Sporting Union Agen Lot-et-Garonne (), commonly referred to as SU Agen, Agen () or SUALG, 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 ...

club based in

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 departme ...

, Lot-et-Garonne that competes in the

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 i ...

, France's second division of rugby. Founded in 1908, Agen is one of the historic clubs in French rugby, having won the French Championship eight times. Its home ground is the 10,512-seat

Stade Armandie Stade Armandie is a multi-purpose stadium in Agen, France. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of SU Agen. The stadium is able to hold 14,000 people. On February 8, 2014, it hosted a Six Nations Under 20s ...

and traditional club colours are

navy blue Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue. Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with naval white) worn by officers in the Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. When this color ...

and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

. The club is renowned for its youth system and its academy structure.

History

The club was established in 1900. They made their first championship final in the 1930 season, where they met

US Quillan Union Sportive Quillan Haute-Vallée or US Quillan is a French rugby union club. The team are currently playing in the Fédérale divisions of French rugby, though they have in the past, made it to the final of the French championship, and won it i ...

, and defeated them 4 points to nil in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

, and thus capturing their first championship title. The club experienced some success in the coming years in 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 ...

competition as well; winning it in the 1932 season and then becoming runners-up to

Lyon OU Lyon Olympique Universitaire or LOU is a French rugby union team based in Lyon that currently competes in the Top 14, the highest level of the country's professional league system, having been most recently promoted for the 2016–17 season af ...

in the 1933 season. Agen would have another successful run in the 1940s, beginning with the 1943 season when they defeated Stade Bordelais 11 to 4 to win the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

. That season they also made it to the championship final; though they were defeated by Aviron Bayonnais 3 points to nil at

Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin and Stade Roland Garros. The stadium, with a seating capacity of 47 ...

in Paris. In 1945 they again won the title of the French championship, defeating FC Lourdes 7 points to 3 in the final in Paris. The championship was one of two titles that season, as Agen also won the Coupe de France, defeating Montferrand 14 to 13. Agen featured in one more championship that decade, losing to

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 fr ...

10 points to 3. Agen were relatively quiet during the 1950s, though they again rose to prominence during the 1960s. In 1962 they again became of the champions of France after defeating

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a subprefecture of the Hérault department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hosts the famous ''Feria de Béziers'', which is centred on bullfighting. A million visitors are attra ...

14 points to 11 in the season final. The following season they won the Challenge Yves du Manoir, defeating

Brive Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 75 ...

11 points to nil in the final. Agen became the French champions on two more occasions during the 1960s, defeating Brive in 1965 and then Dax in 1966. The club had another successful run during the 1970s, starting with an unsuccessful Challenge Yves du Manoir final, losing to

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 ...

25 points to 22. They were unsuccessful again in 1975 in the Challenge Yves du Manoir, losing to Béziers 16 points to 12 in the final. However they would then meet Béziers in the championship final of the 1976 season, and defeat them 13 to 10 to win their first championship since 1966. Agen went through period of success in the 1980s after winning the championship in 1982, defeating Aviron Bayonnais 18 points to 9 in the final. The following season they won the Challenge Yves du Manoir as well after defeating Toulon 29 points to 7. In 1984 they again contested the championship final, though they eventually lost it to Béziers. They unsuccessfully contested it again in 1986, losing to Toulouse 16 to 6. They were also runners-up in the 1987 Challenge Yves du Manoir, losing to Grenoble. However, in 1988 they again won the championship, defeating Stadoceste Tarbais 9 to 3 in the final. They contested the final again in the 1990 season, losing to Racing Club de France 22 points to 12. In 1992 they won the Challenge Yves du Manoir, defeating

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 ...

23 to 18.

Professional era

In 1998 they played in their first European cup final, the European Challenge Cup, losing to fellow French team US Colomiers 43 to 5 in the final. On June 8, 2002 they lost to

Biarritz Olympique 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 p ...

in the championship final. In recent years, one of their biggest stars has been

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

an winger

Rupeni Caucaunibuca Rupeni Caucaunibuca (; born 5 June 1980) is a retired Fijian rugby union footballer who last played professionally for Northland in the ITM Cup. His nickname was the "Bua Bullet" as he hailed from the province of Bua. Early years Caucaunibuca ...

. He led the team in tries in 2005 and 2006, and led Pro D2 in that category during Agen's most recent promotion season in 2010. However, he would be dismissed from the team in September 2010 after failing to report to the team for preseason workouts (several weeks later, he would reemerge at Toulouse).

Honours

* French championship: ** Champions: 1930, 1945, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1976, 1982, 1988 ** Runners-up: 1943, 1947, 1984, 1986, 1990, 2002 *

: ** Champions: 1932, 1963, 1983, 1992 ** Runners-up: 1933, 1970, 1975, 1987 *

: ** Champions: 1943, 1945 * European Challenge Cup: ** Runners-up: 1998 * Challenge Armand Vaquerin: ** Champions: 1999 *

: ** Champions: 2010 ** Promotion playoff winners: 2015, 2017

Finals results

Challenge Yves du Manoir

Coupe de France

European Shield

Pro D2 promotion playoffs

Current standings

Current squad

The Agen squad for the 2022–23 season is:

Notable former players

Belisario Agulla Belisario Agulla (born Buenos Aires, 23 May 1988) is an Argentine rugby union player. He plays as a wing and as a fullback. Agulla played for Hindú Club, in Argentina, from 2009 to 2011, winning the Nacional de Clubes in 2010. He also played at ...

