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Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
team based in the
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
city of Biarritz,
Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...
which competes in the Pro D2, the second division of French rugby. Biarritz plays its home matches at the
Parc des Sports Aguiléra Parc des Sports Aguiléra is a multi-purpose stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a t ...
, 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. Biarritz Olympique was formed in 1913 through a merger of the Biarritz Stade and Biarritz Sporting Club rugby teams. Biarritz made their way to the final of the French championship for the first time in the 1934 season where they were defeated by Bayonne. The following season they claimed their first championship, defeating Perpignan in the final. That decade Biarritz met Perpignan twice again in the final, winning one and losing one. It would not be until 1992 when the club made the final again, and then a decade later, winning the championship in 2002. The club won back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006, and were runners-up in Europe in 2006 and 2010 as well. In 2013–14, Biarritz won just five matches out of 26, and were relegated to the Pro D2 League. In 2020–21, they were promoted back to the Top 14 after a 7 year absence.


History


Early years

The history of the club extends back to the late 19th century. An athletic club, Biarritz Stade (named that, in 1902) opened up a rugby quarter. In 1909, the Biarritz Sporting Club was established. On 26 April 1913, the fusion of the two clubs took place. The new name of the club was Biarritz Olympique and its inaugural president was M. P. Campagne. On 13 May 1934, Biarritz Olympique played in the final of the French premiership; they were however, defeated by
Aviron Bayonnais Aviron Bayonnais ( eu, Baionako Arrauna), commonly called Bayonne, is a French rugby union club from Bayonne (''Baiona'', in Basque) in Pyrénées-Atlantiques which, for the 2016-17 season, competed in the top tier of the French league system, ...
13 points to 8 at Stade des Ponts Jumeaux in
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
in front of 18,000 people. It was the only all-Basque final and is still the final in which the two contenders were separated by the shortest distance (3 miles), outside the all-Parisian finals of the late 19th century. A year later, Biarritz again found themselves in the final of the national championship, this time against
USA Perpignan 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, Franc ...
. They emerged victorious, winning three points to nil, claiming their first ever national championship. The success continued in the latter stages of the decade. In the 1938 championship, Biarritz again met USAP in the final, though this time, the Perpignan club were able to get the win, Biarritz losing 11 points to six. A year later, the two clubs met in the final again, with Biarritz coming out as the better club on the day, winning six points to nil, and claiming the second national championship. But for almost 50 years, Biarritz was not going to feature prominently in the French league.


The 1980s and 90s

It was not until the late 1980s that BO, as it is nicknamed, was going to reach the top again. In 1989 Biarritz contested their first Challenge Yves du Manoir final since the 1937 season. However, they were defeated by
RC Narbonne R&C, RC, R/C, Rc, or rc may refer to: Science and technology Computing * rc, the default Command line interface in Version 10 Unix and Plan 9 from Bell Labs * .rc (for "run commands"), a filename extension for configuration files in UNIX-like ...
18–12 in the final. In 1992, Biarritz made it to the national final, played at Parc des Princes in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. However, Biarritz went down to
RC Toulon R&C, RC, R/C, Rc, or rc may refer to: Science and technology Computing * rc, the default Command line interface in Version 10 Unix and Plan 9 from Bell Labs * .rc (for "run commands"), a filename extension for configuration files in UNIX-like ...
19 points to 14. In the 1997–98 season, Biarritz competed in their first European Rugby Cup competition, playing in the European Challenge Cup. Biarritz won three of their six fixtures, and did not make it past the pool stages. The 1998–99 season was similar to the previous, though they were able to win one more of their pool fixtures, but finished third in the pool standings after other French clubs Agen and Brive. In their third Challenge Cup, Biarritz only lost one pool game and finished first in the standings. However, they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by English club Bristol. As well as the success in the Challenge Cup, in the 1999–00 season, they also won the Coupe de France for the first time since 1937, defeating CA Brive 24–13 in the final. Biarritz also earned qualification for the Heineken Cup.


