Sporting Olympique Avignon also known as Avignon XIII or SO Avignon are a semi-professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

team based in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label= Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the commune had ...

in the south of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. They currently play in the

Elite One Championship Elite 1 is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions wor ...

. The club was formed in 1916 and they enjoyed their best spell during the 1950s when they lifted the

Lord Derby Cup The French Rugby League Cup (french: Coupe de France de Rugby à XIII), also called Lord Derby Cup (french: Coupe Lord Derby) after its championship trophy, is the premier knockout competition for the sport of rugby league football in France. Th ...

twice and reached two other finals as well as being runners up in the

French rugby league 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. ...

. The club plays its home matches at the

Parc des Sports (Avignon) Parc des Sports is a multi-purpose stadium in Avignon, France. It is currently used mostly for football matches and hosts the home matches of AC Avignonnais. The capacity of the stadium is 17,518 spectators. Rugby league Since its opening in 19 ...

. The current head coach is their former player and ex French international Renaud Guigue

History

On March 16, 1916 Sporting Olympique Avignon were formed as a rugby and athletics club by Viscount du Tertre and Marius Bremond who would be the club's first president and vice president respectively. After the war and when Rugby League could be played again in France following the Vichy government's banning of the game, SO Avignon decided to join Rugby League under the leadership of head coach and captain Francois Riviere. It was during the 1950s that the club would have its most successful period, they reached their first

final in 1957 while also lifting the

in 1955 and 1956 and being runner up in 1958 and 59, during this time they played in front of crowds of more than 10,000 and were well known for playing local youth players. Since their boom years the club has experienced both highs and lows. They won the

in 1982 and again 1989. The youth team also lifted the cup in 1982 and in 1995 they completed a league and cup double under coaches Gerard Faure and Frederic Bissiere. It was during this time that their main stand at their ground caught fire as the club struggled both on and off the field, but thanks to Bernard Gayraud the club survived. In 1998 following their relegation to the

Elite Two Championship Elite 2 (formerly the Elite Two Championship) is the second tier semi-professional rugby league competition in France below Elite 1, but above the National Division 1. The season runs from September to April. The clubs play each other hom ...

they caused a major surprise by once again reaching the

final but lost to AS Saint-Estève. In November 2001 the club's president Jean-René Laval had no option but to put the club into liquidation due to its debts, but the club didn't die and under Roger Secula and Christophe Jouffret Avignon was reformed and were accepted into the

National Division 2 National Division 2 is the fourth tier of rugby league in France, below the National Division 1. The season runs from September to April. The Division is split into 5 regional leagues, Languedoc-Roussillon, Midi-Pyrenees, Aquitaine, Ile de Fran ...

Regional League, which is the 4th tier. After 2 seasons they won promotion to the National Division 1 League where they stayed for another 2 seasons before being relegated back to the 4th tier. In 2006 they were promoted back to National Division 1. During 2008 the club spent time at the Parc des Sports while their own ground was being refurbished and artificial turf laid. Since their return to the

the club have reached the semi-finals of the play-offs in 2011 and in 2013 they once again won the

beating

Limoux Grizzlies XIII Limouxin, also known as Limoux Grizzlies, are a semi-professional rugby league club from the town of Limoux in the Aude area in southern France. They play in the Elite One Championship. The club was formed in 1951. They have won the French ...

38-37

Colours and Badge

SO Avignon play in blue and white hooped shirts with white shorts. The club adopted the Bison, nickname and emblem, during the late 1990s as the trend for British Rugby League clubs at that time was to adopt a moniker. The emblem was so obviously heavily modeled from the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, alon ...

NHL team's logo at the time. The Bison is a reference to the famous ''Bison of Vaucluse'' which was the nickname given to their former player André Savonne a winger with the club during the 1950s.