* Eusebio Guiñazú * Omar Hasan *

Scott Daruda Scott Daruda (born 17 February 1986) is an Australian rugby union player.Scott Daruda player profile< ...

* Junior Pelesasa * Colin Yukes * Jason Marshall * Sergio Valdes * Silvère Tian * Andrew Springgay *

Osea Kolinisau Osea Kolinisau, OF (born 17 November 1985) is a Fijian rugby union player who plays for Old Glory DC of Major League Rugby (MLR). He captained the Fiji Sevens side to their first olympic gold medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Early life and educ ...

Taniela Rawaqa Taniela Rawaqa (born April 30, 1986) is a Fijian rugby union player. He plays fullback, presently with the Western Crusaders in the Colonial Cup and with the Fiji Warriors in the Pacific Rugby Cup and internationally with Fiji. He is the younger ...

* Saïmoni Vaka *

Mathieu Barrau Mathieu Barrau (born 3 September 1977 in Beaumont-de-Lomagne, France is a French international rugby union scrum half principally for SU Agen. Barrau made his international début for France in July 2004, against usa, but would have to fight ...

* Guy Basquet * Jean-Paul Baux * Christian Béguerie * Jean-Baptiste Bédère *

Abdelatif Benazzi Abdelatif Benazzi ( ar, عبد اللطيف بن عزي; born 20 August 1968) is a French- Moroccan rugby union player who represented both Morocco and France.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) p71 He play ...

* René Bénésis *

Philippe Benetton Philippe Benetton (born Cahors, 18 May 1968) is a former French rugby union footballer and currently head coach of Tournon d'Agenais. He played as a flanker. Benetton had two teams during his career, Cahors and Agen, where he played until 2003. H ...

* Pierre Berbizier * Philippe Bérot * Paul Biémouret *

Sébastien Bonetti Sébastien Bonetti (born 22 September 1977 in Bergerac), is a French rugby union player. He has played for Biarritz Olympique. Career Sébastien Bonetti began playing Rugby Union with Biarritz Olympique. He moved to AS Béziers Hérault Associ ...

* Jean Boubée * Guillaume Bouic * Christian Califano * Olivier Campan * Georges Carabignac * Jean Clavé * Valentin Courrent * David Couzinet * Jean-François Coux * Jean-Jacques Crenca *

Marc Dal Maso Marc Dal Maso (born Escalans, 14 February 1967) is a former French rugby union player and a current coach. He played in the position of a hooker. Athletic career He played for Stade Montois, moving then to SU Agen. He then played for Colomiers ( ...

* Jean-Louis Dehez * Christian Delage *

Daniel Dubroca Daniel Dubroca (born 25 April 1954) is a former French national rugby union player and coach. He played as a prop and as a hooker. Biography Dubroca was born at Aiguillon. He played all his career at SU Agen, starting at 1969/70. He was promote ...

* Yves Duffaut * Brice Dulin *

Jean-Louis Dupont Born in 1965 in Liège, Belgium, Jean-Louis Dupont is a lawyer specialized in European law. He was part of the legal team that led the Bosman ruling (CJEU, 15 December 1995), which forced FIFA and UEFA to end the transfer system and the nationality ...

* Sylvain Dupuy * Louis Echave * Pépito Elhorga * Dominique Erbani * Albert Ferrasse * Jacques Fort * François Gelez * Éric Gleyze * Jacques Gratton * Pierre Guilleux * Marius Guiral * Francis Haget *

Cédric Heymans Cédric Heymans (born 20 July 1978) is a French former rugby union footballer who played mainly as a wing or a full-back for French Top 14 club Toulouse and the French national team. Known for his pace and his footwork, he started his club car ...

* Jean-Claude Hiquet * Thierry Labrousse *

Bernard Lacombe Bernard Lacombe (born 15 August 1952) is a French former professional footballer. He played as a striker, mainly with Lyon, Bordeaux and Saint-Étienne and the France national team. Career Lacombe began his professional career with hometown cl ...

* Pierre Lacroix * Luc Lafforgue *

Christophe Lamaison Christophe "Titou" Lamaison (born 8 April 1971) is a former French rugby union footballer who represented France at international level, and Brive, Agen and Aviron Bayonnais at professional club level. He won 37 caps, and at the time of his retire ...

