Biarritz Olympique
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Biarritz Olympique | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Full name | Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Founded | 1913 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Biarritz, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ground | Parc des Sports Aguiléra | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Capacity | 12,667[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
President | Marcel Martin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coach | Patrice Lagisquet and Jacques Delmas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
League | Top 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2005-06 | 1st | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Official website | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
www.bo-pb.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque, often abbreviated BOPB, is a professional French rugby union club that plays in Biarritz in Aquitaine at Parc des Sports Aguiléra. It currently competes in the top level of the Top 14 competition. The club was founded as Biarritz Stade in 1902, and merged with Biarritz SC in 1913 to become Biarritz Olympique. In 1998, it adopted its current name (Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque), which refers to the club's Basque heritage. One of the club's best known players is France great Serge Blanco.
The club has won the domestic championship numerous times, including a number of victories in the 1930s and 2000s. As well as the domestic competition, Biarritz also contest the European Heineken Cup. The club were the losing finalists of the 2005-06 Heineken Cup, although the same season they won the Top 14 on June 10, 2006.
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[edit] History
[edit] The early years
The history of the club extends back to the late 1800s. An athletic club, Biarritz Stade (named that, in 1902) opened up a rugby quarter. In 1909, the Biarritz Sporting Club was established. On April 26, 1913, the fusion of the two clubs took place. The new name of the club was Biarritz Olympique and its inaugural president was M. P. Campagne. On May 13, 1934, Biarritz Olympique played in the final of the French premiership; they were however, defeated by Aviron Bayonnais 13 points to 8 at Stade des Ponts Jumeaux in Toulouse in front of 18,000 people. It was the only all-Basque final and is still the final in which the two contenders were separated by the shortest distance (3 miles), outside the all-Parisian finals of the late 19th century.
A year later, Biarritz again found themselves in the final of the national championship, this time against USA Perpignan. They emerged victorious, winning three points to nil, claiming their first ever national championship. The success continued in the latter stages of the decade. In the 1938 championship, Biarritz again met USAP in the final, though this time, the Perpignan club were able to get the win, Biarritz losing 11 points to six. A year later, the two clubs met in the final again, with Biarritz coming out as the better club on the day, winning six points to nil, and claiming the second national championship. But for almost 50 years, Biarritz was not going to feature prominently in the French league.
[edit] The 1980s and 90s
It was not until the late 1980s that BO, as it is nicknamed, was going to reach the top again. In 1989 Biarritz contested their first Challenge Yves du Manoir final since the 1937 season. However, they were defeated by RC Narbonne 18-12 in the final. In 1992, Biarritz made it to the national final, played at Parc des Princes in Paris. However, Biarritz went down to RC Toulon 19 points to 14. In the 1997-98 season, Biarritz competed in their first European Rugby Cup competition, playing in the European Challenge Cup. Biarritz won six of their three fixtures, and did not make it past the pool stages. The 1998-99 season was similar to the previous, though they were able to win one more of their pool fixtures, but finished third in the pool standings after other French clubs Agen and Brive.
In their third Challenge Cup, Biarritz only lost a won pool game and finished first in the standings. However they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by English club Bristol. As well as the success in the Challenge Cup, in the 1999-00 season, they also won the Coupe de France for the first time since 1937, defeating CA Brive 24-13 in the final. Biarritz also earned qualification for the Heineken Cup.[2]
[edit] 2000s
Biarritz, now playing in the elite European competition, the Heineken Cup, the club had a successful run, finishing at the top of their pool, but were eliminated by Irish team Munster, losing 38-29 in the quarter-finals at Thomond Park. In the 2001-02 Heineken Cup Biarritz did not make the finals, finishing second in their pool, winning two of their six pool fixtures.
In 2002, Biarritz made their way to the domestic final for the first time in a decade. They defeated SU Agen 25 to 22 at Stade de France in Saint-Denis in front of 78,457. That season they were also runners-up to Stade Rochelais in the Coupe de France final, losing 21-19. The 2002-03 Heineken Cup was also a success for Biarritz, finishing at the top of their pool standings, they were quarter-finalists, but lost to Leinster at Lansdowne Road.
The 2003-04 Heineken Cup was a best ever for Biarritz, as they made it to the semi-finals for the first time, losing to fellow French club Toulouse 19-11. This was repeated in 2004-05, Biarritz again making the semi-finals of the Heineken Cup, but losing to Stade Français, 20-17 at Parc des Princes. More success followed in 2005, where they defeated the Stade Français club 37 points to 34 in the domestic final after a very rugged challenge.
In the year 2006, they made it to the Heineken Cup final were they met Munster. They lost the compelling final 19-23. They were however able to put the Heinken Cup loss behind them and make it to the final of the 2005-06 Top 14, where they met Toulouse. Biarritz led nine points to six at half time but stormed to victory in the second half, the final score being 40 to 13, making Biarritz back to back winners.
[edit] Stadium
Biarritz play their home matches at the Parc des Sports Aguiléra, which is a multi-use stadium in Biarritz. The stadium is used mostly for rugby union. The stadium is able to hold 13,500 people.
For the 2005-06 Heineken Cup semi-finals, Biarritz, were allowed to host a semi-final across the border at Estadio Anoeta in Donostia/San Sebastián. The Anoeta is the nearest stadium to Biarritz with a suitable capacity, as a Heineken Cup semi-final must be played at a venue which can hold at least 33,000 spectators.
