Stade Français Paris
Encyclopedia
Stade Français CASG is a French professional rugby union
club based in the 16th arrondissement
of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era.
Stade Français was founded in 1883; its traditional home is Stade Jean-Bouin
, though the club has recently played some home games at the 80,000-seat Stade de France
, taking anywhere from two to five matches to the larger venue each season since 2005–06. Starting with the 2010–11 season
, it moved its main home ground to the 20,000-capacity Stade Charléty
in Paris to allow a new stadium to be built at the Jean-Bouin site. The club was founded in its current form in 1995 with the merger of the rugby sections of the Stade Français and Club Athlétique des Sports Généraux (CASG).
The team participated in the first French championship final in 1892, and went on to win numerous titles during the early 1900s. Stade Francais spent about 50 years in the lower divisions of French rugby, until entrepreneur Max Guazzini
took over in 1992, overseeing a rise to prominence, which saw the team returning to the elite division in just five seasons, and capture four French championships in seven years. After a financial crisis plagued the club in 2011, Guazzini sold a majority stake and stepped down as club president.
Stade Français was established in 1883 by a group of students in Paris. On 20 March 1892
the USFSA
organised the first ever French rugby union
championship, a one-off game between Racing Club de France and Stade Français. The game was refereed by Pierre de Coubertin
and saw Racing win 4–3. However the club were able to make up for the loss the next season when the two teams met again in the final, with Stade Français winning 7 points to 3. The team quickly became a powerful side in the competition, featuring in every championship in succession until 1899, successful in 1894, 1895, 1897 and 1898.
From 1899 through to the 1908 season Stade Français would contest the championship final on six occasions against Bordelais, winning in 1901 and again in 1908. Stade Français also defeated SOE Toulouse
in the 1903 season in Toulouse. Following a vast amount of success during the early years of the domestic league, after 1908 Stade Français would not make another final appearance until the 1927 season, when they were defeated by Toulouse 19 points to 9 in Toulouse
. Stade Français would then go onto spend over fifty years in the lower divisions of French rugby.
While in the third division of the French leagues, entrepreneur Max Guazzini
took over the club in 1992 with the dream of bringing back top class rugby to the city of Paris. Stade Français CASG was born in 1995 through the merger of the existing Stade Français club and another Parisian side, Club Athlétique des Sports Généraux (CASG). The team returned to the top division in 1995 which coincided with the appointment of head coach Bernard Laporte
. By 1998 the team had reached the championship final, and captured their first title since 1908, defeating Perpignan
34 points to 7 at Stade de France
. Laporte left the club to coach the national team
, he was replaced by Georges Coste who was in turn replaced by John Connolly
in 2000.
Connolly took the club to their first Heineken Cup
final in May 2001, where they were defeated by the Leicester Tigers
34 points to 30 at Parc des Princes
. Connolly left in 2002 and was replaced by South African Nick Mallet. Stade Français won the domestic league again in both 2003 and 2004. During the 2004–05 season Stade Français went close to winning both the French league and the Heineken Cup, but lost both finals; beaten by Biarritz
domestically and by Toulouse in the European Heineken Cup after extra time in Scotland. Mallett soon returned home to South Africa and former Stade Français player and national captain Fabien Galthié
was appointed head coach. Stade won the 2006–07 championship, defeating Clermont 23 points to 18 at Stade de France.
The club faced serious financial issues during the 2010–11 season
due to the failure of an affiliated advertising company. In early June 2011, Stade Français temporarily avoided an administrative relegation to the amateur Fédérale 1
league when Guazzini announced a deal by which an unnamed investor, working through a Canada
-based foundation, would purchase a majority stake in the club. However, the deal collapsed in scandal, with at least three people linked to the deal arrested. On the deadline set by France's professional league for a resolution of the club's situation, Guazzini announced a new deal, in which Jean-Pierre Savare, chairman of French security systems company Oberthur Technologies
, purchased a controlling stake in the club. Guazzini stepped down as president in favor of Savare's son Thomas, remaining with the club as honorary president.
is a loyal supporter and a close friend of former Stade chairman Max Guazzini, who served as Delanoë's legal counsel in the late 1970s and early 1980s).
Royal blue (of a fairly darker hue in the recent seasons) is the main colour, used for the jersey, while the shorts are red and the stockings white. The logo sports the club’s three colours, blue, white and red. The white letters S and F (the club’s initials) are painted on a red-blue shield. The twelve blue stars represent the twelve championship wins.
President Guazzini wanted to create identifiable jerseys. He first decided to include three flashes of lighting, which are now the club’s emblem, and to have a new shirt every year. In 2005, Guazzini went further and chose to shock the ’’macho’’ world of rugby by introducing a pink away jersey, pink being one of the rarest colours used by sports teams. Stade Français played their first match in the new colours at Perpignan
in September 2005 and lost (12–16). They then used it regularly. On 15 April 2006, SF played at Toulouse
and asked permission to don their pink jersey. The referee refused because, he said, pink would clash with Toulouse’s red.
The club sold 20,000 pink replica jerseys in 2005–06. Guazzini also had more than 10,000 pink flags manufactured, which were scattered on the seats at the Stade de France for the two games against Toulouse and Biarritz
. Two new jerseys were introduced at the beginning of the 2006–07 season. A pink one, designed by fashion designer Kenzo
, was used for Stade’s home debut against Montpellier
on 19 August 2006. A new navy blue one was used for the second home game against Bayonne
on 9 September 2006, and has raised questions as it sports big pink lilies, green flashes and green numbers in the back (green is not a club colour). It had been officially presented to the players a few minutes before the game and received by them with cheers and claps. Only wing Christophe Dominici
had been allowed to see it beforehand. The radio-controlled car
used to bring the tee
to the kicker was painted in pink for the 2006–2007 season.
The team's home stadium is Stade Jean-Bouin
which has a capacity of 12,000. Guazzini made a decision to take a European quarter final match against Newcastle to the significantly larger Parc des Princes
, which is literally across the street from Stade Jean-Bouin. Guazzini booked the national stadium of France, the 80,000 Stade de France
for a Top 14 fixture against Toulouse. The move was successful, with 79,502 officially turning up for the game, smashing the regular season attendance record in France. At the end of the match, Guazzini announced that he had booked the venue for the Biarritz match – a rematch of the 2004–05 final. Stade Français drew an even larger crowd to the game (79,604), toppling the previous record set that same season.
After a period of much speculation, the match was taken to the Stade Charléty, remaining in Paris. On 14 October 2006, the record was broken for the third time in a row (79,619) for a championship tie against Biarritz. Stade Français booked Parc des Princes for a Heineken Cup showdown with the Sale Sharks
on 10 December 2006 and drew 44,100 to see Stade win 27–16. On 27 January 2007, Stade Français set yet another French attendance record by drawing 79,741 to Stade de France for their 22–20 win over Toulouse. Stade Français played their opening match of the 2007–08
season at Stade de France against Clermont
; they failed to set a national attendance record this time, but still drew 75,620. On 22 March 2008, they played their home match against Toulouse at Stade de France for the third straight season, and set yet another record with 79,779 in attendance. The 2007–08 season marked the first time that Stade Français played a third regular-season match at Stade de France, as they booked the venue for their 7 June match with Biarritz; they drew 79,544 for that match.
In 2008–09, they played four home matches at Stade de France—their Top 14
home fixtures against Toulouse, Perpignan
and Clermont, plus a Heineken Cup
pool match against Harlequins
. They scheduled five Top 14 matches at Stade de France in 2009–10
—Perpignan, Bayonne
, Biarritz, Toulouse, and Clermont. In the upcoming 2010–11 season
, the number of Top 14 matches at Stade de France will return to three, namely Toulon
, Toulouse, and Clermont.
