Bordeaux Rugby Métropole
Encyclopedia
Union Bordeaux Bègles is a French
rugby union team currently preparing to join the Top 14, the first level of the country's professional league system. They earned their Top 14 place by winning the promotion playoffs that followed the 2010–11 season
in the second-level Rugby Pro D2
. As a new member of Top 14, they are also assured a place in the European Challenge Cup
.
They were founded in 2006 as a result of a merger between two Bordeaux clubs, Stade Bordelais
and Club Athlétique Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde. They wear claret (in French: bordeaux) and white. They are based in Bordeaux
in Aquitaine
, and play at the Stade André Moga
, in Bègles
. The two teams which amalgamated cumulated nine championship titles of France: seven for the Stade Bordelais and two for the Club Athlétique Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde. Since 2006 and the amalgamation, the club competed in Pro D2 until winning the 2011 promotion playoffs.
The Stade Bordelais was a large national Rugby team at the end of XIXe and the beginning of the XXe century (7 championships between 1899 and 1911), before continuing their life within the amateur championships.
The CA Béglais did not reach soaring highs before the First World War, finally gaining two French Championships in 1969 and 1991 and then taking part in the first European Rugby Cup
in 1995. The transition into the new millennium was hard. The club was relegated to the Pro D2 at the conclusion of the 2002-2003 season, then into the Fédérale 1
division, while Stade Bordelais took the opposite direction and reached Pro D2.
In 2005, a plan to merge both clubs was created, in spite of strong opposition by both club's supporters. There was strong insight from former influential players (Serge Simon, Bernard Laporte
) who pushed for a result of pooling the assets of the two clubs. One of the arguments frequently employed in favour of fusion was that the local companies did not know which club to promote.
On the 10th of March, 2006, Bordeaux Rugby Metropolis was created. This association gathered a network of local companies eager to imply themselves in the formation of a large club in Bordeaux.
Bordeaux Rugby Metropolis organised in June 2006 the event 'Bordeaux Rugby Quinconces' which brought together 25,000 people and 100 companies during 3 days on the Esplanade of the Quinconces of Bordeaux. Under the influence of the association, the historical dissensions between the two clubs were partly alleviated. A union was sealed, in the shape of a Professional Sporting Public Limit Company (SASP), with the issue of work for a committee made up of six members resulting with members from each of the two clubs (CABBG : Michel Moga, Alban Moga, Raymond Chatenet; Stade bordelais : Jean-Pierre Lamarque, Herve Hargous, Philippe Moulia).
Only the professional squads were actually merged, as each club has kept its youth teams to this day.
The new team took the place of the Stade Bordelais
in the Pro D2. The training centre of Bègles is particularly strong and will hopefully provide players to the top grades.
For their first seasons, the team profited from a budget of €3.6 million. Frederic Martini remained one year as the president of USBCABBG before yielding his place to Laurent Marti, entrepreneur bergeracois (Groupe Top Tex, basé à Toulouse) at the start of the 2006 season. The new president has contributed to finalising where the Union's home ground would be (Stage Andre Moga de Bègles
), and the unpronouncable name "USBCABBG" which became Union Bordeaux Bègles (UBB) in the spring of 2008. Laurent Marti contributed largely to increase the club's budget, passing it from €3,8 million (euros) in 2007-2008 to €4,2 million (euros) 2008-2009. The ambition is to rediscover the clubs elite form in a short-term (two or three years).
The Pro D2 2010-2011 season, saw the club finish fifth place on the table and gaining a place in the finals. The UBB beat Grenoble
(12-19) in the semis, securing their spot in the final against SC Albi
. The grand final took place in Agen
with the final result going to the Bordealaise (14-21), also seeing them promoted to the Top 14.
In May 2008, the club's name, known for its length, was changed to 'Union Bordeaux Bègles'.
at Bègles—although the rules of the (French) National Rugby League specify that no Pro D2 rugby club could play their home matches at two different home grounds. During the second season, it was decided that the 1st grade matches would be held in Bègles, while the lower grade matches would be held in Bouscat.