* Grégoire Lascubé * Michel Lasserre * Serge Lassoujade * Marcel Laurent * Bernard Lavigne * Joël Llop *

Matthieu Lièvremont Matthieu Lièvremont (born 6 November 1975 in Perpignan)Matthieu Lièvremont player profile

* Gérard Magnac * Jean-Claude Malbet * Christophe Manas * Jean Matheu-Cambas * Jean-Michel Mazas * Patrick Mazzer * Jérôme Miquel * Jean Monribot *

Christophe Porcu Christophe Porcu (born 5 May 1971 in Mauvezin, Gers, France) 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 finali ...

* Olivier Sarraméa *

Philippe Sella Philippe Sella (born 14 February 1962, in Tonneins) is French former rugby union player. He started as a rugby league junior in his home town before switching to rugby union. As a former French rugby union player, he held the record for most intern ...

* Michel Sitjar * Laurent Seigne * Jean-Louis Tolot * Bruno Tolot * Max Vigerie *

Bernard Viviès Bernard Viviès (born 3 September 1955) is a French rugby union coach and former international. Born in Rieumes, Viviès played mostly as a fly-half and fullback. Debuting for France in 1978, he gained 10 international caps during his career an ...

Irakli Machkhaneli Irakli Machkhaneli (born 18 June 1981) is a retired Georgian rugby union player who played as a wing. He played in France for AS Béziers (2005/06-2006/07), Stade Montois (2007/08), SU Agen (2008/09), CA Saint-Étienne (2009/10), in the Pro D2 ...

Giorgi Nemsadze Giorgi Nemsadze is a Georgian rugby union player who plays as a lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between d ...

* Anton Peikrishvili * Konstantin Mikautadze * Beka Sheklashvili * Denis Fogarty *

Santiago Dellapè Santiago Dellapè (born 9 May 1978) is an Italian Argentine rugby union footballer. His usual position is at lock. He plays for Italy, and was included their 2003 Rugby World Cup squad to Australia. He has played for the French Top 14 side ...

* Alessio Galasso * Aaron Persico * Francesco Zani *

Djalil Narjissi Djalil Narjissi ( ar, دجاليل نرجسي; born 18 January 1980) is a Moroccan rugby union footballer who currently plays in the Top 14, for Agen. He joined Agen in 2004, having previously played for Castres. Narjissi is also the captain of t ...

Ben Blair Ben Austin Blair (born 26 March 1979 in Westport, New Zealand) is a former rugby union footballer. He played four tests for New Zealand. He scored 37 points on his All Blacks debut against Ireland A in 2001 at Ravenhill in Belfast; however, a ...

Richard Fromont Richard Trevor Fromont (born 17 September 1969) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A lock, Fromont represented Auckland and Counties Manukau at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks ...

* Billy Fulton *

Kees Meeuws Kees Junior Meeuws (; born 26 July 1974) is a New Zealand former rugby union prop and former assistant coach of the Highlanders in the Super Rugby competition, and also a real estate agent by trade and a painter by education. Meeuws played 42 ...

John Schwalger John Schwalger (born 28 September 1983 in Apia, Samoa) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played at the prop position. Early life Schwalger moved to New Zealand after being born in Apia. He is the nephew of Samoa international Maho ...

Sorin Socol Sorin Socol (born 30 November 1977 in Bucharest) is a Romanian retired rugby union player who played as a lock. He has won 61 caps for Romania. After being voted player of the tournament in the 1996 Under 21 Rugby World Championships where he cap ...

* Adri Badenhorst * Conrad Barnard * Daniel (Neil) du Plessis * Gert Muller * Ross Skeate *

Conrad Stoltz Conrad Stoltz (born 23 October 1973) is a triathlete from South Africa. He is a four time XTERRA Triathlon World Champion and a three time ITU Cross Triathlon World Champion. Career Stoltz was born in Lydenburg, South Africa and calls Stellen ...

* Kirill Kulemin *

Viliamu Afatia Viliamu Afatia (born 24 May 1990) is a Samoan rugby union player. He joined Agen ahead of the 2011/2012 seasoHe plays Prop (rugby union), prop for Samoa on international level. Afatia also plays for Bordeaux Bègles in their Top 14 campaign. V ...

* François Tardieu * Lisiate Fa'aoso * Uelini Fono * Opeti Fonua * Semisi Telefoni * Inaki Basauri *

Kevin Swiryn Kevin Swiryn (born December 16, 1984) is an American rugby union player, who played professionally for Agen in the French Top 14. Swiryn played at both centre and wing. Early life Swiryn was born in San Jose, California. He started playing rugby ...

Luke Hamilton Luke John Hamilton (born 7 January 1992) is a Scottish international rugby union player who plays back row for Oyonnax. He has previously played for Cardiff Blues and Edinburgh in the Pro14, Agen in France's Top 14 and Leicester Tigers in Prem ...

* Jamie Robinson

References

External links

*
SU Agen Lot et Garonne
Official website *
SU-Agen
Unofficial website {{SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne squad

Rugby clubs established in 1908 Sport in Agen 1908 establishments in France

History

Professional era

Honours

Finals results

Finals results

Challenge Yves du Manoir

Coupe de France

European Shield

Pro D2 promotion playoffs

Current standings

Current squad

Notable former players

See also

References

External links