RC Toulonnais

Rugby team
teamname = Toulon


fullname = Rugby Club Toulon
location = Toulon, France
country

founded = 1908
ground = Stade Mayol
capacity = 13,700
president = Mourad Boudjellal
coach = flagicon|NZL Tana Umaga
league = Top 14
season = 2007-08
position = 1st, Rugby Pro D2
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=|leftarm1=FF0000|body1=FF0000|rightarm1=FF0000|shorts1=000000| socks1=FF0000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=|leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=000000|socks2=FF0000

RC Toulonnais (also known as RC Toulon or just Toulon) is a French professional rugby union based in Toulon in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. They will play the 2008-09 season in the first division of French rugby, the Top 14 competition. They have won the national competition on three occasions.

Established in 1908, Toulon currently play their home games at the Stade Mayol. The club colours are red and black. Toulon were Pro D2 champions in 2005, but after finishing 14th in the 2005-06 Top 14 season, they were relegated back down. After signing a number of high profile footballers, the club made a strong run at promotion in the 2006-07 season, and succeeded in their promotion quest in 2007-08, winning that season's Pro D2 crown with two rounds to spare.

History

The Rugby Club Toulonnais was founded on June 3 1908 as a merger of "Étoile Sportive Varoise" and members of the "Stade Varois", a club based in nearby La Seyne-sur-Mer. It took the club 23 years to reach the top of French rugby, when they won the 1931 championship against Lyon Olympique Universitaire (6-3, 2 tries to 1). 30,000 people joined the players when they returned from Bordeaux, where the final had been played, and the town went crazy for several days.

Toulon remained one of the top French clubs, but they lost four consecutive finals scattered over 35 years (1948, 1968, 1971 et 1985). The 1985 extra-time defeat by Stade Toulousain left them with a lot of regrets, and playing in the most spectacular final ever (36-22) did nothing to alleviate the pain of losing. The Red and Black only waited two more years to finally lay their hands on the Bouclier de Brennus, as they defeated Racing at the Parc des Princes. The third title came in 1992, against Biarritz Olympique, in Serge Blanco’s last match and last chance to win the title.

For eight years, Toulon was not particularly successful and were in heavy financial trouble (a 10 million franc deficit) forced the Ligue Nationale de Rugby to demote them to the Second Division in July 2000. The club missed an immediate return the next year, going down in the final to Montauban, as only one club was promoted that year. It took them five more years to do so as RCT went on to win the Pro D2 title. Unfortunately, despite immense popular support (gates averaged more than 12,000), and a lot of enthusiasm, they only managed to win three games out of 26 and were relegated after only a season.

A new president, Mourad Boudjellal, a born-and-bred "Toulonnais" who made his fortune in the comic strip business, promised to build a huge team. He said: "I invented the Top 15, with a team that could be competitive in the Top 14”.cite web | publisher=rugbyhebdo.fr | title=Umaga, l'incroyable transfert | url=http://www.rugbyhebdo.fr/breves2006/20060629_162505Dev.html| accessdaymonth=4 November | accessyear=2006] He signed a high number of first-class players, some of them well above 30, like Jean-Jacques Crenca, Yann Delaigue, Gonzalo Quesada and Dan Luger. He created a lot of buzz around the team as he managed to sign former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga, who arrived in Toulon right after the end ot the Air New Zealand Cup on October 26, 2006. The contract was rumoured to be around €300,000 (£200,000), which Boudjellal claimed to pay from his own pocket, for only 8 to 10 matches.

Boudjellal has continued to sign high-profile veteran players. On March 22, 2007, the club announced that nrut|Australia captain and all-time international caps leader George Gregan had signed to play for Toulon in the 2007-08 season. Gregan, who arrived at Toulon after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, was reportedly paid €400,000, again out of Boudjellal's pocket.cite web | publisher=Planet-Rugby.com | title=Gregan puts pen to paper with Toulon | url=http://www.planetrugby.com/Story/0,18259,9818_2010471,00.html| date=2007-03-22] Two months later, on May 23, the club announced that Andrew Mehrtens, the All Blacks' all-time scoring leader, had signed a contract for 2007-08.cite web | publisher=BBC | title=Mehrtens agrees to Toulon switch | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/6683379.stm | date=2007-05-23] [cite web | publisher=NZ Herald | title=Rugby: Mehrtens signs for Toulon | url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10441526 | date=2007-05-24]

2006-07 season

Finding themselves back in Pro D2, Toulon started the season off with a bang, thumping Stade Montois 49-12 in a clinical display which saw them score six fantastic tries. In their next match they had a shock loss to Oyonnax and would go on to lose every league away match until Racing Métro 92 Paris, where a Tana Umaga-inspired Toulon ran in four tries. They then went on a streak with Umaga present, winning all eight matches he played in (their only loss in this stretch was when he was out injured). The streak gave Toulon enough momentum to finish fourth on the league table, putting them in the promotion playoffs for a place in the Top 14, but lost in the promotion semifinals 21-17 at La Rochelle.

2007-08: promotion

The signings of Gregan and Mehrtens for 2007-08 appeared to indicate Boudjellal's seriousness in securing a return to the Top 14. They also went on to sign Victor Matfield, the current South African lock, and New Zealand hooker Anton Oliver. Tana Umaga returned as coach to head the impressive list of ex-internationals.