In the 2000s Stade Français has also took some matches to another Paris ground, Stade Charléty
, whose capacity of 20,000 is larger than that of Jean-Bouin. In 2009–10, they played their home leg of the Paris derby with Racing Métro there, and have made that stadium their regular home for the 2010–11 season
while Jean-Bouin is being renovated.
Stade Français also planned to take their home 2009–10 Heineken Cup pool match against Ulster
to Belgium
at King Baudouin Stadium
in Brussels
, but heavy snowfall on the intended matchday forced the fixture to be moved to Stade Jean-Bouin.
, a media man, wanted to develop the club as a modern business and use marketing methods. He never hesitates when it comes to promoting his club and creating a buzz. As a result, the club has been attracting an equal number of cheers and criticisms. The first objective was to offer a nice show to people who would then become regular paying fans. Guazzini also introduced female cheerleaders, music before kick-off, the sound of bells to mark the end of each half (instead of a more traditional siren), fireworks at the end of evening matches and a radio-controlled car
to bring the tee
to the kicker when he takes a penalty or a conversion kick.
His successful radio station NRJ
(he helped develop it when he joined it in 1982, a year after it was founded) was a generous sponsor too. His contacts in show business allowed him to bring superstars Madonna
and Naomi Campbell
to some games, making them the official club's “godmothers”. The club's official anthem was Gloria Gaynor
's "I Will Survive
", long before France used it as theirs in the 1998 FIFA World Cup
.
Guazzini’s latest moves include renting the Parc des Princes, Stade de France, and most recently King Baudouin Stadium for big games, and using pink jerseys. Stade Français are heavily criticized by old-timers, especially in France's rugby bastions in the south, for their innovative spirit which tends to hurt traditional image and values of rugby such as humility and seriousness. Some people are wary of the club’s relation to the world of media and show business (players are regularly invited as TV show guests). The critiques can also be explained by the historic Paris vs provinces divide and some form of acrimony in the rest of the country for everything that comes from the capital. Others consider it is good for rugby in its quest to maintain itself as France's second most popular sport after Association football and shed its image as a gross rural south-western form of fistfight.
. It includes black-and-white pictures of the team’s players, naked, adopting postures of athletes of the classical Greco-Roman athletes and hiding their private parts. A new one has been made every year since, with guest stars on several occasions, such as Frédéric Michalak
and Olivier Magne
in 2003. Profits partly go to charities. A DVD covering the making of the calendar has been released each year since the 2004 edition. All have been extremely successful with women and the gay community.
, to the Top 14.
Another rivalry, with Stade Bordelais
, took its place, when clubs from outside Paris were finally allowed to play in 1899. The teams were going to meet in 7 of the next 10 finals, with Bordeaux winning 5 of them. Yet the most heated one was the first Stade won in 1901. Bordeaux won the match 3–0 on a hotly debated try. Afterwards, Stade accused Bordeaux of fielding three ineligible players: earlier in the year, Stade Bordelais had merged with Bordeaux Université Club to become Stade Bordelais Université Club, but three of those new players had not been with the club for at least three months as the rules dictated. The USFSA
ordered a replay, but Bordeaux claimed their honour and honesty were at stake and refused it. Stade Français were declared the winners and this was how their sixth title was won.
Bordeaux had to wait three years to get their revenge in one of the dirtiest finals, in which the whistle was held by a very quiet and blasé Englishman, Billy Williams (who, four years later was to get the English RFU to buy some land for Twickenham
). Kicks in the shins succeeded blows in the face. Spectators joined in and booed the kickers in a very poor and sad match. A reporter appalled at what he saw commented: "I’ve never seen thug fights in the seediest parts of town, but that is probably what it looks like.” Bordeaux won the next three finals, all against Stade. The rivalry was enhanced by the huge number of France players on the pitch. When France battled New Zealand for its first ever international match in 1906, it had 5 Stade Français and 4 Stade Bordelais players, the highest tallies for any club. The First World war put an end to the rivalry as neither of the two Stades regained their past glory. Today, Stade Français has no established local rival, although Racing Métro may fill that role if it consolidates its current top-flight status. The "Paris versus the provinces" rhetoric is alive and kicking so that wherever Stade goes, it is met with traditional jeers people in the provinces throw at Parisians. Since its 1990s revival, its traditional foes have thus been all clubs not playing in Paris.
Naturally the fight for the top spots means that the most significant rivalries are with the other Top 14 big guns, Toulouse and Biarritz Olympique. Stade Français has been seen as the rising threat by the all-powerful Toulousains who had won four consecutive titles (1994–97), before Paris won the next one. The clubs alternated for four years, winning two titles each until 2001, though they never met in the final. When they finally did, Stade Français walked all over Toulouse for an easy victory (32–18) in 2003. Toulouse got their revenge in 2005, when they won a tight Heineken Cup final in overtime (18–12 a.e.t.) at Murrayfield
. The clubs often fight it out in the press, but there have never been any real tensions on the pitch, largely because many players have been playing together for France. Regular season games are rarely spectacular. In October 2005, Toulouse was the guest for the first ever regular season match at the Stade de France
, but coach Guy Novès
chose to leave key regular starters at home, so the Stade Français 29–15 victory was maybe not as significant.
Stade Français games against Biarritz are another notable rivalry. The Red and White established themselves as another powerhouse in 2002 when they won the title, their first since 1939. Stade’s Heineken Cup semi-final victory in April 2005 probably did a lot to create tension between the two clubs, as Christophe Dominici
scored the winning try after nine minutes of injury time at the Parc des Princes. Biarritz felt it had been done an injustice. A month later, the two clubs fought it out in the Top 14 final, which went down as the most physical and the most tense ever. Biarritz’s overtime victory in the highest scoring final ever (37–34) crowned a final on the “edge”.
Five months later, the two met again in Biarritz in a regular season match. A massive fistfight, in which almost all players were involved broke out after just 5 minutes, after a scrum went up and the first rows exploded. The referee handed two yellows and two reds to Stade’s Arnaud Marchois and BO’s Imanol Harinordoquy
. The rest was extremely rough, full of scuffles and insults. Stade went on to win 14–7. As can be expected, everyone condemned the other camp after the match. Biarritz coach Patrice Lagisquet assured Paris had assaulted his players to destabilize them, while the Parisians acknowledged that the overtime loss in the Top 14 final had been hard to swallow, especially as they had the impression that Biarritz had overemphasized the physical side. Ever since, the matches between the two teams have been relatively quiet, with only the journalists to pump up the hoopla beforehand.
In addition, Paul Warwick has been capped by in sevens, though not in 15s.
(from
Toulon
) Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (from
La Plata
) Morgan Turinui
(from Dax
) Paul Warwick (from Munster
) Paul Sackey
(from Toulon
) Arthur Chollon (from Bordeaux) Jérôme Fillol
(from Racing Métro) Olivier Milloud
(from Bourgoin
) Stan Wright
(from Leinster
) Byron Kelleher
(from Toulouse
) Aled de Malmanche
(from
Chiefs
) Paul Williams (from
Sale Sharks
) Scott LaValla
(from Dublin University Football Club
) David Lyons
(from
Scarlets) Alexander Rokobaro (from 
Rebels
) Anton van Zyl
(from
Stormers
) Gerhard Mostert
(from Sharks)
(to Lyon
) James Haskell
(to
Ricoh Black Rams
) Ollie Phillips
Lionel Beauxis
(to Toulouse
) Guillaume Boussès
(to Racing Métro) Arthur Joly (to Bourgoin
) Arnaud Marchois
(to Lyon
) Benjamin Tardy (to Pau
) Mauro Bergamasco
Hugo Southwell
(to London Wasps
) Falie Oelschig (to Eastern Province Kings
) Mathieu Bastareaud
(to Toulon
)
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club based in the 16th arrondissement
XVIe arrondissement
The 16th arrondissement of Paris is one of the 20 arrondissements of Paris, the capital city of France...
of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era.
