RC Toulonnais

RC Toulonnais

Full name	Rugby Club Toulonnais
Founded	1908 (1908)
Location	Toulon, France
Ground(s)	Stade Mayol (Capacity: 15,820)
President	Mourad Boudjellal
Coach(es)	Bernard Laporte Jacques Delmas (Forwards) Pierre Mignoni (Backs) David Fraisse (Defense)
Captain(s)	Carl Hayman
League(s)	Top 14
2013–14	1st (playoff finalists)
1st kit 2nd kit
Official website
www.rctoulon.com/en/

Rugby Club Toulonnais (French pronunciation: ​[ʁyɡbi klœb tulɔnɛ]), also known as RCT or Toulon) is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. A current participant in the first-tier Top 14 competition, they have won the national competition on four occasions.

Established in 1908, Toulon currently play their home games at the Stade Mayol, although they have begun to take high-profile matches to the 60,000-seat Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, playing one match there in 2008–09 and two in both 2009–10 and 2010–11. The club colours are red and black. Toulon were Pro D2 champions in 2005, but after finishing 14th in the 2005-06 Top 14 season, they were relegated back down. After signing a number of high-profile players, the club made a strong run at promotion in the 2006–07 season, and succeeded in their promotion quest in 2007–08, winning that season's Pro D2 crown with two rounds to spare. They struggled to avoid relegation for much of the 2008–09 Top 14 season, but a late-season surge brought them to ninth place and safety. Their 2009–10 Top 14 season was more successful, with a second-place regular-season finish and a semifinal place domestically and a runner-up finish in the 2009–10 European Challenge Cup. In 2012, they again advanced to the Challenge Cup final, losing to Biarritz, and advanced to the Top 14 final, losing to Toulouse. In May 2013 Toulon won the 2013 Heineken Cup Final by 16–15 against Clermont Auvergne, and lost the Top 14 Final against Castres in June. They retained the Heineken Cup with a 23-6 win over Saracens in May 2014.

History

Rugby Club Toulonnais was founded on 3 June 1908 as a merger of Étoile Sportive Varoise and members of the Stade Varois, a club based in nearby La Seyne-sur-Mer. It took the club 23 years to reach the top of French rugby, when they won the 1931 championship against Lyon Olympique Universitaire (6–3, 2 tries to 1). The players were greeted by 30,000 people when they returned from Bordeaux, where the final had been held, and the town went crazy for several days.

Toulon remained one of the top French clubs, but they lost four consecutive finals scattered over 35 years (1948, 1968, 1971 and 1985). The 1985 extra-time defeat by Stade Toulousain left them with a lot of regrets, and playing in the most spectacular final ever (36–22) did nothing to alleviate the pain of losing. The Red and Black only waited two more years to finally lay their hands on the Bouclier de Brennus, as they defeated Racing at the Parc des Princes. The third title came in 1992, against Biarritz Olympique, in Serge Blanco's last match and last chance to win the title.

For eight years, Toulon was not particularly successful and were in heavy financial trouble (a 10 million franc deficit) forced the Ligue Nationale de Rugby to demote them to the Second Division in July 2000. The club missed an immediate return the next year, going down in the final to Montauban, as only one club was promoted that year. It took them five more years to do so as RCT went on to win the Pro D2 title. Unfortunately, despite immense popular support (gates averaged more than 12,000), and a lot of enthusiasm, they only managed to win three games out of 26 and were relegated after only a season.

A new president, Mourad Boudjellal, a born-and-bred Toulonnais who made his fortune in the comic strip business, promised to build a huge team. He said: "I invented the Top 15, with a team that could be competitive in the Top 14”.^[1] He signed a high number of first-class players, some of them well above 30, like Jean-Jacques Crenca, Yann Delaigue, Gonzalo Quesada and Dan Luger. He created a lot of buzz around the team as he managed to sign former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga, who arrived in Toulon right after the end ot the Air New Zealand Cup on October 26, 2006. The contract was rumoured to be around €300,000 (£200,000), which Boudjellal claimed to pay from his own pocket, for only 8 to 10 matches. In a 2010 interview, Boudjellal would say about his decision to pursue Umaga, "It was incredible, because we were in the second division and I was speaking with the best player in the world. But he said yes and came to play with Toulon."^[2]

Boudjellal continued to sign high-profile veteran players, including Australia captain and former all-time international caps leader George Gregan, reportedly paid €400,000 out of Boudjellal's pocket,^[3] All Blacks' former all-time scoring leader Andrew Mehrtens,^[4][5] and Jonny Wilkinson.