For their ascent to the Top14 competition(2011-2012 season), it was decided that matches would be shared between Stade Andre Moga
(in Bègles) and Stade Chaban-Delmas
(in Bordeaux) as follows:
- For home matches against Aviron Bayonnais
, the RC Toulon
, the Racing Métro 92, the ASM Clermont Auvergne
and Stade Toulousain
in the Top 14
- Home match against the London Wasps
in the European Challenge Cup
(Amlin Challenge Cup)
- Receptions of other clubs in the Top 14 Championship
- For home matches against Aviron Bayonnais
and Rugby Rovigo
in the European Challenge Cup
(Amlin Challenge Cup)
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
rugby union team currently preparing to join the Top 14, the first level of the country's professional league system. They earned their Top 14 place by winning the promotion playoffs that followed the 2010–11 season
2010–11 Rugby Pro D2 season
Agen, who had been a favorite for promotion ever since they were relegated at the end of the 2006–07 season, finally lived up to the expectations and dominated the championship from the start, finishing with a comfortable 11-point margin over 2nd-placed Lyon and thus earning promotion to the...
in the second-level Rugby Pro D2
Rugby Pro D2
Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second level of domestic club rugby union in France, below the first division, Top 14. The competition was introduced in 2000. There is relegation and promotion between both the Top 14 and Fédérale 1, the third-level competition...
. As a new member of Top 14, they are also assured a place in the European Challenge Cup
European Challenge Cup
The European Challenge Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Amlin Challenge Cup, is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup. The cup was known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003 to 2005. The European...
.
They were founded in 2006 as a result of a merger between two Bordeaux clubs, Stade Bordelais
Stade Bordelais
Stade Bordelais are a French rugby union club, based in Bordeaux.The club was established in 1889. Bordelais were a major force in the French championship during the 1900s...
and Club Athlétique Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde. They wear claret (in French: bordeaux) and white. They are based in Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
in Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
, and play at the Stade André Moga
Stade André Moga
Stade André Moga is a sports stadium in Bègles, France. It hosts the home matches of Union Bordeaux Bègles, a rugby union team who play in the Top 14 competition...
, in Bègles
Bègles
Bègles is a commune in the Gironde department in southwestern France.It is a suburb of the city of Bordeaux and is adjacent to it on the south.-Population:-Personalities:Bègles was the birthplace of:* Sandrine Cantoreggi , violinist...
. The two teams which amalgamated cumulated nine championship titles of France: seven for the Stade Bordelais and two for the Club Athlétique Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde. Since 2006 and the amalgamation, the club competed in Pro D2 until winning the 2011 promotion playoffs.
History
For several years, the city of Bordeaux suffered from the absence of a leading club, or rather from the competition between the two large clubs of the city, the Stade Bordelais and CA Bordeaux-Bègles-Gironde.The Stade Bordelais was a large national Rugby team at the end of XIXe and the beginning of the XXe century (7 championships between 1899 and 1911), before continuing their life within the amateur championships.
The CA Béglais did not reach soaring highs before the First World War, finally gaining two French Championships in 1969 and 1991 and then taking part in the first European Rugby Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
in 1995. The transition into the new millennium was hard. The club was relegated to the Pro D2 at the conclusion of the 2002-2003 season, then into the Fédérale 1
Fédérale 1
Le championnat de France de première division fédérale, a.k.a. Fédérale 1, is a French rugby union club competition, the highest level of amateur rugby. The competition has been organised by the Fédération Française de Rugby since 2000, when it replaced the B2 Group...
division, while Stade Bordelais took the opposite direction and reached Pro D2.
In 2005, a plan to merge both clubs was created, in spite of strong opposition by both club's supporters. There was strong insight from former influential players (Serge Simon, Bernard Laporte
Bernard Laporte
Bernard Laporte is a rugby union coach and former French Secretary of State for Sport. He is currently the head coach at Toulon, having taken over in 2011 from Philippe Saint-André, who had been named the new head coach of the France national team. Laporte himself is a former head coach of France,...
) who pushed for a result of pooling the assets of the two clubs. One of the arguments frequently employed in favour of fusion was that the local companies did not know which club to promote.