Stade Français was founded in 1883; its traditional home is Stade Jean-Bouin
Stade Jean-Bouin
Stade Jean-Bouin is a multi-purpose stadium in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. The facility, across the street from the much larger Parc des Princes, is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of Stade Français. Through 2006, it hosted the annual Paris Sevens...
, though the club has recently played some home games at the 80,000-seat Stade de France
Stade de France
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...
, taking anywhere from two to five matches to the larger venue each season since 2005–06. Starting with the 2010–11 season
2010–11 Top 14 season
The 2010–11 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby . Home-and-away play began on August 13, 2010 and continued through April 2011. The regular season was followed by a three-round playoff starting in May that involved the top...
, it moved its main home ground to the 20,000-capacity Stade Charléty
Stade Sebastien Charlety
Stade Sebastien Charléty, known simply as Stade Charléty or just Charléty, is a multi-use stadium in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, France. Officially, the current capacity of the stadium is 20,000 people. The stadium opened in 1938 and was designed by French architect Bernard Zehrfuss...
in Paris to allow a new stadium to be built at the Jean-Bouin site. The club was founded in its current form in 1995 with the merger of the rugby sections of the Stade Français and Club Athlétique des Sports Généraux (CASG).
The team participated in the first French championship final in 1892, and went on to win numerous titles during the early 1900s. Stade Francais spent about 50 years in the lower divisions of French rugby, until entrepreneur Max Guazzini
Max Guazzini
Max Guazzini is a French entrepreneur and until June 2011 president of the Stade Français rugby union club of Paris, who compete in the top division of rugby union in France, the Top 14...
took over in 1992, overseeing a rise to prominence, which saw the team returning to the elite division in just five seasons, and capture four French championships in seven years. After a financial crisis plagued the club in 2011, Guazzini sold a majority stake and stepped down as club president.
History
French Rugby Championship 1892
French Rugby Championship 1892. On 20 March 1892 the USFSA organised the first ever French rugby union championship, a one off game between Racing Club de France and Stade Français. The game was refereed by Pierre de Coubertin and saw Racing win 4–3. Racing were awarded the Bouclier de Brennus,...
the USFSA
Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques
Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques is a former French sports governing body. During the 1890s and early 1900s it organised numerous sports including athletics, cycling, field hockey, fencing, croquet and swimming...
organised the first ever French rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
championship, a one-off game between Racing Club de France and Stade Français. The game was refereed by Pierre de Coubertin
Pierre de Coubertin
Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin was a French educationalist and historian, founder of the International Olympic Committee, and is considered the father of the modern Olympic Games...
and saw Racing win 4–3. However the club were able to make up for the loss the next season when the two teams met again in the final, with Stade Français winning 7 points to 3. The team quickly became a powerful side in the competition, featuring in every championship in succession until 1899, successful in 1894, 1895, 1897 and 1898.
From 1899 through to the 1908 season Stade Français would contest the championship final on six occasions against Bordelais, winning in 1901 and again in 1908. Stade Français also defeated SOE Toulouse
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 1903 season in Toulouse. Following a vast amount of success during the early years of the domestic league, after 1908 Stade Français would not make another final appearance until the 1927 season, when they were defeated by Toulouse 19 points to 9 in Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
. Stade Français would then go onto spend over fifty years in the lower divisions of French rugby.
While in the third division of the French leagues, entrepreneur Max Guazzini
Max Guazzini
Max Guazzini is a French entrepreneur and until June 2011 president of the Stade Français rugby union club of Paris, who compete in the top division of rugby union in France, the Top 14...
took over the club in 1992 with the dream of bringing back top class rugby to the city of Paris. Stade Français CASG was born in 1995 through the merger of the existing Stade Français club and another Parisian side, Club Athlétique des Sports Généraux (CASG). The team returned to the top division in 1995 which coincided with the appointment of head coach 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,...
. By 1998 the team had reached the championship final, and captured their first title since 1908, defeating Perpignan
USA Perpignan
Union Sportive des Arlequins Perpignanais or Unió eSportiva Arlequins de Perpinyà , generally abbreviated as USAP in both languages, is a French rugby union club that plays in the city of Perpignan in Pyrénées-Orientales. The club currently competes in the Top 14, the top level of the French...
34 points to 7 at Stade de France
Stade de France
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...
. Laporte left the club to coach the national team
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
, he was replaced by Georges Coste who was in turn replaced by John Connolly
John Connolly (rugby)
John "Knuckles" Connolly is a rugby union coach and the former head coach of the Wallabies. Connolly has in the past worked with the Queensland Reds, Stade Français, Swansea RFC as well as Bath Rugby....
in 2000.
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,...
final in May 2001, where they were defeated by the Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
34 points to 30 at Parc des Princes
Parc des Princes
The Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed...
. Connolly left in 2002 and was replaced by South African Nick Mallet. Stade Français won the domestic league again in both 2003 and 2004. During the 2004–05 season Stade Français went close to winning both the French league and the Heineken Cup, but lost both finals; beaten by Biarritz
Biarritz Olympique
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup...
domestically and by Toulouse in the European Heineken Cup after extra time in Scotland. Mallett soon returned home to South Africa and former Stade Français player and national captain Fabien Galthié
Fabien Galthié
Fabien Galthié is a French rugby union coach and former player. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played much of his club rugby for Colomiers, and later on in his career, Stade Français. Galthié won 64 caps for France, including four Rugby World Cup appearances, as well as captaining the...
was appointed head coach. Stade won the 2006–07 championship, defeating Clermont 23 points to 18 at Stade de France.
The club faced serious financial issues during the 2010–11 season
2010–11 Top 14 season
The 2010–11 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby . Home-and-away play began on August 13, 2010 and continued through April 2011. The regular season was followed by a three-round playoff starting in May that involved the top...
due to the failure of an affiliated advertising company. In early June 2011, Stade Français temporarily avoided an administrative relegation to the amateur 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...
league when Guazzini announced a deal by which an unnamed investor, working through a Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-based foundation, would purchase a majority stake in the club. However, the deal collapsed in scandal, with at least three people linked to the deal arrested. On the deadline set by France's professional league for a resolution of the club's situation, Guazzini announced a new deal, in which Jean-Pierre Savare, chairman of French security systems company Oberthur Technologies
Oberthur Technologies
Oberthur Technologies is a French secure technology company, providing security services in smart cards, printing, identity, and cash protection...
, purchased a controlling stake in the club. Guazzini stepped down as president in favor of Savare's son Thomas, remaining with the club as honorary president.
Name, logo and colours
In the 1880s, many emerging sports clubs were modelled after English institutions and took on English names (Racing Club, Standard, Sporting, Daring, etc.). The name Stade was chosen by the young students as a reminder of Ancient Greece, for the Stadium (Stade) was where the athletes performed their feats. Français came later. Ironically, it was probably given by British players, against whom the Stadistes played early on, to differentiate them from their own Paris associations as rugby was very much an expatriates' game in the late 1880s. In those years, France also lived with the memory of the war lost to Germany in 1871. The patriotic appeal of la revanche (the revenge) is probably behind the choice of the blue, white and red colours of the French national flag, and of the name Stade Français (written with a lower-case "f" in French: Stade français). Blue and red are also the colours of the city of Paris, which has been providing a lot of support since 1994 (Paris Mayor Bertrand DelanoëBertrand Delanoë
Bertrand Delanoë is a French politician, and has been the mayor of Paris since 2001. He is member of the Socialist Party . Delanoë was born in Tunis, Tunisia to a French-Tunisian father and a French mother...
is a loyal supporter and a close friend of former Stade chairman Max Guazzini, who served as Delanoë's legal counsel in the late 1970s and early 1980s).
Royal blue (of a fairly darker hue in the recent seasons) is the main colour, used for the jersey, while the shorts are red and the stockings white. The logo sports the club’s three colours, blue, white and red. The white letters S and F (the club’s initials) are painted on a red-blue shield. The twelve blue stars represent the twelve championship wins.