Back in Pro D2 for the 2006–07 season, Toulon finish fourth in the league, putting them in the promotion playoffs for a place in the Top 14, but they lost in the promotion semifinals 21–17 at La Rochelle. The following season Toulon headed the table from early on, never dropping from the top spot on their way to clinching promotion with two rounds to spare. The 2008–09 season proved to be one of consolidation. Umaga had been handed the coaching reins, but as Boudjellal would later say, "The first season in the Top 14 was very difficult and I learned that Tana Umaga was not yet ready to give up playing – and that he's not a manager."^[2] The team managed to survive that season, using a late-season surge to avoid a relegation scare. Toulon had a much more successful 2009–10 campaign, with Wilkinson leading the charge. He would be named the top fly-half of the year in France by leading rugby publication Midi Olympique,^[6] and would also be recalled to the England national team. Domestically, Toulon finished second on the league table, losing out to Perpignan for the top spot on a tiebreaker. This finish gave them a spot in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup, and also a first-round bye in that season's Top 14 playoffs. Toulon's domestic campaign ended in the semifinals with a 35–29 extra-time loss to eventual champion Clermont in Saint-Étienne.

Toulon's Amlin Challenge Cup campaign proved even more successful. They finished top of their pool and advanced to the knockout stage, crushing Scarlets 38–12 in the quarterfinals at Stade Mayol and surviving a hard-fought match against Connacht in Galway 19–12. The win over Connacht meant that Toulon would get their preferred final venue of the Vélodrome on 23 May, where they lost to the Cardiff Blues 28–21, missing out on silverware for the season.

In May 2013 Toulon won the 2013 Heineken Cup Final by 16–15 against Clermont Auvergne.^[7]

Emblem

On the day of his arrival in Paris, on 1 May 1895, just before his first concert, Félix Mayol was met by a female friend at the station, who gave him some lily-of-the-valley, a flower people traditionally exchange on 1 May in France. He pinned it on his lapel, his concert was a success and Mayol, who was superstitious, made the lily-of-the-valley his personal emblem. It was taken up by the rugby club in 1921.

Stadium

In 1920, its stadium was inaugurated. It is named after Félix Mayol, a very popular concert hall singer from Toulon who had succeeded in Paris in the early 20th century. Shortly after World War I, he purchased what would be the stadium site and donated it to the club. It is one of the few French stadiums to be almost completely surrounded by the city and overlooks the Toulon bay and military harbour in the Mediterranean.

Honours

• Heineken Cup
  • Champions (2): 2012-13, 2013-14

• French championship
  • Champions (4): 1930-31, 1986-87, 1991-92, 2013-14
  • Runners-up (7): 1947-48, 1967-68, 1970-71, 1984-85, 1988-89, 2011-12, 2012-13

• Challenge Yves du Manoir
  • Champions (2): 1934, 1970
  • Runners-up (3): 1939, 1954, 1983

• Rugby Pro D2
  • Champions (2): 2004-05, 2007-08
  • Runners-up (1): 2000-01

• European Challenge Cup
  • Runners-up (2): 2009-10, 2011-12

Finals results

Heineken Cup

Date	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Venue	Spectators
18 May 2013	RC Toulon	16–15	ASM Clermont Auvergne	Aviva Stadium, Dublin	50,148
24 May 2014	RC Toulon	23–6	Saracens	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	67,578

