USAP (L’Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais) was founded in 1902 and quickly became one of the great rugby clubs of the south of France.
Just twelve years later, on 3 May 1914, the club claimed its first French championship title in dramatic fashion. In the final against Tarbes, 19-year-old fly-half Aimé Giral converted a late try to secure an 8–7 victory for Perpignan. The young Giral instantly became a sporting hero in French Catalonia and soon went on to captain the team.
Aimé Henri Jean Giral
What nobody in the stadium could have known that spring afternoon was that the match would become one of the last great sporting occasions before Europe descended into war. Only weeks later, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the continent moved inexorably towards the outbreak of the First World War.
The war devastated French rugby. Like thousands of young men across France, many USAP players enlisted almost immediately. Within just 14 months of lifting the championship trophy, Aimé Giral was dead, killed in action alongside seven of his teammates.
The loss left a profound mark on both the club and the region. Rugby in the Pyrénées-Orientales has always been more than a sport — it is deeply tied to Catalan identity, local pride and community memory. In honour of the fallen captain and his teammates, USAP later named their stadium Stade Aimé Giral, ensuring that every match played there would also serve as a remembrance.
Today, the stadium remains one of the spiritual homes of French rugby league and union in the south, and the name Aimé Giral still carries enormous emotional weight among supporters. More than a century later, the story of that 1914 championship team continues to symbolise both the glory and the tragedy of an entire generation lost to war.
An often-overlooked detail is that the famous red-and-yellow colours associated with Perpignan rugby reflect the traditional Catalan colours, reinforcing the close connection between the club and the cultural identity of French Catalonia.
For many supporters, USAP is not simply a rugby club — it is part of the history and soul of Perpignan itself.
FIND OUT ABOUT GILBERT BRUTUS, CATALAN DRAGON STADIUM