Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby
Encyclopedia
Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby is a French
rugby union team that currently takes part in Pro D2
, the second level of the country's professional league system.
They were founded in August 2000 as a result of a merger between Stadoceste Tarbais and the senior side of Cercle Amical Lannemezanais
. They play in red and white. They are based in Tarbes
, the capital of the Hautes-Pyrénées
département, in Midi-Pyrénées
, and play at the Stade Maurice Trélut
.
region have been part of the history of rugby union in France, but none of them was able to keep up with the times when professionalism appeared. Stadoceste Tarbais, the big regional gun, a two-time French champion, was struggling in the amateur leagues, like FC Lourdes
(8 times French champion) and Stade Bagnérais
. However, at the end of the 1999-2000 season, CA Lannemezan reached Pro D2 for the first time ever. But the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, which operates the French professional leagues, blocked the promotion, fearing that a club in a town of 6 000-odd inhabitants would never survive as a professional outfit. Stadoceste Tarbais, which had just been promoted to the 4th division (Fédérale 2
), made CA Lannemezan an offer to join forces in order to build a strong viable club and reach Top 14 in the near future. Tarbes
and Lannemezan
are 35 km apart. The plan was backed by the local government of Hautes-Pyrénées
, which would only support one top level club in the area. FC Lourdes and Stade Bagnérais were offered to join but rejected the offer as they feared that they would lose their identity in a bigger club which, in all likelihood, would play in the capital of the department, Tarbes. The board of CA Lannemezan originally rejected the merger 73%–27%, but the club president managed to get it done.
In August 2000, the new club LT65 (Lannemezan Tarbes Hautes-Pyrénées) took off as a merger of Stadoceste Tarbais and CA Lannemezan, and took the place of Lannemezan in Pro D2. Very soon though, dissensions appeared inside the club: all games were played in Tarbes, while Lannemezan became « dead on matchdays » (according to the CAL president), professional and semi-professional players were mixed, leading to frictions inside the squad etc. Soon, the club was renamed Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby, severing the symbolic link with Lannemezan. In 2003, some players and board members left and decided to relaunch the senior team in their lifelong club which had kept its youth teams. By 2005, Lannemezan was back in Fédérale 1
and hoping to climb back to Pro D2, with a view to juicy derbies against TPR; their ambitions were realized in 2009, when they won the Fédérale 1 crown and earned promotion to Pro D2. TPR has not been able to establish itself as a candidate for promotion to Top 14 so far.
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 that currently takes part in 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...
, the second level of the country's professional league system.
They were founded in August 2000 as a result of a merger between Stadoceste Tarbais and the senior side of Cercle Amical Lannemezanais
CA Lannemezan
CA Lannemezan is a French rugby union club based in Lannemezan in the Hautes-Pyrénées department. It will join the second level of French professional rugby, Pro D2, in the upcoming 2009–10 season after winning the 2009 championship of the top amateur level, Fédérale 1.-History:Although the club...
. They play in red and white. They are based in Tarbes
Tarbes
Tarbes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.It is part of the historical region of Gascony. It is the second largest metropolitan area of Midi-Pyrénées, with 110,000 inhabitants....
, the capital of the Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées is a department in southwestern France. It is part of the Midi-Pyrénées region.-History:...
département, in Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées
Midi-Pyrénées is the largest region of metropolitan France by area, larger than the Netherlands or Denmark.Midi-Pyrénées has no historical or geographical unity...
, and play at the Stade Maurice Trélut
Stade Maurice Trélut
Stade Maurice Trélut is part of the Tarbes sports complex in Tarbes, France. It comprises a main stadium with a capacity of 16,400 of which 12,000 places are seated. The main stadium is mostly used by the Tarbes french Rugby Union team, Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby who play in the French ProD2 league...
.
History
Several clubs from the BigorreBigorre
Bigorre is region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region known as Gascony...
region have been part of the history of rugby union in France, but none of them was able to keep up with the times when professionalism appeared. Stadoceste Tarbais, the big regional gun, a two-time French champion, was struggling in the amateur leagues, like FC Lourdes
FC Lourdes
FC Lourdais is a French rugby union club currently competing in the French league system. Formed in 1911 they have won the French league eight times and the French cup six times. They play in the Stade Antoine-Beguere and traditionally wear blue and red jerseys. Their most notable former player is...
(8 times French champion) and Stade Bagnérais
Stade Bagnérais
Stade Bagnérais is a French rugby union club currently competing at the fourth level of the French league system . They are based in Bagnères-de-Bigorre, a small town of 8,000 inhabitants, in the Hautes-Pyrénées département, at the foot of the Pyrénées.Formed in 1901 they have reached the final of...
. However, at the end of the 1999-2000 season, CA Lannemezan reached Pro D2 for the first time ever. But the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, which operates the French professional leagues, blocked the promotion, fearing that a club in a town of 6 000-odd inhabitants would never survive as a professional outfit. Stadoceste Tarbais, which had just been promoted to the 4th division (Fédérale 2
Fédérale 2
Fédérale 2 is a rugby union club championship division in France. It is the fourth division of rugby above Fédérale 3. Teams can earn promotion to Fédérale 1, and subsequently, the professional leagues such as Rugby Pro D2 and the Top 14.-Results:...
), made CA Lannemezan an offer to join forces in order to build a strong viable club and reach Top 14 in the near future. Tarbes
Tarbes
Tarbes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.It is part of the historical region of Gascony. It is the second largest metropolitan area of Midi-Pyrénées, with 110,000 inhabitants....
and Lannemezan
Lannemezan
Lannemezan is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.-Geography:The Petite Baïse has its source in the commune.Lannemezan is around 30 km east of Tarbes, and around 100 km south-west of Toulouse.-References:*...
are 35 km apart. The plan was backed by the local government of Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées
Hautes-Pyrénées is a department in southwestern France. It is part of the Midi-Pyrénées region.-History:...
, which would only support one top level club in the area. FC Lourdes and Stade Bagnérais were offered to join but rejected the offer as they feared that they would lose their identity in a bigger club which, in all likelihood, would play in the capital of the department, Tarbes. The board of CA Lannemezan originally rejected the merger 73%–27%, but the club president managed to get it done.
In August 2000, the new club LT65 (Lannemezan Tarbes Hautes-Pyrénées) took off as a merger of Stadoceste Tarbais and CA Lannemezan, and took the place of Lannemezan in Pro D2. Very soon though, dissensions appeared inside the club: all games were played in Tarbes, while Lannemezan became « dead on matchdays » (according to the CAL president), professional and semi-professional players were mixed, leading to frictions inside the squad etc. Soon, the club was renamed Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby, severing the symbolic link with Lannemezan. In 2003, some players and board members left and decided to relaunch the senior team in their lifelong club which had kept its youth teams. By 2005, Lannemezan was back in 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...
and hoping to climb back to Pro D2, with a view to juicy derbies against TPR; their ambitions were realized in 2009, when they won the Fédérale 1 crown and earned promotion to Pro D2. TPR has not been able to establish itself as a candidate for promotion to Top 14 so far.