Oyonnax Rugby (French pronunciation: [ɔjɔna ʁyɡbi]) is a French professional rugby union club based in Oyonnax and competing in the Pro D2. Founded in 1949 and located in the Ain montainous department, the club plays its home matches at the 11,400-capacity Stade Charles-Mathon, the highest stadium in the league at 532 metres (1,745 ft) and wears black and red jerseys.

Oyonnax Rugby
Full nameOyonnax Rugby
Nickname(s)Oyo
Les Oyomen
Les Noir et Rouge (The Black and Reds)
Founded1942; 82 years ago (1942)
LocationOyonnax, France
Ground(s)Stade Charles-Mathon (Capacity: 11,400)
PresidentDougal Bendjaballah
Coach(es)Joe El-Abd
Captain(s)Tommy Raynaud
League(s)Pro D2
2023–24Top 14, 14th (relegated)
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.oyonnaxrugby.com

History

edit
 
Oyonnax and Sale Sharks at Stade Charles-Mathon in 2013

They were founded in 1909 as Club Sportif Oyonnaxien and were renamed Union Sportive Oyonaxienne in 1940, as sports clubs were forced to unite by the Vichy régime. Oyonnax played in the regional leagues until 1967 when they joined the First Division (64 clubs). They were relegated to the lower divisions a few years later and bounced back to Group B of the First Division (the Second Division in fact) in 1988. Finally, in 2003 they reached the Fédérale 1 final and although they went down to Limoges (18-20), they moved on to the professional Pro D2. In the 2012/13 season, they won Pro D2 and were promoted to the top-flight Top 14. They were repromoted after 2016/17, having been relegated the previous season.[1][2]

Honours

edit

Current standings

edit
2024–25 Pro D2 Table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Provence 10 6 1 3 245 192 +53 3 2 31 Semi-final promotion playoff place
2 Grenoble 10 7 0 3 263 229 +34 2 1 31
3 Montauban 10 7 0 3 274 251 +23 1 2 31 Quarter-final promotion playoff place
4 Brive 10 6 0 4 265 217 +48 3 2 29
5 Biarritz 10 6 0 4 249 234 +15 2 1 27
6 Béziers 10 5 0 5 252 191 +61 2 5 27
7 Soyaux Angoulême 10 5 2 3 225 215 +10 1 1 26
8 Colomiers 10 5 1 4 212 235 −23 0 2 24
9 Agen 10 4 0 6 230 232 −2 0 5 21
10 Mont-de-Marsan 10 4 0 6 264 247 +17 2 3 21
11 Dax 10 5 0 5 192 219 −27 0 1 21
12 Nevers 10 4 0 6 194 243 −49 1 2 19
13 Oyonnax 10 4 0 6 201 217 −16 1 1 18
14 Aurillac 10 4 0 6 231 282 −51 0 1 17
15 Nice 10 3 0 7 193 267 −74 0 4 16 Relegation play-off
16 Valence Romans 10 3 0 7 255 274 −19 0 3 15 Relegation to Nationale
Updated to match(es) played on 8 November 2024. Source: [1]

Current squad

edit

The Oyonnax squad for the 2023–24 season is:[3][4]

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

Player Position Union
Teddy Durand Hooker   France
Benjamin Gélédan Hooker   France
Peniami Narisia Hooker   Fiji
Antoine Abraham Prop   France
Thibault Berthaud Prop   France
Adrien Bordenave Prop   France
Oli Kebble Prop   Scotland
Ali Oz Prop   France
Paulo Tafili Prop   France
Christopher Vaotoa Prop   France
Phoenix Battye Lock   Australia
Hugo Fabrégue Lock   France
Ewan Johnson Lock   Scotland
Victor Lebas Lock   France
Manuel Leindekar Lock   Uruguay
Loïc Godener Back row   France
Rory Grice Back row   New Zealand
Kévin Kornath Back row   France
Kévin Lebreton Back row   France
Antoine Miquel Back row   France
Wandrille Picault Back row   France
Veresa Ramototabua Back row   Fiji
Player Position Union
Jonathan Ruru Scrum-half   New Zealand
Justin Bouraux Fly-half   France
Zack Holmes Fly-half   Australia
Chris Smith Fly-half   South Africa
Chris Farrell Centre   Ireland
Lucas Mensa Centre   Argentina
Maëlan Rabut Centre   France
Léo Treilles Centre   France
Daniel Ipkefan Wing   France
Karim Qadiri Wing   France
Eddie Sawailau Wing   Fiji
Gavin Stark Wing   New Zealand
Martin Bogado Fullback   Argentina
Maxime Salles Fullback   France
Darren Sweetnam Fullback   Ireland

Espoirs squad

edit

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

Player Position Union
Rémi Di Pietro Prop   France
Francesco Gandossi Prop   Italy
Antonin Corso Lock   France
Ronan Bernier Back row   France
Hugo Bongiovanni Back row   France
Hugo Hermet Back row   France
Paul Laulognon Back row   France
David Odiase Back row   Italy
Ignacio Pinerio Back row   Spain
Player Position Union
Yvan David Scrum-half   France
Alexis Pisani Scrum-half   France
Giulio Sari Scrum-half   Italy
Bastien Mercier Fly-half   France
Lorenzo Nanni Centre   Italy
Tomasi Tuitatava Centre   Fiji
Souleymane Coulibaly Wing   France
Thibault Le Gallée Wing   France
Maxime Belleterre Fullback   France
Ethan Clusel Fullback   France
Ethan Thorne Fullback   England
  • Notes:

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "L'histoire des Oyomen – OYONNAX RUGBY" (in French). 2024-02-03. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  2. ^ "Oyonnax Rugby Team | Oyonnax News, Players & Stats | RugbyPass". www.rugbypass.com. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  3. ^ "Effectif" (in French). Oyonnax Rugby. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Oyonnax squad for season 2023/2024". All Rugby. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
edit