President Guazzini wanted to create identifiable jerseys. He first decided to include three flashes of lighting, which are now the club’s emblem, and to have a new shirt every year. In 2005, Guazzini went further and chose to shock the ’’macho’’ world of rugby by introducing a pink away jersey, pink being one of the rarest colours used by sports teams. Stade Français played their first match in the new colours at Perpignan
USA Perpignan
Union Sportive des Arlequins Perpignanais or Unió eSportiva Arlequins de Perpinyà , generally abbreviated as USAP in both languages, is a French rugby union club that plays in the city of Perpignan in Pyrénées-Orientales. The club currently competes in the Top 14, the top level of the French...
in September 2005 and lost (12–16). They then used it regularly. On 15 April 2006, SF played at Toulouse
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...
and asked permission to don their pink jersey. The referee refused because, he said, pink would clash with Toulouse’s red.
The club sold 20,000 pink replica jerseys in 2005–06. Guazzini also had more than 10,000 pink flags manufactured, which were scattered on the seats at the Stade de France for the two games against Toulouse and Biarritz
Biarritz Olympique
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup...
. Two new jerseys were introduced at the beginning of the 2006–07 season. A pink one, designed by fashion designer Kenzo
Kenzo Takada
Kenzo Takada is a Japanese fashion designer. He is also the founder of Kenzo, a worldwide brand of perfumes, skincare products and clothes....
, was used for Stade’s home debut against Montpellier
Montpellier Hérault RC
Montpellier Hérault Rugby Club is a professional French rugby union, based in Montpellier the capital of Languedoc-Roussillon. The club competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14. They originally played at Stade Sabathé but moved to the Stade Yves-du-Manoir in 2007...
on 19 August 2006. A new navy blue one was used for the second home game against Bayonne
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...
on 9 September 2006, and has raised questions as it sports big pink lilies, green flashes and green numbers in the back (green is not a club colour). It had been officially presented to the players a few minutes before the game and received by them with cheers and claps. Only wing Christophe Dominici
Christophe Dominici
Christophe Dominici is a former French rugby union footballer of Italian origin. He played wing for Stade Français and France. He has been a coach with Stade Français since the start of the 2008/9 season and a board member since 2009/10 season.-Club career:Christophe Dominici was born in Toulon...
had been allowed to see it beforehand. The radio-controlled car
Radio-controlled car
Radio-controlled cars are self-powered model cars or trucks that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter...
used to bring the tee
Tee
A tee is a stand used to support a stationary ball so that the player can strike it, particularly in golf, tee ball, American football, and rugby.- Etymology :...
to the kicker was painted in pink for the 2006–2007 season.
Home grounds
Stade Jean-Bouin
Stade Jean-Bouin is a multi-purpose stadium in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. The facility, across the street from the much larger Parc des Princes, is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of Stade Français. Through 2006, it hosted the annual Paris Sevens...
which has a capacity of 12,000. Guazzini made a decision to take a European quarter final match against Newcastle to the significantly larger Parc des Princes
Parc des Princes
The Parc des Princes is an all-seater football stadium located in the southwest of Paris, France. The venue, with a seating capacity of 48,712 spectators, has been the home of French football club Paris Saint-Germain since 1974. The current Parc des Princes was inaugurated on 4 June 1972, endowed...
, which is literally across the street from Stade Jean-Bouin. Guazzini booked the national stadium of France, the 80,000 Stade de France
Stade de France
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...
for a Top 14 fixture against Toulouse. The move was successful, with 79,502 officially turning up for the game, smashing the regular season attendance record in France. At the end of the match, Guazzini announced that he had booked the venue for the Biarritz match – a rematch of the 2004–05 final. Stade Français drew an even larger crowd to the game (79,604), toppling the previous record set that same season.
After a period of much speculation, the match was taken to the Stade Charléty, remaining in Paris. On 14 October 2006, the record was broken for the third time in a row (79,619) for a championship tie against Biarritz. Stade Français booked Parc des Princes for a Heineken Cup showdown with the Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
on 10 December 2006 and drew 44,100 to see Stade win 27–16. On 27 January 2007, Stade Français set yet another French attendance record by drawing 79,741 to Stade de France for their 22–20 win over Toulouse. Stade Français played their opening match of the 2007–08
2007-08 Top 14 season
The 2007-08 Top 14 Competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition, operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby . Because France hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup, the competition did not begin at its normal time of August, but instead started on the last weekend in October 2007, one week...
season at Stade de France against Clermont
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...
; they failed to set a national attendance record this time, but still drew 75,620. On 22 March 2008, they played their home match against Toulouse at Stade de France for the third straight season, and set yet another record with 79,779 in attendance. The 2007–08 season marked the first time that Stade Français played a third regular-season match at Stade de France, as they booked the venue for their 7 June match with Biarritz; they drew 79,544 for that match.
In 2008–09, they played four home matches at Stade de France—their Top 14
2008-09 Top 14 season
The 2008–09 Top 14 Competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby . It ran from late August 2008 through the final at Stade de France on June 6, 2009, in which Perpignan lifted the Bouclier de Brennus with a 22–13 win over Clermont.This...
home fixtures against Toulouse, Perpignan
USA Perpignan
Union Sportive des Arlequins Perpignanais or Unió eSportiva Arlequins de Perpinyà , generally abbreviated as USAP in both languages, is a French rugby union club that plays in the city of Perpignan in Pyrénées-Orientales. The club currently competes in the Top 14, the top level of the French...
and Clermont, plus a Heineken Cup
2008-09 Heineken Cup
The 2008–09 Heineken Cup was the fourteenth edition of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2008 and ended on 23 May 2009 at Murrayfield in Edinburgh...
pool match against Harlequins
Harlequin F.C.
The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop...
. They scheduled five Top 14 matches at Stade de France in 2009–10
2009–10 Top 14 season
Stade de France was listed as an alternate home for Stade Français because the club hosted five of their 13 home matches this season at the national stadium. Similarly, Stadium Municipal was listed as an alternate home for Toulouse, who normally play two Top 14 matches a year at that facility...
—Perpignan, Bayonne
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...
, Biarritz, Toulouse, and Clermont. In the upcoming 2010–11 season
2010–11 Top 14 season
The 2010–11 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby . Home-and-away play began on August 13, 2010 and continued through April 2011. The regular season was followed by a three-round playoff starting in May that involved the top...
, the number of Top 14 matches at Stade de France will return to three, namely Toulon
RC Toulonnais
RC Toulonnais is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, Toulouse, and Clermont.
In the 2000s Stade Français has also took some matches to another Paris ground, Stade Charléty
Stade Sebastien Charlety
Stade Sebastien Charléty, known simply as Stade Charléty or just Charléty, is a multi-use stadium in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, France. Officially, the current capacity of the stadium is 20,000 people. The stadium opened in 1938 and was designed by French architect Bernard Zehrfuss...
, whose capacity of 20,000 is larger than that of Jean-Bouin. In 2009–10, they played their home leg of the Paris derby with Racing Métro there, and have made that stadium their regular home for the 2010–11 season
2010–11 Top 14 season
The 2010–11 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby . Home-and-away play began on August 13, 2010 and continued through April 2011. The regular season was followed by a three-round playoff starting in May that involved the top...
while Jean-Bouin is being renovated.
Stade Français also planned to take their home 2009–10 Heineken Cup pool match against Ulster
Ulster Rugby
Ulster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Ulster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Belfast, representing the Irish province of Ulster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
at King Baudouin Stadium
King Baudouin Stadium
The King Baudouin Stadium is a sports ground in north-west Brussels, Belgium. It was inaugurated on 23 August 1930 as the Stade du Jubilé or Jubelstadion in the presence of Prince Leopold. It was built to embellish the Heysel plateau in view of the Brussels International Exposition...
in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, but heavy snowfall on the intended matchday forced the fixture to be moved to Stade Jean-Bouin.
