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Stade Rochelais

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For the basketball club, see Stade Rochelais Basket.

Stade Rochelais
Full nameStade Rochelais
Nickname(s)Les Maritimes (The Seaborn Men)
Les Jaune et Noir (The Yellow and Blacks)
Les Bagnards (The Convicts)
Founded1898; 126 years ago (1898)
LocationLa Rochelle, France
Ground(s)Stade Marcel-Deflandre (Capacity: 16,700)
ChairmanVincent Merling
Coach(es)Ronan O'Gara
Captain(s)Grégory Alldritt
Uini Atonio
League(s)Top 14
2023–245th
1st kit
2nd kit
3rd kit
Official website
www.staderochelais.com

Stade Rochelais (French pronunciation: [stad ʁɔʃlɛ]), commonly called La Rochelle, is a French professional rugby union club based in La Rochelle, France that competes in the Top 14. Founded in 1898 and wearing yellow and black, the club's first-team plays its home matches at Stade Marcel-Deflandre.

Alongside other French club Brive, La Rochelle is one of only two clubs that won the European Rugby Champions Cup (twice in its case; beating Leinster in both 2022 and 2023 finals) without succeeding in winning its domestic championship losing on both occasions against Toulouse in the final: the first time in 2021 and the second in 2023. Owned by several shareholders, including club president and coffee magnate Vincent Merling, the club is renowned for the fervour of its supporters and its continual sold-out home matches.

History

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Originally formed in 1898, Stade Rochelais won three regional Atlantic championships in the early part of the 20th century, qualifying them for the French Championship, where they reached the quarter-finals twice and the semi-finals once.[1] The popularity of rugby league in the area lessened the number of available players, and in 1935 Stade Rochelais merged with neighbours Union Sportive Rochelaise.[1]

Occupation of La Rochelle by troops from Nazi Germany, accompanied by a banning of rugby league by the Vichy Government, forced the city's rugby league club La Rochelle-Etudiants XIII to also be merged into Stade Rochelais in 1941.[1] This was overseen by club President Marcel Deflandre, who was later executed for his role as part of the French Resistance - the club's stadium is named Stade Marcel-Deflandre in his honour.[1]

The club formed a school for training players and coaches in the 1950s, resulting in them reaching the French Championship quarter-finals three times in the 1960s.[1] They were relegated in 1985, returning in 1997.[1] They were again relegated in 2002, though they won the Challenge Yves du Manoir that same year.[1] They retained the Challenge title the following year but were not promoted again until 2010.[1] They spent one season in Top 16 before being relegated again.[1]

Les Maritimes came third in the 2013–14 Rugby Pro D2 season and were promoting after beating Agen in the play-off final.

In May 2022, they won both their first ever trophy and first ever Champions Cup defeating Leinster 24-21 at the Stade Vélodrome.[2]

In May 2023, they retained the Champions Cup again deafeating Leinster this time 27-26 at the Aviva Stadium.[3]

Honours

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Finals results

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French Championship

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Date Winners Score Runners-up Venue Spectators
25 June 2021 Stade Toulousain 18–8 Stade Rochelais Stade de France, Saint-Denis 14,000
17 June 2023 Stade Toulousain 29-26 Stade Rochelais Stade de France, Saint-Denis 79,804

European Rugby Champions Cup

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Date Winners Score Runners-up Venue Spectators
22 May 2021 France Stade Toulousain 22–17 France Stade Rochelais Twickenham Stadium, London 10,000
28 May 2022 France Stade Rochelais 24–21 Ireland Leinster Orange Vélodrome, Marseille 59,682
20 May 2023 France Stade Rochelais 27–26 Ireland Leinster Aviva Stadium, Dublin 51,711

European Rugby Challenge Cup

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Date Winners Score Runners-up Venue Spectators
10 May 2019 France ASM Clermont 36–16 France Stade Rochelais St James' Park, Newcastle 28,438

