Peet Backs Stade Jean-bouin Paris Fixture For Wigan and Catalans
Wigan Warriors are taking a regular-round Super League fixture to stade jean-bouin in Paris this weekend against Catalans Dragons, with Matt Peet calling it an exciting, innovative occasion. The match is being linked to 20 years of Catalans in Super League and gives the competition a rare place on a major-city stage.
Peet Sees Paris Opportunity
Peet said the move gets rugby league “on the map in a capital city and one of the great cities in the world,” and added that the players are excited about it. He said the event will bring media attention and some excitement for fans from both clubs, while insisting Wigan will need to be very good to get the win.
“We're excited. It's a unique one and it's one we're going to embrace. The lads are buzzing at the moment and the energy in the club is great,” he said. That mood is part of the story here: Wigan are not just traveling for a league fixture, they are stepping into a setting built for a wider audience than a standard club ground.
Catalans At Stade Jean-bouin
The Stade Jean-Bouin sits next to the home of European football champions Paris St Germain, putting Super League in one of the city’s more recognisable sporting corridors. Peet said there is a genuine appetite for rugby league in that part of the world, and he pointed to Catalans bringing French players such as Laurent Frayssinous and Thomas Bosc into the competition, along with overseas names.
He also named Stacey Jones, Steve Menzies and James Maloney on the Catalans heritage board at the stadium, a reminder of how much of the club’s story has been built through players with broader international reach. British supporters, he said, have long enjoyed traveling over to Catalans, the sun and the club’s hospitality, and games between the sides have been competitive for the last 10 years.
Wigan Against Catalans
This meeting adds another chapter to a rivalry that already includes Catalans’ 38-30 win over Wigan in their first Super League game in 2006, the clubs’ meeting in the 2023 Grand Final and Catalans’ run to Old Trafford after cup success in 2018. Peet said those fixtures have helped build the sense that this matchup carries real weight whenever it comes around.
“I think there's a lot of good feelings, so it's more important that we tap into that and ride that wave, but we're under no illusions that we'll have to be very good to get the win in this game,” he said. For Wigan, the task is immediate: handle the occasion, handle Catalans and turn the Paris showcase into two points.
