Lord Derby Cup 2022–2023

The 2022–23 Coupe de France Lord Derby was the 82nd edition of the Coupe de France Lord Derby, the premier rugby league knockout competition in France. It began on 6 November 2022 and ended with the final at the Stade Gilbert Brutus on 22 April 2023.

As no finals were played in the previous three seasons, the defending champions were AS Carcassonne who defeated Saint-Estève XIII Catalan in the 2018–19 final to win the cup for the 15th time. In the 2022–23 competition, they retained the title by winning 36–12 against RC Albi XIII in the final.

Background
The 82nd edition of the Coupe de France Lord Derby, started on 6 November 2022 and concluded with the final on 22 April 2023. The 30 teams taking part were from Elite 1 (10 teams), Elite 2 (9 teams), the National Division (7 teams) and the Federal Division (4 teams). Teams entered at different stages the competition based on their division with Elite 2 teams joining in Round 4 and Elite 1 teams joining in the Round of 16. In matches between teams from different divisions, the venue was the stadium of the team from the lower division.

Round 1
The draw for the first three rounds was announced on 26 October 2022. Round 1 ties were played on 6 November.

Round 2
Ties were played on 20 November.

Round 3
Ties were played on 18 December.

Round 4
The draws for Round 4 and the Round of 16 were made on 10 December 2022. Round 4 ties were played on 22 January with one match postponed until 5 February.

Round of 16
Ties were played over the weekend of 18–19 February.

Quarter-finals
Ties were played over the weekend of 4–5 March.

Semi-finals
The semi-finals took place on 9 April. They were played as part of a triple header with a Coupe de France Luc Nitard (under-19s) semi-final match.

Final
The final of the 2022–23 Coupe de France Lord Derby took place on 22 April at the Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan. The match, which was part of a triple header, was preceded by the finals of the U15 and U17 competitions. AS Carcassonne, had won the cup 15 times and were defending champions having won the cup in 2018–19 (for three seasons no competition was held due to COVID). There opponents, RC Albi, had previously won the cup once, in the 1973–74 season, and last reached the final in the 2007–08 season.

Teams
AS Carcassonne: Escaré, A. Escamilla, Bouregba, V. Albert, Gambaro, Herrero, O'Beirne, Boyer, Artiga, Canet, Surulevu, Mulhall, Khedimi

Interchanges: Drodrolagi, B. Escamilla, Dauliac, Alberola

Head coach: Frédéric Camel

RC Albi: Miloudi, Pedrero, Thilhades, Guiguet, Cancé, Wall, Gigot, Rodrigues, S. Cook, Diakhaté, Dupuy, Goffin, Bernard

Interchanges: J. Cook, Liauzun, Puech, Mazars

Head coach: Joris Canton

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