French championship

Date	Winners	Runners-up	Score	Venue	Spectators
10 May 1931	RC Toulon	Lyon OU	6–3	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	10,000
18 April 1948	FC Lourdes	RC Toulon	11–3	Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse	29,753
16 June 1968	FC Lourdes	RC Toulon	9–9 (aet)	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse	28,526
16 May 1971	Béziers	RC Toulon	15–9 (aet)	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	27,737
25 May 1985	Toulouse	RC Toulon	36–22 (aet)	Parc des Princes, Paris	37,000
22 May 1987	RC Toulon	Racing Club de France	15–12	Parc des Princes, Paris	48,000
27 May 1989	Toulouse	RC Toulon	18–12	Parc des Princes, Paris	48,000
6 June 1992	RC Toulon	Biarritz	19–14	Parc des Princes, Paris	48,000
9 June 2012	Toulouse	RC Toulon	18–12	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	79,614
1 June 2013	Castres Olympique	RC Toulon	19–14	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	80,033
31 May 2014	'RC Toulon	Castres Olympique	18-10	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	80,174

Challenge Yves du Manoir

Year	Winner	Score	Runner-up
1934	Stade Toulousain RC Toulon	0–0 (tied, joint winners)
1939	Section Paloise	5–0	RC Toulon
1954	FC Lourdes	28–12	RC Toulon
1970	RC Toulon	25–22	SU Agen
1983	SU Agen	29–7	RC Toulon

European Challenge Cup

Date	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Venue	Spectators
23 May 2010	Cardiff Blues	28–21	RC Toulon	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille	48,990
18 May 2012	Biarritz	21–18	RC Toulon	The Stoop, London	9,376

Current standings

2014–15 Top 14 Table
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Difference	Tries For	Tries Against	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points
1	Toulon	23	14	0	9	638	465	+173	69	46	6	4	66
2	Clermont	23	13	1	9	542	411	+131	50	35	4	4	62
3	Toulouse	23	14	0	9	472	431	+41	41	31	2	3	61
4	Stade Français	23	13	1	9	528	509	+19	54	47	5	2	61
5	Racing Métro	23	12	2	9	461	441	+20	43	34	2	4	58
6	Oyonnax	23	13	0	10	446	425	+21	31	34	2	3	57
7	Montpellier	23	10	2	11	466	436	+30	37	38	2	5	51
8	Bordeaux	23	10	0	13	615	512	+103	56	40	3	8	51
9	La Rochelle	23	10	3	10	474	580	–106	40	57	2	2	50
10	Brive	23	11	0	12	444	520	−76	35	53	2	2	48
11	Grenoble	23	10	0	13	553	658	–105	48	62	3	5	48
12	Castres	23	10	0	13	446	525	−69	41	52	3	4	47
13	Bayonne	23	9	1	13	441	465	−24	34	36	4	5	47
14	Lyon	23	7	0	16	414	562	−148	38	52	0	7	35
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Competition points earned in head-to-head matches Points difference in head-to-head matches Try differential in head-to-head matches Points difference in all matches Try differential in all matches Points scored in all matches Tries scored in all matches Fewer matches forfeited' Classification in the previous Top 14 season
Green background (rows 1 and 2) receive semi-final play-off places and receive berths in the 2015–16 European Rugby Champions Cup. Blue background (rows 3 to 6) receive quarter-final play-off places, and receive berths in the Champions Cup. Yellow background (row 7) indicates the team that advances to a play-off against the winner of the Pro12 vs Aviva Premiership play-off, or 2014–15 European Rugby Challenge Cup winner if they have not already qualified for the Champions Cup.[8] Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the European Rugby Challenge Cup. Red background (row 13 and 14) will be relegated to Rugby Pro D2. Updated 26 April 2015

