Baroudeurs de Pia XIII

Baroudeurs de Pia XIII are a French Rugby league team based in Pia, Pyrénées-Orientales in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. SM Pia XIII was founded in 1960 and were national champions four times before they dropped out of the Elite 1 division after the 2012–13 season. Baroudeurs de Pia, who were formed in 1999, were a reserve team of SM Pia playing in the lower divisions and went dormant shortly after SM Pia had done so. When they were revived two years later they became the principal club in Pia. They play in the Super XIII the top level of rugby league in France. Home games are played at the Stade Daniel-Ambert.

Baroudeurs de Pia XIII

Club information
Full name	Baroudeurs de Pia XIII
Nickname(s)	Burros (donkeys)
Founded	1960; 65 years ago (1960)
Current details
Ground(s)	Stade Daniel-Ambert (4,500)
Coach	Thomas Valette
Competition	Super XIII
2024–25	4th
Uniforms
Home colours

History

Salanque Méditérranée Pia rugby XIII

SM Pia XIII was established in 1960, winning the Lord Derby Cup in 1975^[1] and the French Rugby League Championship in the 1994–95 season.^[2] The most successful period for SM Pia came in the 2000s when in the Elite 1 Championship and Lord Derby Cup they won consecutive league and cup doubles in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons^[2][3] The club won a third Elite 1 championship in the 2012–13 season before withdrawing from the league.^[4][5]

XIII Baroudeurs de Pia

Baroudeurs de Pia were formed in 1999^[6] and were the reserve side of Pia.^[7] In the 2003–04 season they reached their first league final in the National Division 1 but lost against Vedene XIII 6-42. The next two seasons they lost two more finals firstly against Salses XIII 20-36 and then to Villeneuve Tolosane 14–30. However, the 2005–06 season did bring some success when they won the Coupe Falcou to win their first trophy. 2006–07 brought relegation but the following season they registered a league and cup double. They beat RC Lescure-Arthes XIII 'A' in the league 30-6 and also lifted the Coupe Falcou for a second time.

Revival

Following a period of dormancy for the clubs in Pia, Baroudeurs de Pia restarted in the lower leagues and were promoted several times over the following seasons.^[8] They reached the National Division 2 final in the 2016-2017 season^[9] and moved up to the National Division 1 in the 2017–18 season.^[10] In 2018, Pia won the Coupe de France Paul-Dejean by defeating US Trentels XIII 26–22 in the final.^[11] In the 2018–19 season Pia returned to the Elite 2.^[12] In the 2021–22 season, Pia defeated RC Baho XIII 15–14 with a golden point in the Elite 2 final^[13] and moved up to the Elite 1 Championship.^[14]

Current Squad

Squad for 2024-25 Season

Pia Super XIII Squad
Fullbacks Amine Miloudi Wingers Francois Therezin Ilias Bergal Damien Huescar Corentin Briol Centres Alan Baby Theo Bonneriez Hakim Miloudi Standoffs (Five-eighths) Lenny Chachoua Halfbacks Erwan Mathe Valentin Zafra	Props Marc Pena Mathias Marty Nabil Roumli Julien Bernard Harrison Hansen Arnaud Bartes Omer Djalout Hadrien Domergue Ilai Tuia Hookers Alexis Meresta-Doucet Clement Meunier Alexandre Huescar Second rowers Baptiste Dubertrand Maxime Jobe Leo Laurent Locks (Loose forwards) Hamish Bentley David Pena

Honours

SM Pia

• French Championship / Elite 1 (4): 1994–95, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2012–13
• Lord Derby Cup (3): 1975, 2006, 2007

Baroudeurs de Pia

• National Division 2 (1): 2016–17
• Paul Dejean Cup (1): 2018
• Albert Falcou Cup (2): 2006, 2007