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 7 5 0 2 203 128 +75 24 15 2 2 24 Playoffs and Qualification for 2025–26 European Rugby Champions Cup
2 Bordeaux Bègles 7 5 0 2 258 171 +87 36 23 2 1 23
3 La Rochelle 7 5 0 2 194 172 +22 26 21 2 0 22
4 Toulon 7 4 0 3 167 134 +33 18 14 1 2 19
5 Clermont 7 4 0 3 176 182 −6 23 19 3 0 19
6 Castres 7 4 0 3 213 179 +34 24 19 1 2 19
7 Bayonne 7 4 0 3 184 175 +9 23 22 1 1 18 Qualification for 2025–26 European Rugby Champions Cup
8 Lyon 7 4 0 3 197 191 +6 21 21 1 1 18
9 Pau 7 3 0 4 170 192 −22 22 26 2 1 15 Qualification for 2025–26 European Rugby Challenge Cup
10 Racing 92 7 3 0 4 175 182 −7 20 21 0 2 14
11 Perpignan 7 3 0 4 123 179 −56 11 20 1 1 14
12 Montpellier 7 2 0 5 149 164 −15 15 17 0 2 10
13 Stade Français 7 2 0 5 131 211 −80 15 27 0 1 9 Qualification for Relegation play-off
14 Vannes 7 1 0 6 179 259 −80 22 34 0 3 7 Relegation to Pro D2
Updated to match(es) played on 20 October 2024. Source: Top 14


Current squad

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For player movements before or during the 2024–25 season, see List of 2024–25 Top 14 transfers § La Rochelle.

The La Rochelle squad for the 2024–25 season is:[4][5]

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

Player Position Union
Pierre Bourgarit Hooker France France
Tolu Latu Hooker Australia Australia
Quentin Lespiaucq Hooker France France
Uini Atonio Prop France France
Georges-Henri Colombe Prop France France
Alexsandre Kuntelia Prop Georgia (country) Georgia
Thierry Paiva Prop France France
Louis Penverne Prop France France
Joel Sclavi Prop Argentina Argentina
Reda Wardi Prop France France
Ultan Dillane Lock Ireland Ireland
Kane Douglas Lock Australia Australia
Thomas Lavault Lock France France
Will Skelton Lock Australia Australia
Grégory Alldritt Back row France France
Levani Botia Back row Fiji Fiji
Paul Boudehent Back row France France
Judicaël Cancoriet Back row France France
Matthias Haddad Back row France France
Oscar Jégou Back row France France
Player Position Union
Thomas Berjon Scrum-half France France
Teddy Iribaren Scrum-half France France
Tawera Kerr-Barlow Scrum-half New Zealand New Zealand
Antoine Hastoy Fly-half France France
Hugo Reus Fly-half France France
Ihaia West Fly-half New Zealand New Zealand
Jonathan Danty Centre France France
Jules Favre Centre France France
UJ Seuteni Centre Samoa Samoa
Dillyn Leyds Wing South Africa South Africa
Jack Nowell Wing England England
Raymond Rhule Wing South Africa South Africa
Teddy Thomas Wing France France
Brice Dulin 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
Alexandre Kaddouni Prop France France
Nika Sutidze Prop Georgia (country) Georgia
Robin Garnier Lock France France
Simon Huchet Lock France France
Sampie Joubert Lock South Africa South Africa
Charles Kante-Samba Lock France France
Edouard Richer Back row France France
Player Position Union
Timothee Castaignede Fly-half France France
Simeli Daunivucu Centre Fiji Fiji
Romain Lamit Centre France France
Seru Tomasi Centre Fiji Fiji
Theo Williamson Centre England England
Ike Anagu Wing Ireland Ireland
Nathan Bollengier Wing France France
Hoani Bosmorin Wing France France
Mathis Lhomet Wing France France
Maxime Tetlow Fullback France France

Notable former players

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See also: Category:Stade Rochelais players

Arnaud, then his son Jean-Pierre and his grandson Jean-Baptiste all played for La Rochelle as scrum-halves.

Coaches

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Well known former coaches include

The club only had five head coaches from 1992 to 2024 including Ronan O'Gara since 2019.[6][7]

Leadership and management

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Vincent Merling, president as of 2017, had guided the club for 25 years. He was the driving force behind the "Grow Together" campaign launched in 2015 that persuaded 500 local businesses to support/sponsor the club.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Local club La Rochelle now pressing claims at Europe's top table". The Irish Times. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  2. ^ Kitson, Robert. "This article is more than 2 years old La Rochelle stun Leinster with late try to win Champions Cup for first time". Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  3. ^ Gault, Matt. "Champions Cup: Leinster 26-27 La Rochelle - French side edge thriller". BBC. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Effectif" (in French). Stade Rochelais. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  5. ^ "La Rochelle squad for season 2023/2024". All Rugby. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Europe's team of the season are coming to Murrayfield". www.scotsman.com. 26 March 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  7. ^ Farrell, Sean. "Ronan O'Gara returning to Top 14 as head coach with La Rochelle". Retrieved 1 November 2024.
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