Despite competition from France-Italy in the Rugby League World Cup, their Gilbert-Brutus stadium should be full or almost full to push them towards the second final in their history in the legendary den of Manchester United footballers.
The first, in 2021, had narrowly escaped them against the same St Helens team (12-10), a monument of the discipline, and the Catalans dream even bigger.
“The work is not finished. Our season will only be successful if we win the final. We don’t want anything else,” assumed their coach Steve McNamara after finishing the regular phase in second place behind Wigan.
Born in 2005 from the merger of two emblematic clubs, the Catalan XIII and AS Saint-Estève, the franchise based in Perpignan has long demonstrated irregularity after joining the prestigious Super League the following year.
But Benjamin Garcia’s teammates, winners of the Challenge Cup in 2018, have asserted themselves in recent years as one of the sure values of the English championship, of which they are this season the only foreign representatives.
“We finished in the top 4 (of the regular phase) in the last four seasons, including two top 2,” recalled McNamara. “This is how we see that the club is entering another dimension, by gaining consistency.”
In order to confirm this rise in power, the “Dracs” will have to find a way to finally gain the upper hand over the Saints, who have already knocked them down twice in the last four (2014 and 2020) in addition to the final of ’two years ago.
They will be able to build on their two successes this season against the most successful club in the history of the Super League, in Perpignan in the spring (24-12) and in England in July (14-12).
St Helens has since remained on ten consecutive victories. A series that the Catalans will be keen to break to offer their star Sam Tomkins the exit he deserves, at Old Trafford, before putting an end to his immense career.