Elite One Championship 2022–2023


The 2022–23 Elite One Championship was the 88th season of France's domestic rugby league competition and the 22nd season known as the Elite 1 championship. The competition expanded back to ten teams following the promotion of Pia XIII from Elite 2 after winning the title in 2021–22.
Each team played 18 matches in the regular season. The top six teams progressed to a three-week final series played during April and May 2023.

Teams

TeamStadiumLocation
Albi RLStadium MazicouAlbi, Tarn
SO AvignonParc des Sports (Avignon)Avignon, Vaucluse
AS CarcassonneStade Albert DomecCarcassonne, Aude
FC LézignanStade du MoulinLézignan-Corbières, Aude
Limoux GrizzliesStade de l'AiguilleLimoux, Aude
Pia DonkeysStade Daniel-AmbertPia, Pyrénées-Orientales
Saint-Estève CatalanStade MunicipalPerpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales
Saint-Gaudens BearsStade Jules RibetSaint-Gaudens, Haute-Garonne
Toulouse Olympique BroncosStade des MinimesToulouse, Haute-Garonne
Villeneuve LeopardsStade Max RousieVilleneuve-sur-Lot, Lot-et-Garonne

Regular season

The regular season started on 2 October 2022 and ended on 14 April 2023. Each team was scheduled to play every other team twice, once at home and the other away making 18 games for each team and a total of 90 games.

Table and results

  • 3 points for a victory
  • 1 point bonus for the losing team if the margin is less than 12
  • If two teams have equal points then the separation factor is the point difference in head-to-head matches between the specific teams. If a team has a greater point difference they rank higher on the table. If still tied then overall points difference will be the tie-breaker.

Finals

At the end of the regular season, the top six in the table advanced to the knockout stage. First and second received a bye for the first week of finals as third played sixth and fourth played fifth, with the losers of both matches eliminated. Third-placed Lézignan and fourth-placed Albi advanced to the semi-finals with comfortable wins over Saint-Gaudens and Pia. First-placed Carcassonne then played the winner of Qualifying final 1 and second-placed Limoux then played the winner of Qualifying Final 2. Results went in favour of the higher ranked teams as Carcassonne won 26–16 and Limoux won 36–10. The winners of these two matches met in the Grand Final on 28 May at Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié in Narbonne. Carcassonne were the defending champions having defeated Limoux in the 2021–22 final. However, Limoux won 34–24 to reclaim the title they had last won in the 2016–17 season.