[edit] Strip
Biarritz Olympique usually play in red and white colours. Their home uniform consists of red socks and shorts with a predominantly white shirt with red sides. Their uniform is collarless and is produced by Puma.
[edit] Supporters
The Biarritz supporters sometimes wave the Basque flag in the stands. Traditional Basque songs are also heard, as Basque supporters have a reputation for being very good singers. The Parc des Sports Aguilera is considered an intimidating venue to play at, with Biarritz supporters having a reputation for being very vocal.[3]
[edit] Honors
- French championship
- Champions: 1935, 1939, 2002, 2005, 2006
- Runners-up: 1934, 1938, 1992
- Heineken Cup:
- Runners-up: 2006
- Challenge Yves du Manoir:
- Champions: 1937, 2000
- Runners-up: 1989
- Coupe de France/Coupe de la Ligue
- Runners-up: 2002
[edit] Finals results
[edit] French championship
Date | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Venue | Crowd |
13 May 1934 | Aviron Bayonnais | Biarritz Olympique | 13-8 | Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse | 18.000 |
12 May 1935 | Biarritz Olympique | USA Perpignan | 3-0 | Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse | 23.000 |
8 May 1938 | USA Perpignan | Biarritz Olympique | 11-6 | Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse | 24.600 |
30 April 1939 | Biarritz Olympique | USA Perpignan | 6-0 AP | Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse | 23.000 |
6 June 1992 | RC Toulon | Biarritz Olympique | 19-14 | Parc des Princes, Paris | 48.000 |
8 June 2002 | Biarritz Olympique | SU Agen | 25-22 AP | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | 78.457 |
11 June 2005 | Biarritz Olympique | Stade Français | 37-34 AP | Stade de France, Saint-Denis | 79.475 |
10 June 2006 | Biarritz Olympique | Stade Toulousain | 40-13 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis |
[edit] Heineken Cup
Date | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Venue | Crowd |
20 May 2006 | Munster | Biarritz Olympique | 23-19 | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | 74.534 |
[edit] Challenge Yves du Manoir
Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
1937 | Biarritz Olympique | 9-3 | USA Perpignan |
1989 | RC Narbonne | 18-12 | Biarritz Olympique |
2000 | Biarritz Olympique | 24-13 | CA Brive |
[edit] Coupe de France
Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
2002 | Stade Rochelais | 23-19 | Biarritz Olympique |
[edit] European record
Season | Competition | Games | Points | Notes | |||||
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played | won | drawn | lost | for | against | difference | |||
2006-07 | Heineken Cup | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 17 | 55 | |
2005-06 | Heineken Cup | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 230 | 131 | 99 | Runners-up to Munster |
2004-05 | Heineken Cup | 9 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 199 | 122 | 77 | Semi-finalist (lost to Stade Français) |
2003-04 | Heineken Cup | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 177 | 126 | 51 | Semi-finalist (lost to Toulouse) |
2002-03 | Heineken Cup | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 185 | 128 | 57 | |
2001-02 | Heineken Cup | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 104 | 95 | 9 | Quarter-finalists (lost to Leinster) |
2000-01 | Heineken Cup | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 193 | 190 | 3 | Quarter-finalists (lost to Munster) |
1999-00 | Challenge Cup | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 256 | 109 | 147 | Quarter-finalists (lost to Bristol) |
1998-99 | Challenge Cup | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 187 | 124 | 63 | |
1997-98 | Challenge Cup | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 123 | 153 | -30 |
[edit] Current squad
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[edit] Famous players
- Serge Betsen
- Serge Blanco
- Michel Celaya
- Jean-Michel Gonzales
- Imanol Harinordoquy
- Patrice Lagisquet
- Olivier Roumat
- Dimitri Yachvili
- Damien Traille
- Philippe Bernat-Salles
- Thierry Dusautoir
- Marc Lievremont
- Laurent Mazas
[edit] References
- ^ European Rugby Cup: Biarritz Olympique. ERC Rugby. Retrieved on 29 November 2006.
- ^ Biarritz. scrum.com. Retrieved on 29 November 2006.
- ^ Heineken Cup 2006-07. BBC. Retrieved on 29 November 2006.
[edit] External links
- (French) Official site
- Data, Results and others (in English, in French)
- Biarritz Olympique anthem
- (French) Aupa BO Fansite
Rugby union in France | |
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Federation: | Fédération Française de Rugby |
National team: | France • France Sevens |
International Competitions: | Rugby World Cup • Six Nations Championship • H Cup • European Challenge Cup • European Shield • Rugby World Cup Sevens • IRB Sevens World Series • Paris Sevens |
Domestic Competitions: | Ligue Nationale de Rugby (Top 14 • Pro D2) • Fédérale 1 • Fédérale 2 • Fédérale 3 |
Top 14 teams: | Agen • Albi • Bayonne • Biarritz • Bourgoin • Brive • Castres • Clermont • Montauban • Montpellier • Narbonne • Perpignan • Stade Français • Toulouse |
Pro D2 teams: | Auch • Béziers • Bordeaux-Bègles • Colomiers • Dax • Gaillac • Grenoble • La Rochelle • Limoges • Lyon • Mont-de-Marsan • Oyonnax • Pau • Racing Paris • Tarbes • Toulon |
See also: | List of clubs |