Stadium

Stade Saint Ruf or to give it its full name Stade Pierre Bazet St Ruf has been the only ground that

SO Avignon Sporting Olympique Avignon also known as Avignon XIII or SO Avignon are a semi-professional rugby league team based in Avignon in the south of France. They currently play in the Elite One Championship. The club was formed in 1916 and they enjoyed ...

have used apart from a brief spell in 2008 when they used the Parc des Sports across town. During their heyday in the 1950s more than 10,000 spectators would crowd together along the wooden benches and grassy bank. Adjacent to the ground there used to be a local brewery but that has long gone and has been replaced by a bypass. A new stand was built after a fire destroyed the original wooden stand. In 2008 an artificial pitch was laid. The main stand is now right up to the pitch and has VIP and press facilities along with a bar and a club shop. All the seats are undercover. The club currently use

where it plays its home matches.

Players

Current squad

Squad for 2021-22 Season

Internationals

Below is a list of every player to have been capped while at

(All France) * André Beraud 1947-53 (17 apps) * Jacques Merquey 1951-60 (37 Apps) *

Guy Delaye Guy Delaye is a French former professional rugby league footballer who represented France in the 1954 Rugby League World Cup, as a . Career Delaye, then playing for Marseille XIII, was called up to play the 1954 Rugby League World Cup which was ...

1952-55 (5 Apps) * Roger Rey 1952-61 (24 Apps) * André Soaps 1953-61 (20 Apps) * Robert Moulinas 1954-60 (2 Apps) *

Jacques Fabre Jacques Eric Fabre-Jeune, C.S., known before May 2022 as Jacques Fabre, (born November 13, 1955) is a Haitian-American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as Bishop of Charleston since 2022. Fabre-Jeune is the first African Ameri ...

1955-59 (9 Apps) *

Jean Rouqueirol Jean Rouqueirol (19 April 1933 – 19 February 2014) was a French rugby league player. He played as . Biography At club level, he first played for SO Avignon, along with his brothers Claude and Fernand. He later played for RC Roanne and the ...

1955-59 (13 Apps) *

Auguste Parent Auguste may refer to: People Surname * Arsène Auguste (born 1951), Haitian footballer * Donna Auguste (born 1958), African-American businesswoman * Georges Auguste (born 1933), Haitian painter * Henri Auguste (1759–1816), Parisian gold and ...

1956-57 (11 Apps) * René Jean 1957-59 (6 Apps) * André Casas 1959-60 (8 Apps) * Gérard Soaps 1964 (8 Apps) *

André Ferren André Ferren (9 January 1943) was a French international rugby league player. He played as . Biography Before his rugby league career, Ferren practiced track and field in Avignon, at Stade Saint Ruf. During a training session he entered into ...

1964-69 (6 Apps) * Marius Frattini 1965-73 (6 Apps) * Jean-René Ledru 1968-74 (4 Apps) * Patrick Carrias 1969 (1 Apps) *

Jean-Marie Imbert Jean-Marie is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Jean-Marie Abgrall (born 1950), a French psychiatrist, criminologist, specialist in forensic medicine, cult expert, and graduate in criminal law * Jean-Marie C ...

1971-78 (20 Apps) * Serge Gleyzes 1971-77 ( 16 Apps) * Jacques Garzino 1972-74 (3 Apps) * Aimé Barcelli 1974 (1 Apps) * Hervé Bonet 1977 (4 Apps) * Renaud Guigue 1977-83 (14 Apps) * Jackie Imbert 1977-83 (7 Apps) * Bernard Imbert 1981 (1 App) * Patrick Entat 1986-95 (34 Apps) * Thierry Buttignol 1989-93 (14 Apps) * Christian Piredda 1990 (1 App) * Marc Balleroy 1991 (1 App) * Patrick Accroue 1994 (2 Apps) * Lucien Demacedo 1995 (1 App) *

Olivier Arnaud Olivier Arnaud (born 14 October 1987) is a French rugby league player who has played for France. Playing career Arnaud plays for Sporting Olympique Avignon and made his debut for France in 2015 against Wales. Arnaud was named in the French squ ...

2015 (3 Apps)

Honours

* Elite One Championship (1) 2017-18 * Lord Derby Cup (5): 1954-55, 1955–56, 1981–82, 1988–89, 2012–13

External links

* http://www.soavignon.com/accueil/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avignon, Sporting Olympique 1916 establishments in France French rugby league teams Rugby clubs established in 1916 Sport in Avignon