defeated XIII Limouxin 26–30 in the final.

Background The 80th edition of the Coupe de France Lord Derby, started on 4 November 2017 and concluded with the final on 10 June 2018.

The 60 teams taking part were from Elite 1 (10 teams), Elite 2 (10 teams), and the National and Federal divisions (40 teams). The majority of teams entered the competition in Round 2 and Elite 1 teams joined in Round 3. In matches between teams from different divisions, the venue was the stadium of the team from the lower division.

Format and dates + Lord Derby French Cup competition format Round Date Clubs involved this round Winners from previous round New entries this round Leagues entering at this round Round 1 4–5 November 12 12 12 National/Federal Division teams Round 2 16–17 December 44 6 38 All 10 teams from Elite 2 and 28 National/Federal Division teams Round 3 13–14 January 32 22 10 All 10 teams from Elite 1 Round 4 17–18 February 16 16 colspan=2 rowspan=4 Quarter-finals 31 March – 2 April 8 8 Semi-finals 5 May 4 4 Final 10 June 2 2

Round 1 The draw for the Round 1 took place in October 2017. Ties was played over the weekend of 4–5 November.

+ Round 1 fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeReport Arles Moulès XIII 18–48 Montpellier Red Devils 5 November RC Caumont XIII 30–24 Saint-Martin XIII 5 November Plaisance du Touch XIII 12–10 RC Lescure-Arthes XIII (2nd) 5 November Villefranche XIII Aveyron (2nd) 18–14 Ramonville XIII 5 November Salses XIII 50–12 Realmont XIII 5 November St Laurent de la Cabrerisse 30–0 RC Salon XIII (2nd) 5 November Source:

Round 2 The draw for Round 2 was made in November. Ties were played over the weekend of 16–17 December. Because US Entraigues XIII (2nd) withdrew from competition, the last team in the draw, Tonneins XIII, were given a bye.

+ Round 2 fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeReport Saluzzo 0–70 US Entraigues XIII Saluzzo RC Carpentras XIII (2nd) 10–28 Le Barcarès XIII Laurentin M. Werel Cheval Blanc XIII 20–46 Sporting Treiziste Toulonnais Paris Châtillon XIII 20–36 Lyon Villeurbanne XIII Paris Plaisance du Touch XIII 6–40 RC Lescure-Arthes XIII Ecole du XIII St Pierrais 12–42 US Ferrals XIII Ille-sur-Têt XIII 48–8 Val de Dagne XIII Ille-sur-Têt Frédéric Cau Marseille XIII 24–50 RC Carpentras XIII Roger Couderc stadium, Marseille Cahors Lot XIII 6–52 US Pujols XIII Villegailhenc-Aragon XIII (2nd) 12–52 Baroudeurs de Pia XIII Villegailhenc Patrice Benausse Gratentour XIII 16–44 Villegailhenc-Aragon XIII St Laurent de la Cabrerisse 0–72 RC Baho XIII St Laurent M. Delarose Pomas XIII 50–14 Montpellier Red Devils M. Granjean Salses XIII 31–18 Villeneuve Minervois XIII Mickaël Lannes Report Villefranche XIII Aveyron (2nd) 46–6 Val d'Orbieu XIII RC Aspet XIII 10–38 US Trentels XIII Aspet Toulouges XIII Panthers 10–54 Villefranche XIII Aveyron Toulouges Arnaud Capsié Report RC Caumont XIII 48–11 Aussillon XIII AS Clairac XIII 0–30 La Réole XIII colspan=4 Pamiers XIII 0–30 RC Salon XIII colspan=4 Villefranche d'Albi XIII 30–0 Saint-Estève XIII (2nd) colspan=4 Tonneins XIII bye colspan=5 Source:

Round 3 The draw for Round 3 was made on 20 December. Ties were played over the weekend of 13–14 January.

