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 after winning the 2015–16 title of the second-level Pro D2. The club has bounced between the top two levels in recent years, having also been promoted in 2011 and 2014 and relegated in 2012 and 2015.
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| Full name | Lyon Olympique Universitaire | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Les Loups (The Wolves) | ||
| Founded | 1896 | ||
| Location | Lyon, France | ||
| Ground(s) | Stade de Gerland (Capacity: 35,000) | ||
| President | Yann Roubert | ||
| Coach(es) | Xavier Garbajosa | ||
| League(s) | Top 14 | ||
| 2021–22 | 9th | ||
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| Official website | |||
| www | |||
They were founded in 1896 and play in red and black. In 2011, the team left the Stade Vuillermet to the new Matmut Stadium. In 2017 the team moved to the Matmut Stadium de Gerland.
History
Le LOU, as it is traditionally known, is one of the oldest sports clubs in France and among the first outside Paris to have set up a rugby section. The club’s original name was Racing Club, the result of a merger of the Racing Club de Vaise and the Rugby Club de Lyon. It was renamed Racing et Cercles Réunis in 1902 after several other clubs joined it, then a few months later Lyon Olympique. Finally, in 1910, it became Lyon Olympique Universitaire. The red and black were adopted in 1902.
The club developed several sections (it now has 13), one of the most successful being the rugby union section, which is now known as LOU Rugby. The rugby club took part in three successive French championship finals (1931–33), losing the first one to Toulon (3-6) but winning the next two against Narbonne (9-3 and 10-3). It then played in lower amateur leagues until it was promoted back to the second professional division (Pro D2). In 2006-07, it had the second biggest budget of the championship and its ambition was to rejoin the Top 14 in the next two years, under the leadership of their coach Christian Lanta, who formerly led Racing Club de France, Italian club Treviso and Agen. However, they would not succeed in their promotion quest until 2011. Since then, they have been a proverbial "yo-yo team", having been either relegated or promoted four times in the six seasons since their 2011 promotion.
Honours
- Challenge Cup:
- Champions: 2022
- Champion de France:
- Champions: 1932, 1933
- Runners-up: 1931
- Rugby Pro D2:
- Challenge Yves du Manoir:
- Champions: 1933
- Fédérale 1:
- Champions: 2002
- Deuxième Division:
- Champions: 1989, 1992
Juniors: 2012 Cadets: 1984,2017
Finals results
French championship
| Date | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Venue | Spectators |
| 10 May 1931 | RC Toulon | Lyon OU | 6-3 | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 10,000 |
| 5 May 1932 | Lyon OU | RC Narbonne | 9-3 | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 13,000 |
| 7 May 1933 | Lyon OU | RC Narbonne | 10-3 | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 15,000 |
Challenge Yves du Manoir
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 1932 | SU Agen | round robin | Lyon OU |
| 1933 | Lyon OU | round robin | SU Agen |
European Challenge Cup Finals
| Date | Winner | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
| 27 May 2022 | Lyon | 30–12 | Toulon | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille | 51,431 |
Current standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toulouse | 25 | 16 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 628 | 464 | +164 | 76 | Champions Cup & Top 14 finals |
| 2 | La Rochelle | 25 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 659 | 469 | +190 | 74 | |
| 3 | Stade Français | 25 | 13 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 606 | 466 | +140 | 66 | |
| 4 | Racing 92 | 25 | 14 | 1 | 10 | 8 | 709 | 652 | +57 | 66 | |
| 5 | Bordeaux Bègles | 25 | 13 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 557 | 466 | +91 | 63 | |
| 6 | Lyon | 25 | 13 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 635 | 607 | +28 | 62 | |
| 7 | Bayonne | 25 | 13 | 1 | 11 | 4 | 577 | 609 | −32 | 58 | Challenge Cup |
| 8 | Toulon | 25 | 13 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 553 | 538 | +15 | 57 | |
| 9 | Montpellier | 25 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 614 | 582 | +32 | 54 | |
| 10 | Castres | 25 | 12 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 506 | 619 | −113 | 53 | |
| 11 | Clermont | 25 | 10 | 1 | 14 | 10 | 556 | 602 | −46 | 52 | |
| 12 | Pau | 25 | 9 | 1 | 15 | 9 | 556 | 624 | −68 | 47 | |
| 13 | Perpignan | 25 | 10 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 487 | 698 | −211 | 43 | Relegation play-off |
| 14 | Brive (R) | 25 | 7 | 0 | 18 | 8 | 430 | 677 | −247 | 36 | Relegation to Rugby Pro D2 |
Rules for classification: 1) Competition points earned in head-to-head matches; 2) Points difference in head-to-head matches; 3) Try differential in head-to-head matches; 4) Points difference in all matches; 5) Try differential in all matches; 6) Points scored in all matches; 7) Tries scored in all matches; 8) Fewer matches forfeited; 9) Classification in the previous Top 14 season.
(R) Relegated
Current squad
The Lyon squad for the 2022–23 season is:[1]
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.
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Espoirs squad
The Lyon OU Espoirs squad is:[2]
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.
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References
- "PRO TEAM". LOU Rugby (in French). Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- "Equipe & Staff". Lyon OU. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
External links
- (in French) Lyon OU Official website
- LOU Omnisports Sportsclub