Image
Max GuazziniMax Guazzini
Max Guazzini is a French entrepreneur and until June 2011 president of the Stade Français rugby union club of Paris, who compete in the top division of rugby union in France, the Top 14...
, a media man, wanted to develop the club as a modern business and use marketing methods. He never hesitates when it comes to promoting his club and creating a buzz. As a result, the club has been attracting an equal number of cheers and criticisms. The first objective was to offer a nice show to people who would then become regular paying fans. Guazzini also introduced female cheerleaders, music before kick-off, the sound of bells to mark the end of each half (instead of a more traditional siren), fireworks at the end of evening matches and a radio-controlled car
Radio-controlled car
Radio-controlled cars are self-powered model cars or trucks that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter...
to bring the tee
Tee
A tee is a stand used to support a stationary ball so that the player can strike it, particularly in golf, tee ball, American football, and rugby.- Etymology :...
to the kicker when he takes a penalty or a conversion kick.
His successful radio station NRJ
NRJ Radio
NRJ French multimedia group based in Paris. Since its foundation in 1981 as a French pop music radio station it has grown and evolved to become the NRJ Group...
(he helped develop it when he joined it in 1982, a year after it was founded) was a generous sponsor too. His contacts in show business allowed him to bring superstars Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
and Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell is a British model. Scouted at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognisable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world...
to some games, making them the official club's “godmothers”. The club's official anthem was Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor
Gloria Gaynor is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits; "I Will Survive" , "Never Can Say Goodbye" , "Let Me Know " and "I Am What I Am" .-Early career:Gaynor was a singer with the Soul...
's "I Will Survive
I Will Survive
"I Will Survive" is a song first performed by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978. It was written by Freddie Perren and Dino Fekaris...
", long before France used it as theirs in the 1998 FIFA World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
.
Guazzini’s latest moves include renting the Parc des Princes, Stade de France, and most recently King Baudouin Stadium for big games, and using pink jerseys. Stade Français are heavily criticized by old-timers, especially in France's rugby bastions in the south, for their innovative spirit which tends to hurt traditional image and values of rugby such as humility and seriousness. Some people are wary of the club’s relation to the world of media and show business (players are regularly invited as TV show guests). The critiques can also be explained by the historic Paris vs provinces divide and some form of acrimony in the rest of the country for everything that comes from the capital. Others consider it is good for rugby in its quest to maintain itself as France's second most popular sport after Association football and shed its image as a gross rural south-western form of fistfight.
Dieux du Stade Calendars and DVDs
In 2001, Guazzini initiated a calendar called Dieux du Stade, i.e. The Gods of Stade (Français), a play on the word stade which also means stadium. In French, The Gods of the Stadium is a metaphor for athletes in general, especially those who perform in athleticsAthletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
. It includes black-and-white pictures of the team’s players, naked, adopting postures of athletes of the classical Greco-Roman athletes and hiding their private parts. A new one has been made every year since, with guest stars on several occasions, such as Frédéric Michalak
Frédéric Michalak
Frédéric Michalak is a French rugby union footballer, who currently plays in South Africa for the Sharks in Super Rugby and the Natal Sharks in the Currie Cup. His early career was spent playing for his hometown team, Toulouse, in the Top 14 and in the Heineken Cup...
and Olivier Magne
Olivier Magne
Olivier Claude C. Magne is a French former rugby union footballer and a current coach.Magne was a rugby god and back row forward, known especially for his speed and handling in open field play. He represented 89 times, scoring 14 tries.He joined his hometown team, Stade Aurillacois, as a boy in...
in 2003. Profits partly go to charities. A DVD covering the making of the calendar has been released each year since the 2004 edition. All have been extremely successful with women and the gay community.
Rivalries
Paris was the cradle of French rugby union. Stade Français and Racing Club de France, two Paris-based outfits, actually played the first ever club match in France in May 1891, won by Stade 3–0, and were the only two clubs to take part in the first ever championship the following year. In fact, the first seven championships were fought exclusively between Parisian teams. Though they played Olympique de Paris in two finals, Stade’s main foe became Racing Club de France whom they came up against in the first two finals, in play-off matches in the following years, as well as in several Championnat de Paris matches. Racing was a more aristocratic club and Stade a more popular one. The Stade-Racing rivalry will be renewed in 2009–10 with the promotion of Racing Club's successor, Racing MétroRacing Metro 92 Paris
Racing Métro 92 is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. "92" is the number of Hauts-de-Seine, the département of Île-de-France, bordering Paris to the west, where they play, and whose council...
, to the Top 14.
Another rivalry, with 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...
, took its place, when clubs from outside Paris were finally allowed to play in 1899. The teams were going to meet in 7 of the next 10 finals, with Bordeaux winning 5 of them. Yet the most heated one was the first Stade won in 1901. Bordeaux won the match 3–0 on a hotly debated try. Afterwards, Stade accused Bordeaux of fielding three ineligible players: earlier in the year, Stade Bordelais had merged with Bordeaux Université Club to become Stade Bordelais Université Club, but three of those new players had not been with the club for at least three months as the rules dictated. The USFSA
Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques
Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques is a former French sports governing body. During the 1890s and early 1900s it organised numerous sports including athletics, cycling, field hockey, fencing, croquet and swimming...
ordered a replay, but Bordeaux claimed their honour and honesty were at stake and refused it. Stade Français were declared the winners and this was how their sixth title was won.
Bordeaux had to wait three years to get their revenge in one of the dirtiest finals, in which the whistle was held by a very quiet and blasé Englishman, Billy Williams (who, four years later was to get the English RFU to buy some land for Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
). Kicks in the shins succeeded blows in the face. Spectators joined in and booed the kickers in a very poor and sad match. A reporter appalled at what he saw commented: "I’ve never seen thug fights in the seediest parts of town, but that is probably what it looks like.” Bordeaux won the next three finals, all against Stade. The rivalry was enhanced by the huge number of France players on the pitch. When France battled New Zealand for its first ever international match in 1906, it had 5 Stade Français and 4 Stade Bordelais players, the highest tallies for any club. The First World war put an end to the rivalry as neither of the two Stades regained their past glory. Today, Stade Français has no established local rival, although Racing Métro may fill that role if it consolidates its current top-flight status. The "Paris versus the provinces" rhetoric is alive and kicking so that wherever Stade goes, it is met with traditional jeers people in the provinces throw at Parisians. Since its 1990s revival, its traditional foes have thus been all clubs not playing in Paris.
Naturally the fight for the top spots means that the most significant rivalries are with the other Top 14 big guns, Toulouse and Biarritz Olympique. Stade Français has been seen as the rising threat by the all-powerful Toulousains who had won four consecutive titles (1994–97), before Paris won the next one. The clubs alternated for four years, winning two titles each until 2001, though they never met in the final. When they finally did, Stade Français walked all over Toulouse for an easy victory (32–18) in 2003. Toulouse got their revenge in 2005, when they won a tight Heineken Cup final in overtime (18–12 a.e.t.) at Murrayfield
Murrayfield Stadium
Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one...
. The clubs often fight it out in the press, but there have never been any real tensions on the pitch, largely because many players have been playing together for France. Regular season games are rarely spectacular. In October 2005, Toulouse was the guest for the first ever regular season match at the Stade de France
Stade de France
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...
, but coach Guy Novès
Guy Novès
Guy Novès is a former French rugby union footballer and current long-serving coach of Stade Toulousain. Born in Toulouse, Novès, who played on the wing, was capped six times for the France national team...
chose to leave key regular starters at home, so the Stade Français 29–15 victory was maybe not as significant.
