The 2023–24 Coupe de France Lord Derby was the 83rd edition of the Coupe de France Lord Derby, the premier rugby league knockout competition in France. It began over the weekend of 16–17 December 2023 and ended with the final at the Stade Gilbert Brutus on 27 April 2024.
The defending champions were AS Carcassonne who defeated Albi RL XIII in the 2022–23 final to win the cup for the 16th time. In the 2023–24 competition, they retained the title by winning 22–6 against FC Lézignan XIII in the final.
Background The 83rd edition of the Coupe de France Lord Derby, started on 16 December 2023 and concluded with the final on 27 April 2024. Entry was limited to teams in the top two divisions, Elite 1 (10 teams) and Elite 2 (9 teams). Six teams from Elite 2 took part in a play-off round and the three winners advanced to the round of 16 where they were joined by the 13 teams who entered the competition at this stage.
Format and dates + Lord Derby French Cup competition format Round Date Clubs involved this round Winners from previous round New entries this round Leagues entering at this round Play-off round 16–17 December 6 6 6 teams from Elite 2 Round of 16 6–7 January 16 3 13 3 teams from Elite 2 and all 10 teams from Elite 1 Quarter-finals 9–10 March 8 8 colspan=2 rowspan=3 Semi-finals 7 April 4 4 Final 27 April 2 2
Play-off round On 29 October 2023, the draws for the play-off round and the round of 16 were made in Carcassonne. Ties were played over the weekend of 16–17 December.
+ Round 1 fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeReport Villefranche XIII Aveyron 52–4 RC Carpentras XIII 16 December, 15:00 Stade Henri Lagarde M. Vincent Report Palau XIII Broncos 12–32 Villegailhenc-Aragon XIII 17 December, 15:00 Stade Georges Vaills M. Crespo Report Ille-sur-Têt XIII 64–10 Tonneins XIII 17 December, 15:00 Stade Jean Galia Mickaël Lannes Report Source:
Round of 16 Ties were played over the weekend of 6–7 January.
+ Round 2 fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeReport US Entraigues XIII 6–54 XIII Limouxin 6 January, 15:00 Stade Georges Mauro Report Villegailhenc-Aragon XIII 18–34 Albi RL XIII 6 January, 15:00 Stade Jerome Rieux M. Lannes Report RC Salon XIII 0–82 SO Avignon 7 January, 15:00 Stade Marcel Roustan Report Lescure-Arthes 14–16 Villeneuve XIII RLLG 7 January, 15:00 Stade Jean Vidal Report AS Carcassonne 52–0 Baroudeurs de Pia XIII 7 January, 15:00 Stade Albert Domec Report Toulouse Olympique Broncos 30–34 Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 7 January, 15:00 Stade des Minimes Report Villefranche XIII Aveyron 30–34 Saint-Gaudens Bears 7 January, 15:00 Stade Henri Lagarde Fabien Nicaud Report Ille-sur-Têt XIII 0–24 FC Lézignan XIII 7 January, 15:00 Stade Jean Galia Report Source:
Quarter-finals The draw for the quarter-finals was made on 8 January. Ties were played on the weekend of 9–10 March.
+ Quarter-final fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeReport FC Lézignan XIII 9–8 Albi RL XIII 9 March, 15:00 Stade du Moulin M. Nicaud Report SO Avignon 16–8 Villeneuve XIII RLLG 9 March, 16:00 Parc des Sports Avignon M. Drizza Report AS Carcassonne 48–0 Saint-Gaudens Bears 9 March, 18:00 Stade Albert Domec M. Vincent Report Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 26–20 XIII Limouxin 10 March, 16:00 Stade Municipal Saint Esteve Stéphane Vincent Report
Semi-finals The draw for the semi-finals took place on 15 March. In September 2023, it was revealed that both semi-finals would be played in Marseille on the weekend of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the French Rugby League Federation.
+ Semi-final fixturesHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeReport AS Carcassonne 32–20 Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 7 April, 14:00 Stade Delort, Marseille Report SO Avignon 48–0 FC Lézignan XIII 7 April, 16:30 Stade Delort, Marseille Report
Final The final of the 2023–24 Coupe de France Lord Derby took place on 27 April at the Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan. The match, which was the middle game of a triple header, was preceded by the women's final and followed by the Luc Nitard final (under-19s). The finals of the U15 and U17 categories were played at the Stade Daniel Ambert, Pia, earlier in the day. Defending champions, AS Carcassonne, had won the cup 16 times and were seeking a third consecutive title having won the cup in 2018–19 and 2022–23 (for three seasons no finals were held due to COVID). Their opponents, FC Lézignan, had previously won the cup in the 2014–5 season.
+ FinalHomeScoreAwayMatch InformationDate and TimeVenueRefereeReport AS Carcassonne 22–6 FC Lézignan XIII 27 April, 15:00 Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan M. Drizza Report Teams AS Carcassonne: Escaré, A. Escamilla (c), V. Albert, Franck, Gambaro, Herrero, L. Albert, Boyer, Artiga, Proctor, Serulevu, Bouregba, Canet Interchanges: Dauliac, Malfaz, B. Escamilla, Drodrolagi Head coach: Frédéric Camel
FC Lézignan: F. Flove, J. Flovie, Marty, Martin, Gouzy, Monteil, O'Beirne, Mason, Hack, Perramond, Brocas, Vasuturaga, Ors (c) Interchanges: Cuellar, Albert, Mapapalangi, Reverdy Head coach: Alan Walsh
Source:
Broadcast matches + Broadcast matches Round Match Date Broadcast method Semi-finals Carcassonne vs Saint-Estève XIII Catalan 7 April 2024 Broadcast live on viàOccitanie and NA TV Avignon vs Lézignan Final Carcassonne vs Lézignan 27 April 2024 Broadcast live on Sport en France, NA TV and viàOccitanie
References