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Lyon OU Rugby

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Lyon OU
Full nameLyon Olympique Universitaire
Nickname(s)Le LOU
Founded1896; 129 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 18 13 1 4 570 295 +275 72 33 7 4 65 Qualification for playoff semi-finals and European Rugby Champions Cup
2 Bordeaux Bègles 18 13 0 5 533 376 +157 68 44 4 4 60
3 Toulon 18 12 0 6 490 392 +98 58 42 6 3 57 Qualification for playoff semi-final qualifiers and European Rugby Champions Cup
4 Bayonne 18 11 0 7 439 455 −16 47 58 1 2 47
5 Castres 18 9 1 8 442 468 −26 49 46 1 3 42
6 Lyon 18 8 2 8 468 461 +7 51 48 2 2 40
7 Clermont 18 8 0 10 419 446 −27 53 47 4 3 39 Qualification for European Rugby Champions Cup
8 Montpellier 18 8 0 10 404 370 +34 40 38 2 4 38
9 La Rochelle 18 8 0 10 403 458 −55 49 49 3 3 38 Qualification for European Rugby Challenge Cup
10 Pau 18 8 0 10 450 481 −31 48 61 3 3 38
11 Stade Français 18 7 0 11 399 499 −100 42 60 2 2 32
12 Racing 92 18 6 1 11 445 496 −51 50 56 0 5 31
13 Perpignan 18 6 1 11 299 422 −123 26 46 2 2 30 Qualification for relegation play-off
14 Vannes 18 6 0 12 463 605 −142 52 77 0 4 28 Relegation to Pro D2
Updated to match(es) played on 10 March 2025. 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
Camille Chat 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
Wayan de Benedittis Prop France France
Cedate Gomes Sa Prop France France
Hamza Kaabeche Prop France France
Jérôme Rey Prop France France
Sébastien Taofifénua Prop France France
Kilian Geraci Lock France France
Mickaël Guillard Lock France France
Félix Lambey Lock France France
Tomás 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
Martin Méliande Fly-half France France
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
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
Terence Fusi Hooker Australia Australia
Baptiste Narmand Hooker France France
Ave Maalo Prop New Zealand New Zealand
Thomas Marceline Prop France France
Lyan Pakihivatau Prop France France
Valentin Simutoga Prop France France
Lilian Brun-Bourdi Lock France France
Fousseynou Cissokho Lock France France
Jarlath Gleeson Lock England England
Bartholome Sanson Lock France France
Ruan Viviers Lock South Africa South Africa
Gael Almorin Back row Spain Spain
Cleo Bard Back row France France
Lilian Baret Back row France France
Antoine Deliance Back row France France
Luka Saginadze Back row Georgia (country) Georgia
Marvin Okuya Back row France France
Jules Vuachet Back row France France
Player Position Union
Leny Aram Scrum-half France France
Teo Boucheron Scrum-half France France
Esteban Gonzalez Scrum-half France France
Mathis Galeazzi Fly-half France France
Paco Mazoyer Fly-half France France
Romain Rigult Fly-half France France
Dorian Diabou Centre France France
Dorian Marceline Centre France France
Mylan Sosse Centre France France
Miracle Tangata Centre Australia Australia
Noah Jallet Wing France France
Charly Mignot Wing France France
Luka Khorbaladze Fullback Georgia (country) Georgia
Gabin Lacoste Fullback France France

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Site officiel" (in French). LOU Rugby.fr. 5 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Lyon squad for season 2024/2025". All Rugby. 5 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
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