Stade Français games against Biarritz are another notable rivalry. The Red and White established themselves as another powerhouse in 2002 when they won the title, their first since 1939. Stade’s Heineken Cup semi-final victory in April 2005 probably did a lot to create tension between the two clubs, as Christophe Dominici
Christophe Dominici
Christophe Dominici is a former French rugby union footballer of Italian origin. He played wing for Stade Français and France. He has been a coach with Stade Français since the start of the 2008/9 season and a board member since 2009/10 season.-Club career:Christophe Dominici was born in Toulon...
scored the winning try after nine minutes of injury time at the Parc des Princes. Biarritz felt it had been done an injustice. A month later, the two clubs fought it out in the Top 14 final, which went down as the most physical and the most tense ever. Biarritz’s overtime victory in the highest scoring final ever (37–34) crowned a final on the “edge”.
Five months later, the two met again in Biarritz in a regular season match. A massive fistfight, in which almost all players were involved broke out after just 5 minutes, after a scrum went up and the first rows exploded. The referee handed two yellows and two reds to Stade’s Arnaud Marchois and BO’s Imanol Harinordoquy
Imanol Harinordoquy
Imanol Harinordoquy is a French rugby union player who typically plays as a number 8 for Biarritz at club level in the Top 14 and for France internationally...
. The rest was extremely rough, full of scuffles and insults. Stade went on to win 14–7. As can be expected, everyone condemned the other camp after the match. Biarritz coach Patrice Lagisquet assured Paris had assaulted his players to destabilize them, while the Parisians acknowledged that the overtime loss in the Top 14 final had been hard to swallow, especially as they had the impression that Biarritz had overemphasized the physical side. Ever since, the matches between the two teams have been relatively quiet, with only the journalists to pump up the hoopla beforehand.
Honours
- French championship
- Champions: 1893, 1894, 1895, 1897, 1898, 1901, 1905, 1908, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2007
- Runners-up: 1896, 1899, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1927, 2005
- Heineken CupHeineken CupThe 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,...
- Runners-up: 2000–01, 2004–05
- European Challenge CupEuropean Challenge CupThe 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...
- Runners-up: 2010–11
- Coupe de France
- Champions: 1999
- Runners-up: 1998
- Coupe de l'EspéranceCoupe de l'EspéranceThe Coupe de l'Espérance was a rugby union competition that was played in France to replace the national championship during World War I, as many players were sent to the front. The teams used mostly young boys who had not been drafted yet. The cup was awarded only four times and does not count as...
- Runners-up: 1916
Current squad
Internationally Capped Players
| Julien Arias Julien Arias Julien Arias is a French rugby union footballer. He currently plays for Stade Français Paris in the top level of French club rugby, the Top 14. His usual position is on the wing. Prior to playing for Stade Français Paris, he was with the US Colomiers club. He has also represented France at the... David Attoub David Attoub David Attoub is a French rugby union footballer, currently playing for Stade Français in the Top 14 club competition in France. He formerly played for Valence Sportif, Clermont Auvergne and Castres Olympique, and has also played for France... Julien Dupuy Julien Dupuy Julien Dupuy born 19 December 1983 is a rugby union player for Stade Français in the Top 14.Julien Dupuy plays as a Scrum-half.Julien Dupuy played for Biarritz and Toulouse in the French Top 14 for 7 seasons before joining Leicester Tigers in 2008... Brian Liebenberg Brian Liebenberg Brian Liebenberg is a South Africa-born French rugby union footballer. His usual position is at centre, where he plays for the Top 14 club, Stade Français, as well as the national team. He was a part of Stade Français' championship victory of 2004, as well as the runner-up of the French... Olivier Milloud Olivier Milloud Olivier Milloud is a French rugby union footballer, currently playing for Stade Francais in the top level of French rugby, the Top 14 competition. He has also played for the French national team, including being a part of their 2003 Rugby World Cup squad. He usually plays as a prop.He made his... Pascal Papé Pascal Papé Pascal Papé is a French rugby union footballer.He plays lock and has joined Stade Français after spending many years in Bourgoin, and playing two years at Castres Olympique... Pierre Rabadan Pierre Rabadan Pierre Rabadan , is French international rugby union player, who plays his club rugby for Stade Français.... Dimitri Szarzewski Dimitri Szarzewski Dimitri Szarzewski is a French rugby union footballer, currently playing for Stade Français in the Top 14 club championship in France. His usual position is at hooker, and he has represented France.... |
Felipe Contepomi Felipe Contepomi Felipe Contepomi is an Argentine rugby union footballer. A fly-half and centre, he currently plays for Stade Francais of the French Top 14; he made his debut for the club in November 2009 after recovering from a torn ACL suffered in a 2008–09 Heineken Cup match with his previous club, Magners... Pedro Ledesma Martín Rodríguez Martín Rodríguez (rugby union) Martín Rodríguez Gurruchaga is an Argentine rugby union footballer, currently with the Paris Top 14 club Stade Français. He plays in the both the fullback and centre position. His test debut for Argentina was against England at Twickenham in November 2009... Rodrigo Roncero Rodrigo Roncero Rodrigo Roncero, also known as "RoRo" , is an Argentinian rugby union footballer. He currently plays for Stade Français in the national domestic competition of France, the Top 14. He has also played for Gloucester Rugby in the Guinness Premiership from 2002 to 2004... Gonzalo Tiesi Gonzalo Tiesi Gonzalo Tiesi is an Argentina rugby union footballer. He used to play for Harlequins in the English Guinness Premiership. He now plays for Stade Francais in the French Top 14. Tiesi has also played for the Argentina national team, Los Pumas. His usual position is in the centres.Tiesi formerly... David Lyons David Lyons David Lyons plays Number Eight for the Wallabies.-Playing career:From his debut in 2000 Lyons played 83 consecutive games for Waratahs, a record for Australian players. His run ended when a knee injury forced him to miss the start of the 2007 season... Morgan Turinui Morgan Turinui Morgan Turinui is an Australian rugby union footballer who currently plays for French rugby side Stade Francais.-Early life:... Stan Wright Stan Wright Stan Wright born 29 September 1978 is a Cook Island international rugby union player and his current club is Stade Francais in France.... Tom Palmer Paul Sackey Paul Sackey Paul Henry Sackey is an English rugby union footballer who currently plays at wing for Stade Français in the Top 14.As of 28 February 2009 he has 22 full England caps... Sergio Parisse Sergio Parisse Sergio Parisse is an Italian Argentine rugby union rugby player. He was the first Italian rugby union player to be nominated for the IRB International player of the year... Aled de Malmanche Aled de Malmanche Aled Peter de Malmanche is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays at hooker for the Chiefs in the Super 14, Waikato in the Air New Zealand Cup, and the New Zealand national team, All Blacks. He can also play as a prop on both sides of the scrum... Byron Kelleher Byron Kelleher Byron Terrance Kelleher is a rugby union half-back who currently plays for Stade Francais in the French Top 14 competition, and has played over 57 tests with the New Zealand All Blacks... Paul Williams Gerhard Mostert Gerhard Mostert Gerhard Mostert is a professional rugby union player who plays for Stade Francais in the Top 14 He was schooled at High School Rustenburg.Mostert made his provisional debut for the Natal Sharks in 2010, playing against the Chiefs the Super 14 competition... Scott LaValla Scott LaValla Scott LaValla is an American rugby union player. LaValla plays lock for the USA Eagle XV side. He was selected to tour with the USA Eagles squad for the Autumn 2010 tour of Europe. LaValla played his club rugby for Dublin University Football Club until signing for Stade Francais in Summer 2011... |
In addition, Paul Warwick has been capped by in sevens, though not in 15s.
Players In
Felipe ContepomiFelipe Contepomi
Felipe Contepomi is an Argentine rugby union footballer. A fly-half and centre, he currently plays for Stade Francais of the French Top 14; he made his debut for the club in November 2009 after recovering from a torn ACL suffered in a 2008–09 Heineken Cup match with his previous club, Magners...
