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Lyon OU Rugby

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Lyon OU
Full nameLyon Olympique Universitaire
Nickname(s)Le LOU
Founded1896; 128 years ago (1896)
LocationLyon, France
Ground(s)Stade de Gerland (Capacity: 25,000)
ChairmanGL Events
PresidentYann Roubert
Coach(es)Fabien Gengenbacher
Captain(s)Baptiste Couilloud
Jordan Taufua
League(s)Top 14
2023–2411th
Team kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.lourugby.fr

Lyon Olympique Universitaire Rugby or LOU is a French professional rugby union team based in Lyon that currently competes in the Top 14, the highest level of the country's professional league system, having been most recently promoted for the 2016–17 season after winning the 2015–16 title of the second-level Pro D2. The club has bounced between the top two levels in recent years, having also been promoted in 2011 and 2014 and relegated in 2012 and 2015.

They were founded in 1896 and play in red and black. In 2011, the team left the Stade Vuillermet to the new Matmut Stadium. In 2017 the team moved to the Matmut Stadium de Gerland.

History

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Le LOU, as it is traditionally known, is one of the oldest sports clubs in France and among the first outside Paris to have set up a rugby section. The club’s original name was Racing Club, the result of a merger of the Racing Club de Vaise and the Rugby Club de Lyon. It was renamed Racing et Cercles Réunis in 1902 after several other clubs joined it, then a few months later Lyon Olympique. Finally, in 1910, it became Lyon Olympique Universitaire. The red and black were adopted in 1902.

The club developed several sections (it now has 13), one of the most successful being the rugby union section, which is now known as LOU Rugby. The rugby club took part in three successive French championship finals (1931–33), losing the first one to Toulon (3-6) but winning the next two against Narbonne (9-3 and 10-3). It then played in lower amateur leagues until it was promoted back to the second professional division (Pro D2). In 2006-07, it had the second biggest budget of the championship and its ambition was to rejoin the Top 14 in the next two years, under the leadership of their coach Christian Lanta, who formerly led Racing Club de France, Italian club Treviso and Agen. However, they would not succeed in their promotion quest until 2011. Since then, they have been a proverbial "yo-yo team", having been either relegated or promoted four times in the six seasons since their 2011 promotion.

Honours

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Finals results

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French championship

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Date Winners Score Runners-up Venue Spectators
10 May 1931 RC Toulon 6-3 Lyon OU Parc Lescure, Bordeaux 10,000
5 May 1932 Lyon OU 9-3 RC Narbonne Parc Lescure, Bordeaux 13,000
7 May 1933 Lyon OU 10-3 RC Narbonne Parc Lescure, Bordeaux 15,000

European Rugby Challenge Cup

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Date Winner Score Runners-up Venue Spectators
27 May 2022 France Lyon OU 30–12 France RC Toulon Stade Vélodrome, Marseille 51,431

Challenge Yves du Manoir

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Date Winners Score Runners-up
1932 SU Agen round robin Lyon OU
1933 Lyon OU round robin SU Agen

Current standings

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2024–25 Top 14 Table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Toulouse 7 5 0 2 203 128 +75 24 15 2 2 24 Playoffs and Qualification for 2025–26 European Rugby Champions Cup
2 Bordeaux Bègles 7 5 0 2 258 171 +87 36 23 2 1 23
3 La Rochelle 7 5 0 2 194 172 +22 26 21 2 0 22
4 Toulon 7 4 0 3 167 134 +33 18 14 1 2 19
5 Clermont 7 4 0 3 176 182 −6 23 19 3 0 19
6 Castres 7 4 0 3 213 179 +34 24 19 1 2 19
7 Bayonne 7 4 0 3 184 175 +9 23 22 1 1 18 Qualification for 2025–26 European Rugby Champions Cup
8 Lyon 7 4 0 3 197 191 +6 21 21 1 1 18
9 Pau 7 3 0 4 170 192 −22 22 26 2 1 15 Qualification for 2025–26 European Rugby Challenge Cup
10 Racing 92 7 3 0 4 175 182 −7 20 21 0 2 14
11 Perpignan 7 3 0 4 123 179 −56 11 20 1 1 14
12 Montpellier 7 2 0 5 149 164 −15 15 17 0 2 10
13 Stade Français 7 2 0 5 131 211 −80 15 27 0 1 9 Qualification for Relegation play-off
14 Vannes 7 1 0 6 179 259 −80 22 34 0 3 7 Relegation to Pro D2
Updated to match(es) played on 20 October 2024. Source: Top 14


Current squad

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The Lyon squad for the 2024–25 season is:[1][2]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Yanis Charcosset Hooker France France
Guillaume Marchand Hooker France France
Sam Matavesi Hooker Fiji Fiji
Jermaine Ainsley Prop New Zealand New Zealand
Irakli Aptsiauri Prop Georgia (country) Georgia
Feao Fotuaika Prop Tonga Tonga
Cedate Gomes Sa Prop France France
Hamza Kaabéche Prop France France
Valentin Simutoga Prop France France
Sébastien Taofifénua Prop France France
Kilian Geraci Lock France France
Mickaël Guillard Lock France France
Félix Lambey Lock France France
Tomas Lavanini Lock Argentina Argentina
Alban Roussel Lock France France
Liam Allen Back row New Zealand New Zealand
Steeve Blanc-Mappaz Back row France France
Arno Botha Back row South Africa South Africa
Dylan Cretin Back row France France
Maxime Gouzou Back row France France
Pierre-Samuel Pacheco Back row France France
Beka Saghinadze Back row Georgia (country) Georgia
Beka Shvangiradze Back row Georgia (country) Georgia
Théo William Back row France France
Player Position Union
Charlie Cassang Scrum-half France France
Baptiste Couilloud Scrum-half France France
Martin Page-Relo Scrum-half Italy Italy
Léo Berdeu Fly-half France France
Paddy Jackson Fly-half Ireland Ireland
Fletcher Smith Fly-half New Zealand New Zealand
Josiah Maraku Centre New Zealand New Zealand
Théo Millet Centre France France
Alfred Parisien Centre France France
Semi Radradra Centre Fiji Fiji
Thibaut Regard Centre France France
Ethan Dumortier Wing France France
Monty Ioane Wing Italy Italy
Xavier Mignot Wing France France
Vincent Rattez Wing France France
Davit Niniashvili Fullback Georgia (country) Georgia
Alexandre Tchaptchet Fullback France France

Espoirs squad

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Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Fousseynou Cissokho Lock France France
Jarlath Gleeson Lock England England
Louis-Antonin Agostini Back row France France
Martin Okuya Back row France France
Luka Saghinadze Back row Georgia (country) Georgia
Player Position Union
Romain Rigault Fly-half France France
Miracle Tangata Centre Australia Australia
Noa Jallet Wing France France
Sacha Courthaliac Fullback France France
Luka Khorbaladze Fullback Georgia (country) Georgia

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Site officiel" (in French). LOU Rugby.fr. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Lyon squad for season 2023/2024". All Rugby. 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
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