Oyonnax Rugby

Oyonnax Rugby (French pronunciation: [ɔjɔna ʁyɡbi]) is a French professional rugby union club based in Oyonnax and competing in the Top 14. 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

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

2023–24 Top 14 Table
PosTeamPldWDLPFPAPDTFTATBLBPtsQualification
1Toulouse (Q)261619765592+173103727376Playoffs and Qualification for 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup
2Stade Français (Q)261718539511+2857494175
3Bordeaux Bègles (Q)2615011677558+11980665469
4Toulon (Q)2615011704519+18572585469
5La Rochelle (Q)2613112595496+9969495766
6Racing 92 (Q)2613013622546+7679565562
7Castres2613013643642+169774662Qualification for 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup
8Clermont2612212621671−5074786361
9Pau2613013630609+2168723560Qualification for 2024–25 European Rugby Challenge Cup
10Perpignan2613013634701−6780855158
11Lyon2612014630754−12472905255
12Bayonne2611015572669−9765772652
13Montpellier (Q)269017542655−11361791744Qualification for Relegation play-off
14Oyonnax (R)267118539790−25158990434Relegation to Pro D2
Updated to match(es) played on 18 May 2024. Source: Top 14
(Q) Qualified for the playoffs; (R) Relegated


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.

PlayerPositionUnion
Teddy DurandHooker France
Benjamin GélédanHooker France
Peniami NarisiaHooker Fiji
Antoine AbrahamProp France
Thibault BerthaudProp France
Adrien BordenaveProp France
Oli KebbleProp Scotland
Ali OzProp France
Paulo TafiliProp France
Christopher VaotoaProp France
Phoenix BattyeLock Australia
Hugo FabrégueLock France
Ewan JohnsonLock Scotland
Victor LebasLock France
Manuel LeindekarLock Uruguay
Loïc GodenerBack row France
Rory GriceBack row New Zealand
Kévin KornathBack row France
Kévin LebretonBack row France
Antoine MiquelBack row France
Wandrille PicaultBack row France
Veresa RamototabuaBack row Fiji
PlayerPositionUnion
Jonathan RuruScrum-half New Zealand
Justin BourauxFly-half France
Zach HolmesFly-half Australia
Chris SmithFly-half South Africa
Chris FarrellCentre Ireland
Lucas MensaCentre Argentina
Maëlan RabutCentre France
Léo TreillesCentre France
Daniel IpkefanWing France
Karim QadiriWing France
Eddie SawailauWing Fiji
Gavin StarkWing New Zealand
Martin BogadoFullback Argentina
Maxime SallesFullback France
Darren SweetnamFullback Ireland

Espoirs squad

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

PlayerPositionUnion
Rémi Di PietroProp France
Francesco GandossiProp Italy
Antonin CorsoLock France
Ronan BernierBack row France
Hugo BongiovanniBack row France
Hugo HermetBack row France
Paul LaulognonBack row France
David OdiaseBack row Italy
Ignacio PinerioBack row Spain
PlayerPositionUnion
Yvan DavidScrum-half France
Alexis PisaniScrum-half France
Giulio SariScrum-half Italy
Bastien MercierFly-half France
Lorenzo NanniCentre Italy
Tomasi TuitatavaCentre Fiji
Souleymane CoulibalyWing France
Thibault Le GalléeWing France
Maxime BelleterreFullback France
Ethan CluselFullback France
Ethan ThorneFullback England
  • Notes:

See also

References