Unlike its English, Celtic, and Southern hemisphere counterparts, France’s professional elite rugby union competition Top 14 has existed more or less in its current form since the 1920’s, adding new clubs periodically. Although the Top 14’s origins are Parisian – the first match was between Stade Francais and Racing Metro in 1892, the two top clubs in Paris to this day – the character of French elite rugby is unmistakably Southern, rural, and, to a certain extent, Basque.
Indeed, Stade Francais and Racing Metro are the only Top 14 clubs located in the north. The other 12, with whom you’ll become acquainted shortly, are located no further north than Claremont or Lyon, and most clubs far enough south that they’re closer to Spain than Paris. For further evidence of this sunny, rural character of French rugby, look no further than its national team logo: what could be more proudly “country” than a rooster?
Various clubs have come and gone in the past 80 years – Stade Bordelais, Beziers, and FC Lourdes, to name a few – but the current incarnation really took shape in the 1960’s, professionalizing in 1996 at the same time as the English Premiership, Pro 12, and the Super 15 (then the Super 12). How professional? The LNR – the French rugby governing body – instituted a salary cap in 2010, limiting club payrolls to 8 million Euros (just over $10 million). The bottom two Top 14 clubs face relegation to Rugby Pro D2 – France’s second division – while the top two D2 clubs get promoted at the end of each regular season in June. This piece will feature profiles of the current Top 14 clubs, and each clubs win-draw-lost record will be a summary of their Top 14 records since 1996.
1. SU Agen
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• Full Name: Sporting Union Agen Lot-et-Garonne
• Founded: 1908
• Home Ground: Stade Armandie, Agen
• Region: Lot-et-Garonne
• Joined Top 14: 1996 (with relegations)
• Wins-Draws-Losses (1996-2011): 125-7-89
• Championships: none
• Coach: Christian Lanta and Christophe Deylaud
• Captain: Adri Badenhorst
• Notable Players: Kevin Swiryn, Pat O’Connor, Omar Hasan, Abdelatif Benazzi, Christian Califano, Christophe Lamaison, Philippe Sella, Rupeni Caucaunibuca, and Kees Meuws
• How do you pronounce their name? AH-zhen
2. Bayonne
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• Full Name: Aviron Bayonnais (basically, the “Bayonne Oars”)
• Founded: 1904
• Home Ground: Stade Jean Dauger, Bayonne
• Region: Pyrenees-Atlantiques
• Joined Top 14: 2004
• Wins-Draws-Losses (1996-2011): 69-10-96
• Championships: none
• Coach: Christian Gajan
• Captain: Pepito Elhorga
• Notable Players: Troy Flavell, Joe Rokocoko, Remy Martin (really), and Patrice Lagisquet
• Why “The Oars?” They were originally a rowing club that played rugby to stay in shape during the winter
3. Biarritz Olympique
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• Full Name: Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (BOPS)
• Founded: 1913
• Home Ground: Parc des Sports Aguilera
• Region: Pyrenees-Atlantiques
• Joined Top 14: 1996
• Wins-Draws-Losses (1996-2011): 174-6-121
• Championships: 2002, 2005, 2006
• Coach: Patrice Lagisquet, Jack Isaac, Laurent Rodriguez, and Serge Milhas
• Captain: Imanol Harinordoquy
• Notable Players: Fabien Barcella, Dimitri Yachvili, Takudzwa Ngwenya, Iain Balshaw, Joe Roff, Serge Betsen, Serge Blanco, Thierry Dusautoir, Marc Lievremont, and Census Johnston
• How do you pronounce their name? BEER-its
4. Bordeaux-Begles
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• Full Name: Union Bordeaux-Begles
• Founded: 2006
• Home Ground: Stade Andre’ Moga, Begles and Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
• Region: Aquitaine
• Joined Top 14: 2011
• Wins-Draws-Losses (1996-2011): 7-0-7
• Championships: none
• Coach: Marc Delpoux, Laurent Armand, and Vincent Etcheto
• Captain: Matthew Clarkin
• Notable Players: Uhhh… Bruce Reihana
