Paris (AFP)

A resumption behind closed doors, a drastic protocol and five consecutive matches in England, which they must rally with their own funds: the Catalan Dragons, last foreign team of the Super League, the English rugby league, are fighting alone for survive the health crisis.

"We are happy to resume even if it was not easy", summarizes the captain Rémi Casty. It is certain, the pillar and the star Israel Folau will make some jealous in France and even in Europe: Sunday against St Helens, the defending champion, their team will be the first to find a rugby competition, all disciplines combined ( VII, XIII, XV), five months after the sudden interruption of professional sport by the pandemic.

It will be in Leeds, without an audience, on a neutral ground chosen by the English League (RFL) and with a very strict protocol which must allow players to stay in their "red bubble", according to the color code in force, it is that is to say to avoid any contact with a person outside their club.

- From Ryanair to private jet -

The Dragons, who usually fly from Barcelona via low-cost airlines, must therefore switch from Ryanair to a private jet and make the round trip during the day to lessen the added trip. Which will still cost 30-50,000 euros at least, or "between 5 and 10 times more expensive than a classic trip", according to the communications manager Yannick Rey.

But the Perpignan team is not complaining: it could just as easily have never left. And thus imitate the Toronto Wolfpack, the other foreign club in this English championship, which threw in the towel by evoking "crushing financial challenges".

"Things have really evolved because we no longer have quarantine when we go to England", explains Yannick Rey. But it is above all the authorization to play again in early September at the Gilbert-Brutus stadium, while the English clubs must play until October behind closed doors and on neutral ground, which allows the Dragons to hold out.

On a pre-crisis budget of 12 million euros, private sponsorship weighs almost half (5 million). The 5,000 subscribers (1 million) and the 400 partner companies are vital for the economic balance of the club chaired by Bernard Guasch, a meat wholesaler. "If we played behind closed doors, it was synonymous with the end of the season like Toronto," said Yannick Rey.

Even substantial, TV rights (2.5 million) are not everything, especially at a time when the weakness of the pound against the euro penalizes the Dragons. The RFL did get 16 million pounds of aid from London, but only the English clubs benefited. The Dragons had to be satisfied with the partial unemployment offered by the French government.

- "Very isolated" -

"Alone, that's the right word. We feel very isolated," agrees manager Alex Chan, who has a bit of a grudge against the RFL. "Even on the administrative work concerning the protocols, we had to do more because we are a French club", plague this New Zealander, former player of the club. "They told us it was our job to translate everything."

Having started well at the start of the season (3 wins for 1 loss), reinforced by the controversial Folau, the Dragons must now negotiate the restart under extraordinary conditions and a tight schedule - 15 regular phase matches in 3 and a half months - which raises concerns for the health of the players.

The final phase is at the following price: limit the breakage after 5 consecutive trips in order to tackle the home stretch in a strong position, with 7 home matches between September and November. At the end of the marathon, the semi-finals ... if the Super League comes to an end.

Because the English "have taken extremely thorough measures" to fight against the spread of Covid-19, fears Yannick Rey. "If a player contracts the virus, it is the end of the championship again." Who could deal a fatal blow to the Catalan Dragons.

© 2020 AFP