+ Round 3 fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeReport AS Pomas XIII 19–33 US Ferrals XIII 13 January M. Delarose Lyon Villeurbanne XIII 4–38 AS Carcassonne 13 January M. Crespo RC Baho XIII 13–48 Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 13 January M. Vincent Villefranche d'Albi XIII 14–26 US Trentels XIII 14 January Sporting Treiziste Toulonnais 10–44 Toulouse Olympique Broncos 14 January Villefranche XIII Aveyron 20–28 FC Lézignan XIII 14 January M. Vergnes RC Caumont XIII 21–18 Le Barcarès XIII Laurentin 14 January US Entraigues XIII 14–46 XIII Limouxin 14 January Christophe Grandjean US Pujols XIII 6–32 Palau XIII Broncos 14 January Fabien Nicaud Ille-sur-Têt XIII 72–0 Villefranche XIII Aveyron (2nd) 14 January David Albafouille La Réole XIII 12–58 Villegailhenc-Aragon XIII 14 January M. Vincent Salses XIII 34–24 RC Lescure-Arthes XIII 14 January Robert Gallego Tonneins XIII 18–34 RC Salon XIII 14 January Baroudeurs de Pia XIII 4–59 Saint-Gaudens Bears 14 January Stade de la Basse Frédéric Cau RC Carpentras XIII 10–66 SO Avignon 14 January Stade de la Roseraie Benjamin Casty Report Albi RL XIII 44–6 Villeneuve XIII RLLG 14 January M. Drizza Report Source:

Round 4 The draw for Round 4 was made on 27 January. Ties were played over the weekend of 17–18 February.

+ Round of 16 fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeReport Villegailhenc-Aragon XIII 16–12 Saint-Gaudens Bears 17 February, 15:00 M. Crespo RC Salon XIII 36–60 Palau XIII Broncos 17 February, 17:30 M. Drizza Ille-sur-Têt XIII 9–54 Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 18 February, 15:00 M. Pereira Salses XIII 8–54 FC Lézignan XIII 18 February, 15:00 M. Lannes US Trentels XIII 14–54 Albi RL XIII 18 February, 15:00 M. Nicaud US Ferrals XIII 10–68 SO Avignon 18 February, 15:00 M. Vergnes AS Carcassonne 26–17 Toulouse Olympique Broncos 18 February, 15:00 M. Poumès RC Caumont XIII 4–70 XIII Limouxin 18 February, 15:00 M. Gallego Source:

Quarter-finals The draw for quarter-finals was made on 26 February. Ties were played over the weekend of 30 March to 2 April.

+ Quarter-final fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeReport Villegailhenc-Aragon XIII 20–28 Albi RL XIII 31 March Geoffrey Poumès Report AS Carcassonne 8–10 FC Lézignan XIII 31 March Cyril Vergnes Report XIII Limouxin 30–18 Palau XIII Broncos 1 April Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 50–12 SO Avignon 2 April Benjamin Casty Report Source:

Semi-finals The draw for semi-finals was made on 11 April. Ties were played on 5 May at the Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne.

+ Semi-final fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeReport Albi RL XIII 16–28 XIII Limouxin 5 May, 15:30 Stade Albert Domec Report Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 38–26 FC Lézignan XIII 5 May, 18:00 Stade Albert Domec Report

Final The final of the 2017–18 Coupe de France Lord Derby took place on 10 June at the Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan. The match was preceded by the final of the (under 19s) Luc Nitard Cup.

XIII Limouxin had won the competition twice before, in the 1995–96 and 2007–08 seasons. Since their last win they had reached the final several times, most recently in the 2015–16 competition in which they lost to Saint-Estève XIII Catalan. The 2016 final was the team's first win as Saint-Estève XIII Catalan, though the cup had been won three times in the early 2000s as Union Treiziste Catalane.

The score was level at 26–26 after 80 minutes. Saint-Estève XIII Catalan won the match 30–26 with a golden point try in extra time.

+ FinalHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeReport XIII Limouxin 26–30 Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 10 June, 17:00 Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan M. Poumes / M. Casty Report Source:

Teams XIII Limouxin: Th. Lasvenes, L. Franco, Mayans, Garrouste, R. Péault, Torreilles, Murcia, D. Pelo, S. Teixido, Herold, Puso, J. Edwards, Rouch Substitutes: Fl. Bousquet, Yesa, Bartuziak, Gonzalez-Trique Head coach:

Saint-Estève XIII Catalan: Jouffret, J. Nègre, Mat. Pala, Ambert, J. Flovie, Lu. Albert, Guasch, Th. Margalet, Meresta-Doucet, Belmas, B. Vergniol, Peez, Goudemand Substitutes: A. Da Costa, Bartès, Saloty, Séguier Head coach:

Source:

Broadcast matches + Broadcast matches Round Match Date Broadcast method Semi-finals XIII Limouxin v Albi 5 May 2018 Broadcast live on Radio Marseillette Lézignan vs Saint-Estève XIII Catalan Final XIII Limouxin v Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 10 June 2018 Broadcast live on FFRXIII TV Notes

References