page_title: France national rugby league team
section_title: 1930s
hierarchical_section_title: France national rugby league team / History / 1930s
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Photo représentant la première sélection française de rugby à XIII prise en mars 1934 à l'occassion de la tournée des Pionniers en Angleterre. De gauche à droite&#160;: debout&#160;: Nouel, Fabre, Mathon, Duhau, Petit, Deschavannes, Porra, Carrère, Blanc&#160;; Assis&#160;: Cassagneau, Lambert, Vignal, Galia, Amila, Barbazangues, Samatan, Récaborde.
context_page_description: The France national rugby league team represent France in international rugby league matches. They are referred to as les Chanticleers or less commonly as les Tricolores. The team is run under the auspices of the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII.
  The French rugby league team first played in 1934 on a tour of England. They have taken part in all World Cups, twelve in total, with the first being held in 1954 in France. They have never won the title but finished runners-up in both 1954 and 1968. These are often considered the glory years of French rugby league as from the 1950s to the 1970s the team were strong and regularly beat Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain. Since those days, les Chanticleers have not done as well, not managing to win a single match in the 1995 World Cup, but doing slightly better in the 2000 World Cup with wins over Tonga and South Africa before losing to eventual finalists, New Zealand.
  In 2006, the Perpignan based team Catalans Dragons entered Super League, and have since produced a number of top-class French players. The team reached the quarter-finals of the 2013 World Cup where they were knocked out by England.
context_section_description: On New Year's Eve 1933, England and Australia played in Paris – the first game of rugby league football in France. The match was one-sided, with Australia winning 63-13 in front of a crowd of about 5,000, but the seed was sown. French rugby union players, disgruntled that France had been suspended from the Five Nations Championship, formed the "Ligue Francaise de Rugby à XIII" on 6 April 1934. Jean Galia, a former rugby union international and champion boxer, led France on a six-match tour of England in 1934 and they recorded their first win in Kingston upon Hull. The national team's first game was in Paris on 15 April 1934, losing 21-32 to England in front of a crowd of 20,000. By 1939, the French League had 225 clubs and the national side won the 1938–39 European Rugby League Championship where they became the first French team in any sport to beat England at home.
caption: The 1934 squad, captained by Jean Gallia (front row, fourth from left).
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