Oyonnax Rugby

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

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.

History

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

Current standings

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

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

Espoirs squad

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

See also

References

  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.