(from
ToulonRC Toulonnais
RC Toulonnais is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
) Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (from
La PlataLa Plata Rugby Club
La Plata Rugby Club is a rugby union club from the city of La Plata in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina.-History:In 1924, members of the rowing section of multi-sports Club Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata decided to try a new sport, so they could stay fit during the winter period...
) Morgan Turinui
Morgan Turinui
Morgan Turinui is an Australian rugby union footballer who currently plays for French rugby side Stade Francais.-Early life:...
(from
DaxUS Dax
Union Sportive Dacquoise, also known as US Dax, is a French rugby union club currently playing in Rugby Pro D2, the second level of the French league system....
) Paul Warwick (from Munster
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...
) Paul Sackey
Paul Sackey
Paul Henry Sackey is an English rugby union footballer who currently plays at wing for Stade Français in the Top 14.As of 28 February 2009 he has 22 full England caps...
(from
ToulonRC Toulonnais
RC Toulonnais is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
) Arthur Chollon (from
Bordeaux) Jérôme FillolJérôme Fillol
Jérôme Fillol is a French rugby player, who currently plays for Top 14 club Racing Métro.-Honours:*Stade Toulousain**Championnat de France *Stade Français**Top 16 **Top 14 *Racing Métro**Pro D2...
(from
Racing Métro) Olivier MilloudOlivier Milloud
Olivier Milloud is a French rugby union footballer, currently playing for Stade Francais in the top level of French rugby, the Top 14 competition. He has also played for the French national team, including being a part of their 2003 Rugby World Cup squad. He usually plays as a prop.He made his...
(from
BourgoinCS Bourgoin-Jallieu
CS Bourgoin-Jallieu is a French rugby union club currently competing in the second level of the French league system in the Pro D2. The club have been runners-up in the French championship and the Challenge Yves du Manoir competitions, and have won the Challenge Cup.Founded in 1906 as "Club...
) Stan Wright
Stan Wright
Stan Wright born 29 September 1978 is a Cook Island international rugby union player and his current club is Stade Francais in France....
(from Leinster
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
) Byron Kelleher
Byron Kelleher
Byron Terrance Kelleher is a rugby union half-back who currently plays for Stade Francais in the French Top 14 competition, and has played over 57 tests with the New Zealand All Blacks...
(from
ToulouseStade 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...
) Aled de Malmanche
Aled de Malmanche
Aled Peter de Malmanche is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays at hooker for the Chiefs in the Super 14, Waikato in the Air New Zealand Cup, and the New Zealand national team, All Blacks. He can also play as a prop on both sides of the scrum...
(from
ChiefsChiefs (Super rugby franchise)
The Chiefs are a professional Rugby union team based in Hamilton, New Zealand. Their home ground is Waikato Stadium. The Chiefs play in black, red and yellow coloured jerseys...
) Paul Williams (from
Sale SharksSale Sharks
Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the...
) Scott LaValla
Scott LaValla
Scott LaValla is an American rugby union player. LaValla plays lock for the USA Eagle XV side. He was selected to tour with the USA Eagles squad for the Autumn 2010 tour of Europe. LaValla played his club rugby for Dublin University Football Club until signing for Stade Francais in Summer 2011...
(from Dublin University Football Club
Dublin University Football Club
Dublin University Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Dublin, Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland.-History:...
) David Lyons
David Lyons
David Lyons plays Number Eight for the Wallabies.-Playing career:From his debut in 2000 Lyons played 83 consecutive games for Waratahs, a record for Australian players. His run ended when a knee injury forced him to miss the start of the 2007 season...
(from
Scarlets) Alexander Rokobaro (from RebelsMelbourne Rebels
The Melbourne Rebels are a professional rugby union team based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. They made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. They are the first privately owned professional rugby union team in Australia...
) Anton van Zyl
Anton van Zyl
Anton van Zyl is a South African rugby union footballer.- External links :***...
(from
StormersStormers
The Stormers, for sponsorship reasons referred to as DHL Stormers, are a South African rugby union team based in Cape Town competing in the Super Rugby competition . Despite their lack of silverware over the years, their home stadium, Newlands, typically draws the highest average attendance figures...
) Gerhard Mostert
Gerhard Mostert
Gerhard Mostert is a professional rugby union player who plays for Stade Francais in the Top 14 He was schooled at High School Rustenburg.Mostert made his provisional debut for the Natal Sharks in 2010, playing against the Chiefs the Super 14 competition...
(from
Sharks)Players Out
Juan Manuel LeguizamónJuan Manuel Leguizamón
Juan Manuel Leguizamón is an Argentine rugby union footballer. He used to play for the London Irish club in the English league Guinness Premiership. In the summer of 2008 he signed for Stade Français due to a perceived lack of game time. He has also played for the Argentina national team, Los Pumas...
(to
LyonLyon OU
Lyon Olympique Universitaire or LOU is a French rugby union team that competes in the Top 14, the first level of the country's professional league system. They earned their spot in the Top 14 by winning the 2010–11 title of the second-tier Pro D2....
) James Haskell
James Haskell
James Haskell is an English professional Rugby Union player who currently plays for the Top League team Ricoh Black Rams in Japan and internationally for England.-Career:...
(to
Ricoh Black RamsRicoh Black Rams
Ricoh Black Rams is a Japanese rugby union team in the Top League. Placed 10th in the 2004-5 season which meant it had to win a play-off against one of the top regional teams to stay in the league, as it did.Slogan for 2006 season: TAFU...
) Ollie Phillips
Ollie Phillips (rugby union)
Ollie Phillips is a rugby union footballer who plays at wing or full back for Stade Français and England Sevens.- External links :*...
Lionel Beauxis
Lionel Beauxis
Lionel Beauxis is a French rugby union player. He is tall and weighs . He plays at fly half for Stade Français....
(to
ToulouseStade 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...
) Guillaume Boussès
Guillaume Boussès
Guillaume Boussès is a French rugby union player who currently plays for Racing Metro 92 after signing from Stade Français. He earned his first and last cap for the France national team on 5 February 2006 against Scotland.-Notes:...
(to
Racing Métro) Arthur Joly (to BourgoinCS Bourgoin-Jallieu
CS Bourgoin-Jallieu is a French rugby union club currently competing in the second level of the French league system in the Pro D2. The club have been runners-up in the French championship and the Challenge Yves du Manoir competitions, and have won the Challenge Cup.Founded in 1906 as "Club...
) Arnaud Marchois
Arnaud Marchois
Arnaud Marchois is a French rugby union footballer, currently playing for Lyon OU in the top division of French rugby, the Top 14. His usual position is as a Lock. Prior to joining Lyon OU he played for Stade Français witch he won Top 14 in 2003, 2004 and 2007.-External links:*...
(to
LyonLyon OU
Lyon Olympique Universitaire or LOU is a French rugby union team that competes in the Top 14, the first level of the country's professional league system. They earned their spot in the Top 14 by winning the 2010–11 title of the second-tier Pro D2....
) Benjamin Tardy (to
PauSection Paloise
Section Paloise is a French rugby union club from Pau in Pyrénées-Atlantiques currently competing in Rugby Pro D2, the second level of the French league system.-History:...
) Mauro Bergamasco
Mauro Bergamasco
Mauro Bergamasco is an Italian rugby union footballer. He predominantly plays as an open-side flanker, although his versatility means has also played a number of international games on the wing, and started at scrum-half in an infamously error-prone performance...
Hugo Southwell
Hugo Southwell
Hugo Finlay Grant Southwell is a Scottish rugby union footballer. He plays as a fullback, centre, wing or scrum half....
(to
London WaspsLondon 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...
) Falie Oelschig (to
Eastern Province KingsEastern Province Kings
The Eastern Province Kings are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup tournaments and are governed by the Eastern Province Rugby Union...
