The surprising Rouen Leopards will travel to Paris Saturday, June 15 to take on the La Courneuve Flash in the French D1 Elite league semifinals.
The Flash are returning to the semifinals for the third straight year. Last season they were defeated by the Marseille Blue Stars and the year before they beat the Saint-Ouen Cougars en route to winning the 2022 title.
For the Leopards, who returned to the top league in France this season after being bumped out in 2019, this is the first trip to the semifinal round since 2017 when they were beaten by the Flash.
These two teams faced each other twice during the regular season splitting the series. La Courneuve won the first game 20-7 in late March in Rouen. The Leopards got a measure of revenge in the final game of the regular season downing the Flash 20-16 in Paris.
Flash quarterback Badis Grami guides an offense that has been solid but not spectacular this season averaging just over 21 points a game. It has been the La Courneuve’s defense that has been the key to reaching the semifinals, surrendering just 13 points a game
With Jaran Roste behind center, Rouen has relied on its offense to win games scoring an average of 27 points a game while giving up 20.
This game is a toss up although a slight edge goes to La Courneuve who are playing at home and have been here many times before.
Rouen Leopards @ La Courneuve Flash
June 15, 19:00 CET (7 pm, 11 am EDT)