Toulon shot to the top of the Pro D2 table almost from the start of the season, never dropping from the top spot on their way to clinching promotion with two rounds to spare. With the success of their promotion quest—despite Matfield, who had only signed a six-month deal, returning to South Africa—Toulon are now in position to sign still more prominent stars. Most notably, numerous media reports had linked All Blacks superstar fly-half Dan Carter to Toulon for the latter part of the 2008-09 season,cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=10513783 |title=All Blacks: Carter keen to make decision on future |first=Daniel |last=Gilhooly |publisher="The New Zealand Herald" |date=2008-06-01 |accessdate=2008-06-02] although he ultimately signed a deal with Perpignan instead.cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_union/article4228294.ece |title=Dan Carter joins Perpignan |first=Matthew |last=Pryor |publisher="The Times" |date=2008-06-28 |accessdate=2008-06-28] On June 17 2008, it was announced that they had signed All Blacks flanker Jerry Collins on a three-year deal, beating out other French, English and Irish clubs.cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=10516964 |title=Rugby: Collins signs with Toulon |author=NZPA |publisher="The New Zealand Herald" |date=2008-06-17 |accessdate=2008-06-17] They later signed Springbok Joe van Niekerk to give Collins further international company in the back row. Toulon also signed National Rugby League star Sonny Bill Williams, whose departure from the Bulldogs caused considerable controversy in Australia;cite news|url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24109212-5017481,00.html |title= Why 'traitor' Sonny Bill Williams will fit in fine |author=Daily Telegraph |publisher="Daily telegraph (Australia)" |date=2008-08-01 |accessdate=2008-08-04] ultimately, Anthony Mundine (his co-manager) spent AUD 750,000 (€ 440,000) to buy Williams out of his Bulldogs contract.

Emblem

On the day of his arrival in Paris, on May 1, 1895, just before his first concert, Félix Mayol was met by a female friend at the station, who gave him some lily-of-the-valley, a flower people traditionally exchange on May 1 in France. He pinned it on his lapel, his concert was a success and Mayol, who was pretty superstitious, made the lily-of-the-valley his personal emblem. As a matter of fact, the bunch on the emblem bears 13 bells. It was taken up by the rugby club in 1921.

tadium

In 1920, its stadium was inaugurated. It is named after Félix Mayol, a very popular concert hall singer from Toulon who had succeeded in Paris in the early 20th century. It is one of the few French stadiums to be almost completely surrounded by the city and overlooks the Toulon bay and military harbour in the Mediterranean.

Honours

* French championship:
** Champions: 1931, 1987, 1992
** Runners-up: 1946, 1968, 1971, 1985, 1989

* Challenge Yves du Manoir
** Champions: 1934, 1970
** Runners-up: 1939, 1954, 1983

* Rugby Pro D2
** Champions: 2005, 2008
** Runners-up: 2000

Finals results

French championship

Challenge Yves du Manoir

Current squad

:"For the 2007-08 season" [ [http://www.rctoulon.com/equipe1.html effectif 2007-2008 équipe 1] ] rugby squad player | nat=ARG | pos=LK | name=
Esteban Lozada

Current and former internationals

*Alessio Galasso (France)
*George Gregan (Australia)
*Martin Jagr (Czech Republic)
*Norman Jordaan (South Africa)
*Grigol Labadze (Georgia)
*Esteban Lozada (Argentina)
*Dan Luger (England)
*Kiri Mariner (Samoa)
*Victor Matfield (South Africa)
*Andrew Mehrtens (New Zealand)
*Anton Oliver (New Zealand)
*Junior Poluleuligaga (Samoa)
*Wessel Roux (South Africa)
*Jean-Baptiste Rué (France)
*Lawrence Sephaka (South Africa)
*Saimone Taumoepeau (New Zealand)
*Rob Henderson (Ireland)
* Alesha Matthews (Te Kuiti)

New signings

*flagicon|NZL Jerry Collins
*flagicon|NZL Ben Castle
*flagicon|AUS Matt Henjak
*flagicon|Fiji Sisa Koyamaibole
*flagicon|FRA Olivier Missioup
*flagicon|ITA Ramiro Pez
*flagicon|ENG/flagicon|AUS Luke Rooney
*flagicon|RSA Joe van Niekerk
*flagicon|Samoa/flagicon|NZL Sonny Bill Williams

Leaving for 2008-09
* Franck Alazet (Nice)
* Nico Breedt
* David Douy (Osaka, Japan Top League)
* George Gregan (Suntory Sungoliath, Japan Top League)
* Dan Luger (Nice)
* Victor Matfield (Bulls, Super 14)
* Nathan Mauger
* Mehdi Mérabet (Métro-Racing)
* Andrew Mehrtens (Métro-Racing)
* Anton Oliver (retired)
* Chris Rossouw (Cheetahs, Super 14)
* Wessel Roux
* Lawrence Sephaka (Lions, Super 14)
* Jerry Tamanisau (Bordeaux)
* François van Schouwenburg (Bulls)
* Tyson Matthews (Otorohanga)
* Tamatea James (Toyota, Japan Top League

Famous players

*Dan Luger
*Jean Berti
*Christian Califano
*André Herrero
*Eric Champ
*Yann Delaigue
*Jérôme Gallion
*Jo Maso
*Marc De Rougemont
*Eric Melville
*Christophe Dominici
*George Gregan
*Tana Umaga (New Zealand)
*Rob Henderson
*Anton Oliver
*Andrew Mehrtens
*Victor Matfield
*Sonny Bill Williams
*Jerry Collins

References

External links

* [http://www.rctoulon.com Official site]