French Division I kicks off 2015 Campaign on Sunday

The French Division I is opening the 2015 season this Sunday. After more than a decade the Rouen Huskies are not entering the campaign as defending champion after the Templiers Senart dethroned the Huskies in the finals against Paris UC.

Eight teams take the field at the start of the regular season. In week one the Beaucaire Chevaliers host Rouen, Stade Toulousain takes on Paris UC, the Montpellier Barracudas square off against the French Cubs from Chartres and the Senart Templiers play against the Savigny Lions.

The Lions nearly didn’t receive clearance to play in the Division I due to problems with their field situation. However thanks to guarantees by the city government everything was solved for this year and they are back. Savigny however will start the season with four road games.

The regular season will be played from March 29 to August 16. Afterwards the teams in 1st and 2nd are directly qualified for the semi-finals, while the teams from 3rd to 6th play out the other two semifinalists. The champion will be known on the weekend of September 27. The Challenge de France, a league cup four-day tournament, will be played from May 14 to 17.