Aviron Bayonnais ( eu, Baionako Arrauna), commonly called Bayonne, is a French

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 its m ...

club from

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

(''Baiona'', in Basque) in

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlanti ...

which, for the 2016-17 season, competed in the top tier of the French league system, in the

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 ...

competition. In the 2015–16 Rugby Pro D2 Season they were promoted after finishing 2nd and winning the playoff final against Aurillac. In the 2016-2017 season, they finished in last place, and will be relegated back to Pro D2 for the 2017-18 season. Founded in 1904, they play at the Parc des Sports also known as Stade Jean-Dauger in Bayonne. Their mascot is a

pottok The Pottok or Pottoka ( or , eu, pottoka ), is an endangered, semi-feral breed of pony native to the Pyrenees of the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country in France and Spain. It is considered an ancient breed of horse, particularly ...

pony called ''pottoka''. They have ties to the French Basque community.

History

The club was established in 1904, making their first final appearance in the 1913 season, where they defeated S.C.U.F. 31-8 at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir. The national domestic championship was replaced by the

Coupe de l'Espérance The Coupe de l'Espérance was a rugby union competition that was played in France to replace the national championship during World War I, as many players were sent to the front. The teams used mostly young boys who had not been drafted yet. The cu ...

during World War I. The competition was played for four seasons, with Aviron Bayonnais contesting the last final, which they lost to Stadoceste Tarbais 4 to 3. With the French championship resumed, the club made their next championship game in the 1922 season where they met

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 Par ...

. Aviron Bayonnais lost the final 6 to nil. The two clubs would meet again the next season to again contest the championship final, which Toulouse won again, 3 to nil. Aviron Bayonnais enjoyed success during the mid-1930s, defeating

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. ...

13 to 8 in Toulouse to win their second championship, and first since 1913. They also won the

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 ...

in 1936, defeating Perpignan in the final. The club saw similar results during the mid-1940s as well, with two championship final appearances; defeating

SU Agen Sporting Union Agen Lot-et-Garonne (), commonly referred to as SU Agen, Agen () or SUALG, is a French professional rugby union club based in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne that competes in the Pro D2, France's second division of rugby. Founded in 1908, A ...

in the 1943 final at

Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin ...

in Paris and losing the 1944 season final to Perpignan. Since the 1940s the club did not find a lot of success over the coming years, as they would have to wait until the 1980s until they would again reach any of the championship finals. In 1980 they contested the final of the Challenge Yves du Manoir, defeating AS Béziers 16 to 10 to gain their second title of that competition. They made it to the final of the 1982 season, although they were defeated by SU Agen, 18 to 9. Aviron Bayonnais was relegated to the Group A2 in 1996, where it spent eight seasons. The team was promoted to the Top 16/14 in 2004, remaining there for 11 consecutive seasons. The team was relegated to the Pro D2 in 2015, and has been a

yo-yo club A yo-yo club is a sporting side that is regularly promoted and relegated. The phrase is most typically used in association football in the United Kingdom, especially in reference to promotion to and relegation from the Premier League. The name ...

since then.

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: 1913, 1934 and 1943 ** Finalist: 1922, 1923, 1944 and 1982 *

: ** Champions: 1936 and 1980 *

: ** Champions: 1919 * Coupe André Moga: ** Champions: 1995 *

Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

** Champions: 2019,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

* Euro Basque Rugby Challenge ** Champions: 2019

Finals results

French championship

Challenge Yves du Manoir

Coupe de l'Espérance

Current standings

Current squad

The Bayonne squad for the 2022–23 season is:

Notable former players

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* Martín Bustos Moyano * Matías Cortese *

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* Santiago Fernández *

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* Juan Pablo Orlandi *

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* Ramón Ayarza * Phil Davies * Filimoni Bolavucu *

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* Savenaca Rawaca * Metuisela Talebula * Saïmoni Vaka * André Alvarez * Clément Ancely * Grégory Arganese *

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* Denis Avril *

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* Antoine Battut * Robert Baulon * André Béhotéguy *

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* Christian Belascain * Eugène Billac * Benjamin Boyet * Renaud Boyoud * Maurice Celhay * Baptiste Chouzenoux *

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* Jean Dauger * Walter Desmaison * Pierre Dospital * Richard Dourthe *

Bernard Duprat Bernard Duprat (born Bayonne, 17 July 1943) is a former French rugby union player. He played as a wing. Duprat played for Aviron Bayonnais, from 1964/65 to 1977/78. He also played for Anglet Olympique and US Mouguerre. He had 15 caps for France, f ...

