Super article sur l'UTC

[ROMU]

UTC READY FOR CUP TRIP
Runaway French Championship leaders Union Treiziste Catalane (UTC) will be checking their passports, air tickets and long studs before they leave for their Powergen Challenge Cup third-round tie with Gateshead Thunder this weekend.

UTC, who will change their name to Perpignan when they enter the engage Super League next season, are leaving nothing to chance as they aim for a place in the last 32 for the second successive year.

They will fly directly into Newcastle on Friday, leaving themselves plenty of time to prepare for Sunday's tie with Gateshead at the International Stadium.

The Frenchmen, who beat Hull KR in the third round last year before going down 32-20 to Super League club Castleford, are expected to get past the National League Two club without too much difficulty.

But experienced English coach Steve Deakin is warning his players they will be up against alien conditions as well as little-known opponents.

In particular, he expects them to encounter heavy going at the Thunderdome, where both Gateshead's scheduled home matches this year have been postponed because of a waterlogged pitch.

"When Castleford drew us last year people could have thought it was going to be a formality but, if you take the first 16 minutes out of that game, we won it," he said.

"There are too many things we can't control. We've got to come to terms with an English interpretation of the rules and the weather, which is completely different to what we are used to.

"Although it can be cold here, we don't get wet, dank winters which you get in England, so we play on pitches which are firm and fast tracks.

"We have had our players playing in moulded boots most of the year and we can train in trainers, whereas in England you've got to train in long studs.

"We have ordered long studs and we want them to have them for our last training session before we leave on Friday. We'll be kit-checking to make sure everybody has got them.

"There will be completely different playing conditions but, having said that, good teams and good players can overcome those types of things and I'd like to think we are a good team with some good players."

UTC, who have a 100% record in the league, warmed up for Sunday's tie with a 66-0 rout of Villefrance-Cahors in the French Cup and they are close to full strength.

They will be without former St Helens and London Broncos winger Steve Hall, centre Teddy Saddoui and second rower Jacques Paccuil through injury but are able to boast the likes of international half-backs Julien Rinaldi and Laurent Frayssinous and seasoned Australians Chris Beattie and Sean Rudder.

"We've a smaller squad than last year so we've not been in a position to rest people but this is our second season as a full-time club and we think we are travelling okay," said Deakin.

"I think the results have shown that we are making progress from last year. I am confident we are a stronger team.

"But the more games you win, you just get a game closer to an eventual defeat because it does come to everybody sooner or later."

In other Anglo-French third-round ties on Sunday, St Gaudens go to Batley, London Skolars entertain Pia and Toulouse to go Blackpool, while Russian representatives Locomotiv Moscow and Strela Kazan visit Swinton and Keighley respectively.

Meanwhile, former Great Britain coach David Waite arrived in Perpignan on Wednesday to take up his new role with the club.

The Rugby Football League's performance director is to spend the next two years with UTC, helping put structures in place as they make the step up to Super League, although he is retaining a consultancy role with the English League.

Waite will be virtually full time in France and Deakin believes the input from the experienced Australian will have an enormous benefit.

"Anybody of the quality of David Waite would help any club," he said.

"I'm helping to try and structure the club as well coach the first team, which is a difficult job when we've got the pressure we have this year.

"He has a lot of experience of putting structures in place, so it will certainly help me."

[Guillaume]

et en français ça fais quoi
ou en catalan