2000s

The club finished at the top of their pool In the Heineken Cup, but were eliminated by Irish team Munster, losing 38–29 in the quarter-finals at Thomond Park. In the 2001–02 Heineken Cup Biarritz did not make the finals, finishing second in their pool, winning two of their six pool fixtures. In 2002, Biarritz made their way to the domestic final for the first time in a decade. They defeated
Agen The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. Geography The city of Agen lies in the southwestern department ...
25 to 22 at Stade de France in Saint-Denis in front of 78,457. That season they were also runners-up to
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...
in the Coupe de France final, losing 21–19. The 2002–03 Heineken Cup was also a success for Biarritz, finishing at the top of their pool standings, they were quarter-finalists, but lost to Leinster 18–13 at Lansdowne Road in Dublin. The 2003–04 Heineken Cup was the best-ever for Biarritz, as they made it to the semi-finals for the first time. They finished at the top of their pool and defeated the Llanelli Scarlets in the quarter-finals. They lost to fellow French club Toulouse 19–11 in the semi-finals. In 2004–05 Biarritz dropped only the one pool game against the London Wasps and finished at the top of their pool. They then defeated Munster in the quarter-finals, to repeat their success of the previous season by making the semi-finals. They, however, lost to Stade Français, 20–17 at Parc des Princes. More success followed in 2005, where they defeated the Stade Français club 37 points to 34 in the domestic final after a very rugged challenge. In the year 2006, they made it to the Heineken Cup final where they met Munster. Although they lost their first pool game to the Saracens, Biarritz won the remaining matches and finished at the top of their pool, and defeated English clubs Sale and Bath in the finals to make the final. They lost the compelling game 19–23. They were, however, able to make it to the final of the 2005–06 Top 14, where they met Toulouse. Biarritz led nine points to six at half time but stormed to victory in the second half, the final score being 40 to 13, making Biarritz back-to-back winners. In the 2006–07 Heineken Cup Biarritz won all six of their pool games, topping their group with 29 points. They met fellow pool team
Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...
at Estadio Anoeta in the quarter-finals: Northampton upset Biarritz 8–7. In 2010, after finishing atop their pool, Biarritz defeated Ospreys and Munster, both at the Anoeta, and lost a hard-fought Heineken Cup final to Toulouse, 21–19, at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Saturday, 22 May. On 18 May 2012, Biarritz beat
Top 14 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 French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...
rivals
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
21-18 in the 2012 Amlin Challenge Cup Final at
Twickenham Stoop Twickenham Stoop Stadium (informally referred to as The Stoop) is a sports stadium located in south-west London, England. The stadium is home to Harlequins rugby union team, who play in the Gallagher Premiership. The stadium has a capacity ...
. Biarritz played poorly during the 2013–14 Top 14 season, and ended up being relegated to the Rugby Pro D2 for the 2014–15 season.


Stadium

Biarritz play their home matches at the
Parc des Sports Aguiléra Parc des Sports Aguiléra is a multi-purpose stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a t ...
, which is a multi-use stadium in Biarritz. The stadium is used mostly for rugby and is able to hold around 13,500 people. Apart from Biarritz home games, the ground also hosted an international between the
French Barbarians The Barbarian Rugby Club, more commonly known as the French Barbarians, is a rugby union team formed in 1979 and based in France. It was founded as an amateur invitational team modeled on the Barbarian F.C. From the start of the 2017–18 season, ...
and
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. Biarritz sometimes move larger games across the border to Estadio Anoeta in Donostia/San Sebastián,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. The Anoeta is the nearest stadium to Biarritz with a suitable capacity for matches such as a Heineken Cup semi-final, which must be played at a venue which can hold at least 20,000 spectators. The Anoeta holds well above that limit, at slightly over 32,000. The first such match held there was a victory over Munster in a quarter final of the 2004–05 Heineken Cup. In 2005–06 Biarritz played and won both their Heineken Cup quarter and semi-finals at the venue. The 2006–07 quarter-final against Northampton was also played there. In the 2009–10 Top 14 season, Biarritz took two league matches to the Anoeta—their home leg of the Northern Basque derby against Bayonne, and a home match against fellow traditional power
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
. They also played both of their knockout matches leading up to the 2010 Heineken Cup final at the Anoeta, defeating Ospreys in the quarter-finals and Munster in the semi-finals.


Colours and name

Biarritz Olympique usually play in red and white colours. Green is the club's tertiary colour, as red, white and green are the traditional colours that represent the Basque Country. Their home uniform consists of red socks and shorts with a predominantly white shirt with red sides. A second jersey also has one green arm. For the 2015-16 season, their kit is produced by Macron. The main shirt sponsor is
Capgemini Capgemini SE is a multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company, headquartered in Paris, France. History Capgemini was founded by Serge Kampf in 1967 as an enterprise management and data processing company. The comp ...
. In 1998, it adopted its current name (Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque), which refers to the club's Basque heritage the name is often abbreviated as BOPB. The club logo is a red and white shield with the B and O in the middle. The words Pays Basque also appear on either side of the logo in green.


