Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
The Top 14 is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the France National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism of LNR. There is promotion and relegation between the Top 14 and the next level down, the Rugby Pro D2. The fourteen best rugby teams in France participate in the competition, hence the name Top 14. The competition was previously known as the Top 16.
Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais, also referred to as USA Perpignan or Perpignan, is a French professional rugby union club founded in 1933 and based in Perpignan, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. They compete in the Top 14, France's elite division of rugby.
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque, usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine which competes in the Pro D2, the second division of French rugby. Biarritz plays its home matches at the Parc des Sports Aguiléra, which is a multi-use stadium in Biarritz and which has a capacity of around 13,500 people, though for games that need a larger capacity, Biarritz may play at the Estadio Anoeta in San Sebastián. Biarritz play in red and white colours. Biarritz won a number of major honors, including the French championship on five occasions.
Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze department.
Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne is a French professional rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French champions in 2009-10 and 2016-17. The rugby section is a part of a multi-sport club called AS Montferrand, which was founded in 1911 and adopted that name in 1919. Although the rugby section changed its name to the current ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2004, it is still frequently referred to as Montferrand both within and outside France.
Rugby union in France is a popular team sport. Rugby union was first introduced in the early 1870s by British residents, which makes the country one of the few early exponents of the sport. Elite French clubs participate in the professional domestic club league, the Top 14. Clubs also compete in the European knock-out competition, the European Rugby Champions Cup, which replaced the Heineken Cup from 2014 to 2015.
Clément Poitrenaud is a former French rugby union footballer. His usual position is at fullback but he also plays at centre. He most recently played for South African side the Sharks in Super Rugby, having represented Toulouse in the French Top 14 club competition between 2000 and 2016, and France between 2001 and 2012, including at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia and the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. He has since transitioned into a role of partner, father and coach.
Rémy Martin is a French rugby union footballer. He has also played for France. His usual position is at flanker.
The Challenge Yves du Manoir was a rugby union club competition that was played in France between 1931 and 2003 under different names. It is named after former player Yves du Manoir.
Damien Chouly is a former French rugby union footballer. He played for Brive, Perpignan, and Clermont Auvergne in the Top 14, commonly in the Number 8 position.
The 2008–09 Top 14 Competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). 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.
The 2009–10 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). It began on August 14, 2009 with a match between Toulon and Stade Français at Stade Mayol in Toulon, and continued through to the final at the Stade de France on May 29, 2010.
Bernard Goutta, is a French former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer and current rugby union coach. He is now co-head coach of his former union club, USA Perpignan, following the sacking of predecessor Jacques Brunel in November 2011.
The 2011–12 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Home-and-away play began on August 26, 2011. Two new teams from the 2010–11 Rugby Pro D2 season were promoted to Top 14 this year, Lyon and Bordeaux Bègles in place of the two relegated teams, La Rochelle and Bourgoin.
Christophe Porcu is a French international rugby union player. He played as a Lock for Agen and USA Perpignan. He started his career at SU Agen but he moved in 2002 to USA Perpignan where he was finalist of the Heineken Cup in 2003. He left Perpignan for playing Fédérale 3 with Torreilles but after one season he returned to USA Perpignan.
Frédéric Cermeno, is a French rugby league and rugby union player. He has played at the club level for USA Perpignan.
The European Rugby Champions Cup is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a predominantly European league. Clubs qualify for the Champions Cup via their final positions in their respective national/regional leagues or via winning the second-tier Challenge Cup; those that do not qualify are instead eligible to compete in the second-tier Challenge Cup.
Jean-Marc Souverbie is a French rugby union footballer who plays for US Morlaàs in the Fédérale 1. His usual position is at a Fullback. Prior to joining US Morlaàs he played for Section Paloise, Bègles and USA Perpignan. He made his debut for France on 28 May 2000 against Romania.
Pascal Giordani is a French former professional rugby union player.