* Pépito Elhorga *

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* Anthony Étrillard *

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* Pierre Gayraud * Jean-Michel Gonzalez * Steven Hall *

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* Aretz Iguiniz * Vincent Inigo * Jean Iraçabal * Louis Junquas * Paul Labadie *

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Patrice Lagisquet Patrice Lagisquet (born 4 September 1962) is a former French rugby union footballer and a current coach. He played as a wing. He was nicknamed "The Bayonne Express". Lagisquet was born in Arcachon. He first played at U.A. Gujan-Mestras, until mo ...

Damien Lagrange Damien Lagrange born 4 July 1987 in Bayonne, France, is a French professional rugby union player for SU Agen, having previously represented his hometown club after coming through their youth academy. Lagrange has become a regular in the SU Agen ...

* Daniel Larrechea * Grégoire Lascubé * René Lasserre * Christophe Lamaison * Christian Magnanou * Jean-Jo Marmouyet * Romain Martial *

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* Lionel Mazars *

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* Marvin O'Connor * Charles Ollivon * Clément Otazo * Laurent Pardo * Patrick Perrier * Jean-Baptiste Peyras-Loustalet * Roland Pétrissans *

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* Julien Puricelli *

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* Jacques Rollet *

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* Matthieu Ugalde * Jean-Marie Usandisaga * Giorgi Jgenti * Davit Khinchaguishvili * Avto Kopaliani * Lorenzo Cittadini *

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* Wataru Murata *

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* Stephen Brett *

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* Gerard Fraser * Dwayne Haare * Tanerau Latimer *

Sione Lauaki Sione Tuitupu Lauaki (22 June 1981 – 12 February 2017) was a Tongan-born New Zealand rugby union footballer who played for Aviron Bayonnais, Bayonne. He previously played for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. His brother, Epalaham ...

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* Blair Stewart *

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* Willie du Plessis * Sam Gerber *

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* Rassie Jansen van Vuuren *

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* Leo Lafaiali'i * Jeremy Tomuli *

Johnnie Beattie John William Beattie (born 21 November 1985) is a Scottish former rugby union player. A number 8, he played for Glasgow Warriors, Montpellier, Castres and Bayonne. Background Beattie is the son of former Scotland number 8 John Beattie and ...

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* Oscar Astarloa *

Cédric Garcia Cédric Garcia (born 28 December 1982 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France ) is a French-Spain, Spanish rugby union player. He played for Castres Olympique, Aviron Bayonnais, Bayonne and US Montauban. Garcia, a scrum-half (rugby union), scrum-half, ...

* Francisco Puertas Soto * Manu Ahotaeiloa * Lisiate Faʻaoso * Pila Fifita * Opeti Fonua *

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* Mike Phillips

Coaches

* Janu.2010-2010 : Christian Gajan * 2010-Dec.2011 : Christian Gajan, Thomas Lièvremont * Dec.2011-Janu.2012 : Jean-Pierre Elissalde, Didier Faugeron, Pierre-Henry Broncan. * Janu.2012-June 2012 : Didier Faugeron, Denis Avril. * 2012-2013 :

Christian Lanta Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Christophe Deylaud Christophe Deylaud (born 2 October 1964 in Toulouse) is a French former rugby union footballer and a current coach. He played as a fly-half and as a centre. Deylaud first played at Portet-sur-Garonne, and from there moved to Blagnac SCR, where ...

, Denis Avril. *2013-2014 :

* 2014-2015 : Patricio Noriega *2015–2017 : Vincent Etcheto *2017–present :

Pierre Berbizier Pierre Berbizier (born 17 June 1958) is a French former rugby union footballer and a current coach. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played 56 times for France. Biography Berbizier was born in Saint-Gaudens. He made his international deb ...

References

External links

*
Aviron Bayonnais
Official website *
Club information
{{Authority control Aviron Bayonnais

Rugby clubs established in 1904 Organizations based in Northern Basque Country 1904 establishments in France