Supporters

The Biarritz supporters sometimes wave the Basque flag in the stands. Traditional Basque songs are also heard, as Basque supporters have a reputation for being very good singers. The Parc des Sports Aguilera is considered an intimidating venue to play at, with Biarritz supporters having a reputation for being very vocal.


Honours

*
French championship The French rugby league championship (french: Le Championnat de France de Rugby à XIII) has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. ...
** Champions: 1935, 1939, 2002, 2005, 2006 ** Runners-up: 1934, 1938, 1992 * Heineken Cup: ** Runners-up: 2006, 2010 *
European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...
: ** Champions:
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
*
Challenge Yves du Manoir 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. History The Challenge Yves du Manoir was officially created on ...
: ** Champions: 1937, 2000 ** Runners-up: 1989 * Coupe de France/Coupe de la Ligue ** Runners-up: 2002


Finals results


French championship


Heineken Cup


European Challenge Cup


Challenge Yves du Manoir


Coupe de France


European record


Current standings


Current squad

The Biarritz squad for the 2021–22 season is:


Espoirs squad

The Biarritz Olympique Espoirs squad is:


Notable former players

* Federico Martín Aramburú * Marcelo Bosch * Manuel Carizza * Agustín Creevy * Martín Gaitán * Francisco Gómez Kodela * Eusebio Guiñazú * Luke Burton * Rodney Davies * Dane Haylett-Petty * Leroy Houston *
Karmichael Hunt Karmichael Neil Matthew Hunt (born 17 November 1986) is a former multi-code international rugby league footballer who last played for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. Having played professional rugby league, rugby union and Australian rules ...
* Jack Isaac *
Joe Roff Joe Roff (born 20 September 1975) is a retired Australian rugby union footballer and a product of the Tuggeranong Vikings Rugby Union Club in Canberra, who played on the wing or at fullback for ACT Brumbies and Australia and played 5 tests as ...
*
Haig Sare Haig Sare (born 25 March 1982) is a former Australian rugby union player. He played as centre or winger for the Western Force in the Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australi ...
*
Evan Olmstead Evan Olmstead (born 21 February 1991 in North Vancouver, British Columbia) is a rugby union lock and loose forward who currently plays for Biarritz Olympique in Pro D2 having formerly played with Newcastle Falcons and a victorious Mitre 10 s ...
* Steffon Armitage * Iain Balshaw *
Daniel Caprice Daniel Caprice (born 20 October 1989 in Chatham, Kent) is a former Rugby Union player who last played as Wing and fullback for London Welsh in the Aviva Premiership. Dan began playing rugby aged 8 at Medway Rugby Club, Rochester. He moved on ...
* Ayoola Erinle *
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* Richard Pool-Jones *
Sireli Bobo Isireli Bobo (born 28 January 1976), is a Fijian rugby union footballer. Early career Early in his career, he played for Grupo Dramático e Sportivo Cascais, a Portuguese team. He was in the Nawaqavesi 7s and was subsequently picked to play at ...
* Seremaia Burotu * Adriu Delai * Nemia Soqeta *
Kalivati Tawake Kalivati Tawake (born 16 November 1988) is a Fijian people, Fijian rugby union player who played for the in the Super Rugby competition. His position of choice is Rugby union positions, prop. He currently (2021) plays for Biarritz Olympique ...
* Benoit August * Denis Avril * Marc Baget * Fabien Barcella * Pierre Bernard *
Jean-Pascal Barraque Jean-Pascal Barraque (born 24 April 1991) is a French rugby union player. He plays for Clermont. He is a utility back. His usual position is fly-half, although he can play as a centre or fullback. He competed for France at the 2022 Rugby Wor ...
* Philippe Bernat-Salles * Serge Betsen *
Philippe Bidabé Philippe Bidabe (born 13 January 1978 in Bayonne, France) is a French rugby union footballer. He currently plays for Biarritz Olympique in the Top 14 championship. His usual position is at wing but he can also play at centre. He made his Test de ...
* Serge Blanco * Sébastien Bonetti * Benoît Bourrust * Guillaume Boussès *
Nicolas Brusque Nicolas Brusque (born 7 August 1976 in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques) is a French former rugby union footballer. He has played for the French national team, including being a part of their 2003 Rugby World Cup squad. He usually played at fullback. ...
*
Romain Cabannes Romain Cabannes (born 2 December 1984) is a French rugby union player. His position is centre and he currently plays for Castres Olympique in the Top 14. He began his career with his home town club, Stade Montois, before moving to Pau and on to ...