Current squad

2014–15 ^[9] Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Bruno, SébastienSébastien Bruno Hooker France Burden, CraigCraig Burden Hooker South Africa Guirado, GuilhemGuilhem Guirado Hooker France Orioli, Jean-CharlesJean-Charles Orioli Hooker France Ma'afu, SalesiSalesi Ma'afu Prop Australia Chilachava, LevanLevan Chilachava Prop Georgia Castrogiovanni, MartinMartin Castrogiovanni Prop Italy Chiocci, XavierXavier Chiocci Prop France Fresia, FlorianFlorian Fresia Prop France Hayman, CarlCarl Hayman (c) Prop New Zealand Menini, AlexandreAlexandre Menini Prop France Botha, BakkiesBakkies Botha Lock South Africa Manoa, SamuSamu Manoa Lock United States Mikautadze, KonstantinKonstantin Mikautadze Lock Georgia Suta, JocelinoJocelino Suta Lock France Taofifénua, RomainRomain Taofifénua Lock France Williams, AliAli Williams Lock New Zealand Bruni, VirgileVirgile Bruni Flanker France Fernández Lobbe, Juan MartínJuan Martín Fernández Lobbe Flanker Argentina Gorgodze, MamukaMamuka Gorgodze Flanker Georgia Munoz, StéphaneStéphane Munoz Flanker France Smith, JuanJuan Smith Flanker South Africa Vosloo, GerhardGerhard Vosloo Flanker South Africa Armitage, SteffonSteffon Armitage Number 8 England Masoe, ChrisChris Masoe Number 8 New Zealand

Player Position Union Claassens, MichaelMichael Claassens Scrum-half South Africa Durand, NicolasNicolas Durand Scrum-half France Escande, EricEric Escande Scrum-half France Tillous-Borde, SébastienSébastien Tillous-Borde Scrum-half France Cooper, QuadeQuade Cooper Fly-half Australia Michalak, FrédéricFrédéric Michalak Fly-half France Hernández, Juan MartínJuan Martín Hernández Fly-half Argentina Bastareaud, MathieuMathieu Bastareaud Centre France Giteau, MattMatt Giteau Centre Australia Mermoz, MaximeMaxime Mermoz Centre France Nonu, Ma'aMa'a Nonu Centre New Zealand Roux, IvanIvan Roux Centre France Habana, BryanBryan Habana Wing South Africa Tuisova, JosuaJosua Tuisova Wing Fiji Smith, DavidDavid Smith Wing Samoa Wulf, RudiRudi Wulf Wing New Zealand Armitage, DelonDelon Armitage Fullback England Halfpenny, LeighLeigh Halfpenny Fullback Wales Mitchell, DrewDrew Mitchell Fullback Australia

• Internationally capped players in Bold

Under LNR rules, teams are limited to two players of non-EU nationality on their domestic match-day rosters. However, a large number of players whose primary nationality is outside the EU are exempt from this quota for various reasons.

• The largest non-EU source of quota-exempt players are the ACP countries, due to the Kolpak ruling. In the context of rugby, the most important ACP countries are South Africa, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga.
• Georgian players also qualifies for the Kolpak exemption because Georgia has a similar relationship with the EU through the European Neighbourhood Policy.

Former players

Felipe Contepomi Esteban Lozada Gonzalo Quesada Leonardo Senatore Fotu Auelua George Gregan Matt Henjak Luke Rooney George Smith Jone Tawake Martin Jágr Kris Chesney Joe El-Abd Nick Kennedy Dan Luger Tom May Paul Sackey Dean Schofield Simon Shaw Sisa Koyamaibole Marc Andreu Benjamin Bastères

Jean Berti Christian Carrère Christian Califano Éric Champ Jean-Jacques Crenca Yann Delaigue Christophe Dominici Jérôme Gallion Jonny Wilkinson André Herrero Aubin Hueber Benjamin Lapeyre Jo Maso Éric Melville Jacques Merquey Pierre Mignoni Olivier Missoup Marc de Rougemont Jean-Baptiste Rué Thomas Sourice Jean-François Tordo Damien Tussac Davit Kubriashvili

Rob Henderson Tim Ryan Santiago Dellapè Ramiro Pez Christian Loamanu Jerry Collins Andrew Mehrtens Anton Oliver Saimone Taumoepeau Tana Umaga Sonny Bill Williams Rudi Wulf Victor Matfield Lawrence Sephaka Tusi Pisi Junior Polu Rory Lamont Mafileo Kefu Lorne Ward Andrew Sheridan Gavin Henson Gethin Jenkins Jamie Robinson André Pretorius

See also

• List of rugby union clubs in France
• Rugby union in France

References

External links

• (French) RC Toulonnais Official website

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