Rouen Normandie Rugby

Rugby club at XV in France
Rugby team
Rouen NR
Full nameRouen Normandie Rugby
Nickname(s)Les Lions (The Lions)
Founded2009; 15 years ago (2009)
LocationRouen, France
Ground(s)Stade Robert Diochon (Capacity: 12,018)
Coach(es)Nicolas Godignon
League(s)Nationale
2023–24Pro D2, 16th (relegated)
Official website
rouennormandierugby.fr

Rouen Normandie Rugby is a French rugby union club from Rouen, currently playing in the second level of the country's professional rugby system, Pro D2.

The team plays in red and black shirts. It plays their home matches at Stade Robert Diochon in Rouen. There are plans to build a new stadium by 2023.[1]

History

The team origins date back to 2009, when a group of rugby fanatics from the Normandy region wanted to build a team in the city of Rouen.[2] Named Stade Rouennais, their primary objective of reaching Fédérale 2 was achieved in 2013.

Seeking further progress, Stade Rouennais hired Richard Hill, former captain of the England team and finalist of the 1991 World Cup, as General Manager in 2013. Under his management the club stabilized itself in Fédérale 2 and then gained promotion to Fédérale 1 in 2014–15.

After this meteoric rise Normand entrepreneurs Jean-Louis Louvel and Eric Leroy invested in the club by becoming the presidents. The club was renamed Rouen Normandie Rugby. The goal was to professionalize the club and extend it to all of Normandy. Richard Hill committed to the club until 2023.

These changes were beneficial, since for the first time in the history of Normandy rugby, Richard Hill lead Rouen Normandy Rugby to become Champion of France of the highest amateur level in 2016–17.

During the 2018–19 Fédérale 1 season Hill led Rouen to victory in the Jean Pratt Trophy, which automatically promoted them to Pro D2.[3]

Honours

Current standings

2024–25 Nationale season Table
Pos Team
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Pld W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Narbonne (Q) 6 5 0 1 144 81 +63 3 1 24 Semi-final promotion play-off
2 Chambéry (Q) 6 5 0 1 135 70 +65 3 1 24
3 Périgueux 5 5 0 0 124 52 +72 2 0 22 Quarter-final promotion play-off
4 Rouen (Q) 6 5 0 1 130 81 +49 2 0 22
5 Albi (Q) 6 5 0 1 139 80 +59 2 0 22
6 Carcassonne (Q) 5 4 0 1 114 48 +66 3 1 20
7 Langon (Q) 6 4 0 2 155 99 +56 2 1 19
8 Bourgoin-Jallieu 6 4 0 2 141 88 +53 2 1 19
9 Suresnes 6 3 0 3 132 84 +48 3 3 18
10 Massy 5 3 0 2 127 68 +59 3 2 17
11 Tarbes 6 3 0 3 125 81 +44 2 1 15
12 Bourg-en-Bresse 5 2 0 3 82 68 +14 2 1 11
13 Marcq-en-Barœul (Q) 6 2 0 4 126 124 +2 2 1 11 Relegation play-off
14 Hyères (R) 26 0 0 26 0 650 −650 0 0 0 Relegation to Nationale 2
Source: [4]
Rules for classification: When two teams have the same points total, position is determined by head-to-head results before points difference.
(Q) Qualified for the playoffs; (R) Relegated

Current squad

The Rouen squad for the 2023–24 season is:[5]

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

Player Position Union
Mathieu Bonnot Hooker France France
Eli Ma'afu Hooker Australia Australia
Lucas Malbert Hooker France France
Jérémie Maurouard Hooker France France
Luka Azariashvili Prop Georgia (country) Georgia
Enzo Baggiani Prop France France
Soso Bekoshvili Prop Georgia (country) Georgia
Soulemane Camara Prop France France
Elias El Ansari Prop France France
Antoine Fournier Prop France France
Cody Thomas Prop South Africa South Africa
Khvicha Tsopurashvili Prop Georgia (country) Georgia
JC Astle Lock South Africa South Africa
Jean Leleu Lock France France
Jimi Maximin Lock France France
Toby Salmon Lock England England
Raphaël Vieilledent Lock France France
Will Witty Lock England England
Tienie Burger Back row South Africa South Africa
Lucas Costa Back row France France
Abdelkarim Fofana Back row France France
Valentino Mapapalangi Back row Tonga Tonga
Samuel Maximin Back row France France
Willy N'Diaye Back row France France
Julien Ruaud Back row France France
Player Position Union
Florent Campeggia Scrum-half France France
Quentin Delord Scrum-half France France
Maxime Sidobre Scrum-half France France
Hugo Aubry Fly-half Portugal Portugal
Franck Pourteau Fly-half France France
Edgar Retière Fly-half France France
Taylor Gontineac Centre Romania Romania
JT Jackson Centre South Africa South Africa
Alex Luatua Centre New Zealand New Zealand
Pablo Patilla Centre France France
Ope Peleseuma Centre Samoa Samoa
Kévin Bly Wing France France
Benjamin Descamps Wing France France
Benito Masilevu Wing Fiji Fiji
Paul Vallee Wing France France
Théo Velten Wing France France
Peter Lydon Fullback Netherlands Netherlands
Baptiste Mouchous Fullback France France

Espoirs squad

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

Player Position Union
Lucas Poisson Hooker France France
Paul Terrade Hooker France France
Ewan Clément Prop France France
Tao Delacoudre Prop France France
Sidi-Mohammed Diallo Prop France France
Zsombor Kade Lock Hungary Hungary
Octave Leleu Lock France France
Arturo Ten Hoever Back row France France
Gabriel Lucas Back row France France
Clement Ribiero Back row France France
Alois Chayla Fly-half France France
Zalan Kade Centre Hungary Hungary
Gabin Gangneux Wing France France

See also

References

  1. ^ "Un nouveau stade de rugby construit dans quatre ans au sud de Rouen ?". actu.fr (in French). Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  2. ^ "Histoire". Rouen Normandie Rugby (in French). Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  3. ^ "Rouen Normandie Rugby sacré champion de France de Fédérale 1 au terme d'un match renversant". actu.fr (in French). Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  4. ^ "Classement NATIONALE". Fédération Française de Rugby (in French).
  5. ^ "Le Groupe Pro" (in French). Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  • Official website
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Rouen – current squad
Forwards
Backs
Coach
  • Nicolas Godignon


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