) Mathieu Bastareaud
Mathieu Bastareaud
Mathieu Bastareaud is a French rugby union centre who plays for Toulon.- Stade Francais :Bastareaud played for Creteil Rugby youth squads and then moved to Massy. He went through the junior academy there and played for the third division club SU Massy...
(to
ToulonRC Toulonnais
RC Toulonnais is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
)
Notable former players
|
 Arthur Gomes Arthur Gomes was a Portuguese-born French rugby union player. He played as a fullback.Gomes played for Paris Université Club until 1996/97, and for Stade Français, from 1997/98 to 2002/03. He won 3 titles of the French Championship, in 1997/98, 1999/2000 and 2002/03, and the Cup of France in 1998/99... Adolphe Jauréguy Adolphe Jauréguy was a French rugby union player who competed in the 1924 Summer Olympics.He was born in Ostabat-Asme and died in Toulouse.In 1924 he won the silver medal as member of the French team.... Christophe Juillet Christophe Juillet is a French former international rugby union footballer who also played for France national team.- Career :... Jean-Baptiste Lafond Jean-Baptiste Lafond is a former French rugby union footballer. He played for the French national team on over 30 occasions. His usual position was either on the wing or at fullback.... Fabrice Landreau Fabrice Landreau , is a French rugby union player. He has played for his club, Stade Français.Fabrice Landreau began playing Rugby at SC Angoulême. He moved for FC Grenoble coached by Jacques Fouroux. After many injuries he moved to Neath RFC and one year later Bristol Rugby... Marcel Legrain Marcel Legrain was a French rugby union player, who died in World War I. He was 1 m 80 tall and weighed 80 kg, and played at second row and then, having played second line, and then third line in the national selection, and at the Stade Français.-Highlights :* 12 caps for France from... Robert Levasseur Robert Levasseur was a French rugby union player who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics.In 1920 he won the silver medal as member of the French team.-External links:*... Marc Lièvremont Marc Lièvremont is a former rugby union footballer and was the head coach of the French national rugby union team. He played as a back-row forward for France, gaining 25 caps from 1995 to 1999, and was selected in France's 1999 Rugby World Cup squad... Thomas Lombard Thomas Lombard , is a French rugby rugby union player. Thomas Lombard began playing Rugby Union with Racing but he moved to Stade Français with whom he won four top 14s. After a new title in 2004, he left Paris to played for Worcester Warriors. He then returned to his original club, Racing... Sylvain Marconnet Sylvain Marconnet is a French rugby union footballer, currently playing for Biarritz Olympique having signed from Stade Français in the Top 14 club competition in France. His usual position is prop... Geoffroy Messina Geoffroy Messina is a French rugby union footballer, born on May 29, 1982 in La Tronche, Isère.He currently plays the center position. Messina started his career with FC Grenoble in 2001, and stayed with them for 2 years. In the end of 2002 he changed teams to play for ASM Clermont, until 2005. ... Christophe Moni Christophe Moni is an ex professional rugby player who played for Rugby Nice Côte d'Azur Université-Racing, RC Toulon, Stade Français and France. He is currently the head coach for the ambitious Rugby Nice Côte d'Azur Université-Racing.-External links:*... Vincent Moscato Vincent Moscato is a former French rugby union player. He played as a hooker.Moscato played CA Bordeaux-Bègles Gironde where he won the title of the French Top 14, in 1991. He earned his first national cap on June 22, 1991 against Romania at Bucharest. In a match against England at Parc des... Alain Penaud Alain Penaud is a former rugby union player. He held the position of flyhalf, mainly at CA Brive. He was selected 32 times for the French national team, from 1992 to 2000.-Biography:... Olivier Roumat Olivier Roumat is a former French rugby union footballer. He played as a number-eight, openside flanker and lock.... David Skrela David Skrela is a French rugby union footballer. He plays for the French national side and for ASM Clermont Auvergne as a fly-half or centre. He is renowned for his tackles and his kick.... Patrick Tabacco Patrick Tabacco is a French rugby player.A native of Toulouse, he has played for the US Colomiers , Stade Français Paris , Section Paloise and Castres Olympique. He was a member of France's 2003 Rugby World Cup squad.-External links:* *...  Mauro Bergamasco Mauro Bergamasco is an Italian rugby union footballer. He predominantly plays as an open-side flanker, although his versatility means has also played a number of international games on the wing, and started at scrum-half in an infamously error-prone performance... Mirco Bergamasco Mirco Bergamasco is an Italian rugby union footballer. He primarily plays centre, presently with Parisian club Racing Métro in the French Top 14, and internationally with Italy...  Diego Dominguez Diego Dominguez is a former Argentine rugby union fly-half who played for Argentina and Italy, winning 74 caps for the latter....  Regan King Regan Matthew King is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He also holds a British passport thanks to his British-born father, Paul King. Following consistent performances for both Waikato and the Chiefs, he made his first and only Test appearance on 23 November 2002 against Wales at the...  Brian Lima Brian Lima is a former Samoan rugby union footballer who was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame in 2011. Originally a wing, Lima moved into centre for Manu Samoa as his pace lessened, but he remained a formidable player throughout his career.He earned the memorable nickname of "The Chiropractor"...  Hugo Southwell Hugo Finlay Grant Southwell is a Scottish rugby union footballer. He plays as a fullback, centre, wing or scrum half....  Noel Oelschig Falie Oelschig is a South African rugby union player for the in the Currie Cup. He previously played for the Cheetahs in Super Rugby, the Free State Cheetahs and SWD Eagles in the Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup competitions and for Stade Français in the French Top 14.-References:...  Pablo Lemoine Pablo Adrian Lemoine is a Uruguayan rugby union player. He plays as a prop.-Career:Lemoine was first noticed in is own country, but then moved to Bristol Shoguns, for the season of 1998/99, where he became a professional. He moved again to Stade français, which side he represented for the seasons... |
Head coaches
| Season(s) | Name | Nat. |
| 1995–1999 | 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,... |
|
| 1999–2000 | Georges Coste Georges Coste Georges Coste is a French rugby union coach and former player.-Biography:Coste debuted playing as fly half in the local club U.S.A. Perpignan, and scored several caps for French junior national teams before his career was halted by a serious injury.As a coach, he trained U.S.A... |
|
| 2000–2002 | John Connolly John Connolly (rugby) John "Knuckles" Connolly is a rugby union coach and the former head coach of the Wallabies. Connolly has in the past worked with the Queensland Reds, Stade Français, Swansea RFC as well as Bath Rugby.... |
|
| 2002–2004 | Nick Mallett Nick Mallett Nicholas Vivian Howard Mallett is a former South African rugby union player who was until recently the head coach of the Italian national team, previously replacing Pierre Berbizier on 3 October 2007... |
|
| 2004–2008 | Fabien Galthié Fabien Galthié Fabien Galthié is a French rugby union coach and former player. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played much of his club rugby for Colomiers, and later on in his career, Stade Français. Galthié won 64 caps for France, including four Rugby World Cup appearances, as well as captaining the... |
|
| 2008 – Sep 2009 | Ewen McKenzie Ewen McKenzie Ewen James Andrew McKenzie is a former Australian Rugby Union prop and now professional coach, currently with the Queensland Reds who won the 2011 premiership... |
|
| Sep 2009–2010 | Jacques Delmas Didier Faugeron |
|
| 2010–present | Michael Cheika Michael Cheika Michael Cheika is a former Australian rugby union player and is a Heineken Cup winning coach and entrepreneur. He is the head coach of Stade Français since his appointment in 2010. He is of Lebanese origin -Other Clubs:... |
|
External links
- Official site
- Overview on itsrugby.co.uk
- Stade Français profile on Rugby15
- Stade Français Paris on ERCrugby.com
- Virage des Dieux
- Stade a preview and history
- Blog post with a gallery of Stade Francais shirts
- Les Amis du Stade Français Paris Rugby
- http://clphotobook.canalblog.com Blog photo
- Official Facebook page