* Michel Celaya * Fabien Cibray * Jean Condom * David Couzinet * Valentin Courrent * Benjamin Dambielle * Clément Darbo * André Darrieussecq *
Thibault Dubarry Thibault Dubarry (born 24 November 1987 in Chartres, France) is a French professional rugby union player. He plays at Number 8 for Racing Métro in the Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in ...
* Julien Dufau *
Julien Dupuy Julien Dupuy (born 19 December 1983) is a former rugby union player for Stade Français in the Top 14. He is now skills and attack coach for RC Toulonnais. Julien Dupuy played as a Scrum-half. Julien Dupuy played for Biarritz and Toulouse in the ...
*
Thierry Dusautoir Thierry Dusautoir (; born 18 November 1981) is a French former rugby union player who last played for France at international level and Toulouse in the French Top 14 club competition. Dusautoir was considered a strong ball carrier and possessed i ...
* Pépito Elhorga *
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* Florian Faure * Fernand Forgues * Philippe Gimbert * Jean-Baptiste Gobelet * Jean-Michel Gonzalez * André Haget * Francis Haget * Henri Haget * Kylan Hamdaoui *
Imanol Harinordoquy Imanol Harinordoquy, . (born 20 February 1980) is a French former rugby union player. He typically played as a number 8 for Stade Toulousain at club level in the Top 14 and for France internationally. Before signing with Biarritz ahead of the 2 ...
* Arnaud Héguy * Marcel Jol * Thibault Lacroix * Patrice Lagisquet * Raphaël Lakafia * Jean Larribau * Grégoire Lascubé * Wenceslas Lauret * Benoît Lecouls *
Yann Lesgourgues Yann Lesgourgues (born 17 January 1991) is a French rugby union footballer. He plays for Bordeaux Bègles. He is a member of a young talented generation with Jean-Pascal Barraque and Jean-Marc Doussain. His usual position is scrum-half, alth ...
* Marc Lièvremont * Thomas Lièvremont * Laurent Magnaval * Sylvain Marconnet * Jimmy Marlu * Legi Matiu * Alexandre Menini * Arnaud Mignardi * Christophe Milhères * Franck Montanella * Benjamin Noirot * Olivier Olibeau * Pascal Ondarts * Julien Peyrelongue * Alexandre Roumat * Olivier Roumat * David Roumieu *
Romain Ruffenach Romain Ruffenach (born 4 September 1994) is a French Rugby Union player. His position is Hooker (rugby union), Hooker and he currently plays for French side in the Top 14 competition. References External linksRomain Ruffenach
on ''itsrugby. ...
* Julien Saubade * Benjamin Thiéry * Jérôme Thion * Teddy Thomas * Sébastien Tillous-Borde * Damien Traille * Yvan Watremez * Dimitri Yachvili * Vakhtang Akhobadze * Santiago Dellapè *
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* Gonzalo Padro *
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* Campbell Johnstone *
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* Francis Saili *
Daniel Waenga Daniel "Dan" Waenga (born 6 November 1985) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays in the fly-half (and occasionally inside centre) position for the Waikato based Super Rugby side the Chiefs, and for French club Biarritz Olympique Biarr ...
* Erik Lund * Petru Bălan * Ovidiu Toniţa * Henry Fa'afili *
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* Kas Lealamanua *
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*
Wicus Blaauw Wicus Blaauw (born 8 April 1986) is a South African rugby union footballer. He previously represented Edinburgh in the Pro12, Biarritz in the French Top 14 Championship, the Stormers in Super Rugby and Western Province in the Currie Cup an ...
* Jacques Cronjé * Willie du Plessis * Philip van der Walt * Ashwin Willemse * Takudzwa Ngwenya *
Thretton Palamo Thretton Palamo (born September 22, 1988) is an American rugby union player who plays centre for Old Glory DC of Major League Rugby (MLR). When he appeared in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he became the youngest ever player to have played in the Rug ...
* Ueleni Fono *
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* Samiu Vahafolau *
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*
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See also

*
List of rugby union clubs in France Contents : A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z By League __NOTOC__ The oldest rugby club in France is Le Havre AC, founded in 1872 making it the oldest association football and rugby club registered in F ...
* Rugby union in France


References


External links

*
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basques
Official website

{{Authority control French rugby union clubs Rugby clubs established in 1913 Organizations based in Northern Basque Country Sport in Biarritz 1913 establishments in France