Provence Rugby
Provence Rugby (Occitan: Provença Rugbi) is a French rugby union club currently playing in Rugby Pro D2, the second tier of France's league system. They were promoted back to the second level for the 2018–19 season after 2 seasons in Fédérale 1.
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| Full name | Provence Rugby | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Les Noirs (The Blacks) Le PARC | ||
| Founded | 1970 | ||
| Location | Aix-en-Provence, France | ||
| Ground(s) | Stade Maurice David (Capacity: 6,000) | ||
| President | Denis Philipon | ||
| Coach(es) | Jamie Cudmore Fabien Cibray and Patrick Pezery | ||
| Captain(s) | Tasi Luafutu | ||
| League(s) | Pro D2 | ||
| 2018–19 | 10th | ||
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| Official website | |||
| www | |||
Based in Aix-en-Provence in the Bouches-du-Rhône just north of Marseille, the club was founded in 1970. They currently play at Stade Maurice David and wear black. The club was known as Aix Rugby Club from 1970 to 2001, and Pays d'Aix Rugby Club (PARC) from 2001 to 2015.
At the end of 2004/5 they were promoted to Pro D2 but were relegated back to Fédérale 1 at the end of the season. They would return to Pro D2 as runners-up to Lannemezan in 2009. In the 2009–10 season, they finished next-to-last on the league table, in a relegation spot. However, they were reprieved when Top 14 club Montauban filed for bankruptcy and were relegated directly to Fédérale 1. They would suffer the drop after the 2012-13 season, not returning until 2015–16.
By that time, they had changed their name to the current Provence Rugby, officially announcing the name change on 22 June 2015.[1]
Provence finished last in the 2015–16 Pro D2 season. Initially, they were spared relegation when four clubs were relegated to Fédérale 1 due to financial mismanagement, but three of these eventually won appeals and remained in Pro D2,[2][3] consigning Provence to the drop.
Honours
- Fédérale 1:
- Champions: 2004, 2015, 2018
- Runners-up: 2009
- Deuxième Division:
- Champions: 1986
Current standings
The current table for the 2019–20 Rugby Pro D2 is:[4]
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Club | Pl | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | ||||||
| 1 | Colomiers | 23 | 17 | 0 | 6 | 573 | 381 | +192 | 5 | 4 | 77 | ||||||
| 2 | Perpignan | 23 | 16 | 0 | 7 | 671 | 426 | +245 | 8 | 4 | 76 | ||||||
| 3 | Grenoble | 23 | 14 | 1 | 8 | 572 | 399 | +173 | 7 | 2 | 67 | ||||||
| 4 | Oyonnax | 23 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 589 | 414 | +175 | 5 | 6 | 67 | ||||||
| 5 | Nevers | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 520 | 475 | +45 | 4 | 0 | 60 | ||||||
| 6 | Biarritz | 23 | 12 | 1 | 10 | 513 | 451 | +62 | 4 | 5 | 59 | ||||||
| 7 | Soyaux Angoulême | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 430 | 449 | -19 | 3 | 4 | 55 | ||||||
| 8 | Vannes | 23 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 460 | 485 | -25 | 3 | 3 | 54 | ||||||
| 9 | Béziers | 23 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 450 | 453 | -3 | 3 | 3 | 54 | ||||||
| 10 | Mont-de-Marsan | 23 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 499 | 521 | -22 | 2 | 5 | 51 | ||||||
| 11 | Carcassonne | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 469 | 544 | -75 | 1 | 2 | 49 | ||||||
| 12 | Provence | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 408 | 482 | -74 | 3 | 2 | 45 | ||||||
| 13 | Montauban | 22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 446 | 528 | -82 | 1 | 6 | 41 | ||||||
| 14 | Aurillac | 23 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 429 | 545 | -116 | 2 | 8 | 38 | ||||||
| 15 | Rouen | 23 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 345 | 558 | -213 | 0 | 7 | 31 | ||||||
| 16 | Valence Romans | 22 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 381 | 641 | -260 | 0 | 8 | 20 | ||||||
| Legend: Pos = Position, Pl = Played, W = Won, D = Drawn, L = Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, PD = Points Difference, TB = Try Bonus Points, LB = Losing Bonus Points, Pts = Points Total Green background (rows 1 and 2) receive semi-final Promotion play-off places. Blue background (rows 3 to 6) receive quarter-final Promotion play-off places. Red background relegation to Fédérale 1. Notes: When two teams have the same points total, position is determined by head-to-head results before points difference. | |||||||||||||||||
Current squad
The Provence squad for the 2019–20 season:[5]
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.
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Notable former players
- Jean-Luc Aqua
- Guillaume Delmotte
- Norman Jordaan
- Yannick Ricardo (Portuguese international)
- George Kutarashvili (Georgian international)
- Legi Matiu (French international)
- Mihai Lazăr (Romanian international)
- Ovidiu Toniţa (Romanian international)
- Chris Wyatt (Welsh international)
References
- "LE PARC devient Provence Rugby" (Press release) (in French). Provence Rugby. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- "Biarritz et Narbonne Maintenus en PRO D2" [Biarritz and Narbonne Remain in Pro D2] (Press release) (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- "Bourgoin Reste en PRO D2" [Bourgoin Remains in Pro D2] (Press release) (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
- "Classement PRO D2". Ligue Nationale de Rugby (in French). Retrieved 8 March 2020.
- "Effectif". Provence Rugby (in French). Retrieved 23 August 2018.