On the 10th of March, 2006, Bordeaux Rugby Metropolis was created. This association gathered a network of local companies eager to imply themselves in the formation of a large club in Bordeaux.
Bordeaux Rugby Metropolis organised in June 2006 the event 'Bordeaux Rugby Quinconces' which brought together 25,000 people and 100 companies during 3 days on the Esplanade of the Quinconces of Bordeaux. Under the influence of the association, the historical dissensions between the two clubs were partly alleviated. A union was sealed, in the shape of a Professional Sporting Public Limit Company (SASP), with the issue of work for a committee made up of six members resulting with members from each of the two clubs (CABBG : Michel Moga, Alban Moga, Raymond Chatenet; Stade bordelais : Jean-Pierre Lamarque, Herve Hargous, Philippe Moulia).
Only the professional squads were actually merged, as each club has kept its youth teams to this day.
The new team took the place of the Stade Bordelais
Stade Bordelais
Stade Bordelais are a French rugby union club, based in Bordeaux.The club was established in 1889. Bordelais were a major force in the French championship during the 1900s...
in the Pro D2. The training centre of Bègles is particularly strong and will hopefully provide players to the top grades.
For their first seasons, the team profited from a budget of €3.6 million. Frederic Martini remained one year as the president of USBCABBG before yielding his place to Laurent Marti, entrepreneur bergeracois (Groupe Top Tex, basé à Toulouse) at the start of the 2006 season. The new president has contributed to finalising where the Union's home ground would be (Stage Andre Moga de Bègles
Stade André Moga
Stade André Moga is a sports stadium in Bègles, France. It hosts the home matches of Union Bordeaux Bègles, a rugby union team who play in the Top 14 competition...
), and the unpronouncable name "USBCABBG" which became Union Bordeaux Bègles (UBB) in the spring of 2008. Laurent Marti contributed largely to increase the club's budget, passing it from €3,8 million (euros) in 2007-2008 to €4,2 million (euros) 2008-2009. The ambition is to rediscover the clubs elite form in a short-term (two or three years).
The Pro D2 2010-2011 season, saw the club finish fifth place on the table and gaining a place in the finals. The UBB beat Grenoble
FC Grenoble
Football Club de Grenoble Alpes Rugby is a French rugby union club which, until recently, competed in the top level of the French league system. They play at Stade Lesdiguières . They wear red and blue.-History:...
(12-19) in the semis, securing their spot in the final against SC Albi
SC Albi
Sporting Club Albigeois is a professional French rugby union club playing the second-level Rugby Pro D2. During the past years it went back and forth between Top 14, the highest level of the French league system and the second-level Rugby Pro D2. Their last time in the Top 14 was for 2009–10 after...
. The grand final took place in Agen
Stade Armandie
Stade Armandie is a multi-purpose stadium in Agen, France. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of SU Agen. The stadium is able to hold 14,000 people....
with the final result going to the Bordealaise (14-21), also seeing them promoted to the Top 14.
Name
In spite of calls to simplify the club name, "Union Stade bordelais-C.A.Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde" was adopted, neither of the two clubs wanting to yield. The Béglais refused to disappear within a name which would only mention Bordeaux (for exapmple: Bordeaux Rugby), whereas high level Rugby in the area at the time was the CAB. "We found it hard to find a name for the club which is appropriate for the two teams. The selected name respects the concepts of parity and equilibrium" (Philippe Moulia, président du Stade bordelais omnisports)In May 2008, the club's name, known for its length, was changed to 'Union Bordeaux Bègles'.
Stadium
The other problem related to the home ground. Neither of the two clubs wanted to yield, so that, for their first season, the team was to play 7 matches at the Stade Sainte-Germaine at Bouscat and the other 7 matches at the Stade André-MogaStade André Moga
Stade André Moga is a sports stadium in Bègles, France. It hosts the home matches of Union Bordeaux Bègles, a rugby union team who play in the Top 14 competition...
at Bègles—although the rules of the (French) National Rugby League specify that no Pro D2 rugby club could play their home matches at two different home grounds. During the second season, it was decided that the 1st grade matches would be held in Bègles, while the lower grade matches would be held in Bouscat.
