The Lord Derby Cup (French: Trophée Lord Derby), also known as French Rugby à XIII Cup, is the premier knock-out competition for the sport of rugby league football in France. It is open to all French rugby league clubs.
It was first contested in 1934, the same season as the French Rugby League Championship first got under way. The first winner of the cup was US Lyon Villeurbanne on 5 May 1935 in Toulouse.
The Lord Derby Trophy was offered by Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby on May 1935 to the winner of the game played between Castleford, the winners of English Rugby League Challenge Cup, and US Lyon Villeurbanne. Edward George Villiers Stanley was the honorary president of the Rugby Football League, a politician and had also previously served as the British ambassador in Paris. The match took place on 12 May 1935, in Paris; US Lyon Villeurbanne won it and were awarded the Trophy.
Some months after, to symbolize the English-French rugby league Entente Cordiale, US Lyon Villeurbanne handed over the trophy to the Ligue Française de Rugby à XIII. At the French rugby league cup final on 19 April 1936, Côte Basque were awarded the Lord Derby Trophy and it has been competed for ever since.
Read more about Lord Derby Cup: List of Champions, Books
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