• This Club Seems a Lot Newer than the Others: That’s true. They’re the result of a merger between Stade Bordelais (founded 1889) and Club Athletique Bordeaux-Begles (founded 1907), because the clubs in the region had not been successful enough on their own
5. Brive
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• Full Name: Club Athletique Brive Correze Limousin
• Founded: 1910
• Home Ground: Stade Amedee-Domenech
• Region: Correze, Limousin
• Joined Top 14: 1996 (with relegations)
• Wins-Draws-Losses (1996-2011): 120-15-138
• Championships: 1996
• Coach: Ugo Mola
• Captain: Antonie Claassen
• Notable Players: Jamie Noon, Ben Cohen, Riki Flutey, Steve Thompson, Olivier Magne, Dimitri Yachvili, and Gregor Townsend
• How Do You Pronounce Their Name? Like you were saying “breathe” with a Cockney accent
6. Castres
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• Full Name: Castres Olympique
• Founded: 1906
• Home Ground: Stade Pierre-Antoine, Castres
• Region: Midi-Pyrenees
• Joined Top 14: 1996
• Wins-Draws-Losses (1996-2011): 156-15-128
• Championships: none
• Coach: Laurent Labit and Laurent Travers
• Captain: Alexandre Albouy and Sebastien Tillous-Borde
• Notable Players: Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, Mario Ledesma, Thomas Castaignede, Raphael Ibanez, Thierry Lacroix, Kees Meeuws, Glenn Metcalf, Gregor Townsend, and Salesi Sika
• And How Do You Pronounce…? Roughly, like “caster”
7. Clermont Auvergne
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• Full Name: Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne
• Founded: 1911
• Home Ground: Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin, Clermont-Ferrand
• Region: Auvergne
• Joined Top 14: 1996
• Wins-Draws-Losses (1996-2011): 182-11-107
• Championships: 2010
• Coach: Vern Cotter
• Captain: Aurelien Rougerie
• Notable Players: Nathan Hines, Jason White, Morgan Parra, David Skrela, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Lee Byrne, Julien Bonnaire, Jamie Cudmore, Mario Ledesma, Richard Cockerill, Olivier Magne, Philippe Saint-Andre, Breyton Paulse, John Smit, and Stephen Jones
• Michelin, Like the Tire? Yup. The club was originally formed by Michelin as a club for his workers before WWI, and was originally known as AS Michelin
8. Lyon
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• Full Name: Lyon Olympique Universitaire
• Founded: 1896
• Home Ground: Matmut Stadium, Venissieux
• Region: Rhone-Alps
• Joined Top 14: 2011
• Wins-Draws-Losses (1996-2011): 3-2-9
• Championships: none
• Coach: Matthieu Lazerges and Raphael Saint-Andre
• Captain:
• Notable Players: Ricky Januarie, Mark van Gisbergen, and Arnaud Marchois
• 1896, huh? Yup. One of the oldest rugby clubs outside of Paris in France
9. Montpellier
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• Full Name: Montpellier Herault
• Founded: 1986
• Home Ground: Stade Yves-du-Manoir, Montpellier
• Region: Languedoc-Roussillon
• Joined Top 14: 1997 (with relegations)
• Wins-Draws-Losses (1996-2011): 89-2-127
• Championships: none
• Coach: Fabien Galthie
• Captain: Fulgence Ouedraogo
• Notable Players: Thibaut Pravat, Remy Martin, Francois Trinh-Duc, and Seta Tuilevuka
• 1986, huh? Yup. They were created by a merger of Stade Montpellierain and MUC Rugby
10. Perpignan
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• Full Name: Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais
• Founded: 1902
• Home Ground: Stade Aime’ Giral, Perpignan
• Region: Pyrenees-Orientales
• Joined Top 14: 1996
• Wins-Draws-Losses (1996-2011): 188-8-103
• Championships: 2009
• Coach: Bernard Goutta and Christophe Manas
• Captain: Nicolas Mas
• Notable Players: Henry Tuilagi, James Hook, Perry Freshwater, Daniel Herbert, Dan Luger, Raphael Ibanez, Thierry Lacroix, Marc Lievremont, Dan Carter, Percy Montgomery, and Nathan Hines
• Is the red and gold color scheme significant? Yes, it represents their region’s Catalan heritage