For their ascent to the Top14 competition(2011-2012 season), it was decided that matches would be shared between Stade Andre Moga
Stade André Moga
Stade André Moga is a sports stadium in Bègles, France. It hosts the home matches of Union Bordeaux Bègles, a rugby union team who play in the Top 14 competition...
(in Bègles) and Stade Chaban-Delmas
Stade Chaban-Delmas
Stade Chaban-Delmas is a sporting stadium located in the city of Bordeaux, France. It is the home ground of FC Girondins de Bordeaux.Until 2001, the stadium's name was the Stade du Parc Lescure...
(in Bordeaux) as follows:
- Stade Chaban-DelmasStade Chaban-DelmasStade Chaban-Delmas is a sporting stadium located in the city of Bordeaux, France. It is the home ground of FC Girondins de Bordeaux.Until 2001, the stadium's name was the Stade du Parc Lescure...
- For home matches against Aviron Bayonnais
Aviron Bayonnais
Aviron Bayonnais is a French rugby union club from Bayonne in Pyrénées-Atlantiques that currently competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14 competition...
, the RC Toulon
RC Toulonnais
RC Toulonnais is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, the Racing Métro 92, the ASM Clermont Auvergne
ASM Clermont Auvergne
Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne are a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system, ASMCA are the were the 2010 France Top 14 Champions. It is the rugby section of the multi-sport club...
and Stade Toulousain
Stade Toulousain
Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a French rugby union club from Toulouse in Midi-Pyrénées. Toulouse is one of the finest rugby clubs in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup four times – in 1996, 2003, 2005 and 2010. They were also runners-up in 2004 and 2008 against London Wasps...
in the Top 14
- Home match against the London Wasps
London Wasps
London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999...
in the European Challenge Cup
European Challenge Cup
The European Challenge Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Amlin Challenge Cup, is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup. The cup was known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003 to 2005. The European...
(Amlin Challenge Cup)
- Stade André-MogaStade André MogaStade André Moga is a sports stadium in Bègles, France. It hosts the home matches of Union Bordeaux Bègles, a rugby union team who play in the Top 14 competition...
- Receptions of other clubs in the Top 14 Championship
- For home matches against Aviron Bayonnais
Aviron Bayonnais
Aviron Bayonnais is a French rugby union club from Bayonne in Pyrénées-Atlantiques that currently competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14 competition...
and Rugby Rovigo
Rugby Rovigo
Rugby Rovigo Delta are an Italian rugby union club currently competing in Super 10.They are based in Rovigo in Veneto....
in the European Challenge Cup
European Challenge Cup
The European Challenge Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Amlin Challenge Cup, is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup. The cup was known as the Parker Pen Shield from 2001 to 2003 and Parker Pen Challenge Cup from 2003 to 2005. The European...
(Amlin Challenge Cup)
Logo
The logo represents, on one side the blue and white checker work of CA Béglais and the other side the yellow lion with a black base of Stade Bordelais. The crescents symbolises the city of Bordeaux.Rugby Pro D2
- 2010–11 - 5th; won promotion playoffs
- 2009-10 - 9th
- 2008-092008-09 Rugby Pro D2 seasonThe 2008–09 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, in the 2008–09 season. It ran alongside the 2008–09 Top 14 competition; both competitions were operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby ....
- 11th - 2007-082007-08 Rugby Pro D2 seasonThe 2007-08 Rugby Pro D2 was a French rugby union club competition. The season ran alongside the 2007-08 Top 14 competition, which is the highest club competition. Both competitions were operated by the Ligue nationale de rugby ....
- 12th - 2006-072006-07 Rugby Pro D2 seasonThe 2006-07 Rugby Pro D2 is a French rugby union club competition. The season runs alongside the 2006-07 Top 14 competition, which is the highest club competition. At the end of the season, Auch were champions and thus automatically promoted to Top 14. They were eventually followed by Dax who beat...
- 12th - 2005-062005-06 Rugby Pro D2 seasonThe 2005-06 season of the Pro D2 ran from August 2005 to June 2006.The top two teams gained promotion to the Top 14 whilst the bottom three teams were relegated to Fédérale 1.-Standings:...
- 7th