FC Grenoble

FC Grenoble Rugby

Full name	Football Club de Grenoble Rugby
Nickname(s)	FCG
Founded	1892
Location	Grenoble, France
Ground(s)	Stade des Alpes (Capacity: 20,068)
President	Marc Chérèque
Coach(es)	Bernard Jackman
League(s)	Top 14
2013–14	11th
Team kit 2nd kit 3rd kit
Official website
fcgrugby.com

FC Grenoble Playing in the Top 14 in 2014

Football Club de Grenoble Alpes Rugby is a French rugby union club currently playing in Top 14, the highest level of the French league system. They most recently earned promotion as champions of the second-level Pro D2 in 2012. Grenoble play most home matches at the Stade des Alpes (capacity 20,068) since 2014-2015. The club's colors are red and blue.

History

The club was founded in 1892 following the merger of the main clubs in Grenoble in Rhône-Alpes.

After becoming champions of the Alps in 1912, FCG reached the final of the Coupe de l'Espérance (in 1918), which replaced the old championship of France during the First World War. Since then Grenoble have regularly featured in the finals. Grenoble contributed notable players to the original French National Team, among them Edmond Besset and Felix Lasserre and Edmond Vellat. In 1931, Grenoble was one of 14 clubs who left the French Rugby Federation to create their own organization, UFRA.

In 1954, the first team, then coached by Roger Bouvarel, wrote the most beautiful page in the history of the club. FC Grenoble won his first Bouclier de Brennus and became champion of France after a 5-3 victory against the U.S. Cognac.

Champions in 1954 :

Roger Baqué Guy Belletante Innocent Bionda Pierre Claret Henri Coquet René Duhau Georges Echevet Sergio Lanfranchi

Jean Liénard René Martin André Morel Duilio Parolai / Michel Pliassoff Paul Rein / Eugène Smogorenski

With Jean Liénard became coach, Grenoble played the final of the European Champion Clubs' Cup FIRA in 1963.

In 1987, Grenoble won the Challenge Yves du Manoir against the SU Agen on the score of 26-7. This is the second major trophy for the club.

The winners of the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1987 :

Frédéric Boutin Martin Brooke Gilbert Brunat Hervé Chaffardon Gilles Claret Éric Ferruit Alain Gely Stéphane Geraci

Jean-Jacques Grand Brent Jordaan Pierre Mathias Dominique Mazille Joris Menzildjian Patrick Mesny Philippe Meunier Christophe Monteil

Willy Pepelnjak Robert Petuello Thierry Picard Jean-Marc Romand Bernard Vacchino Frédéric Vélo Richard Zago

The arrival of Jacques Fouroux in control of the team for the 1992–93 season associated with Michel Ringeval marks the beginning of a new era called the Mammoths of Grenoble. Despite overpowering pack Grenoble tilts on the score of 14-11.^[1] A try of Olivier Brouzet is denied to Grenoble^[2] and the decisive try by Gary Whetton was awarded by the referee, Daniel Salles, when in fact the defender Franck Hueber from Grenoble touched down the ball first in his try zone. This error gave the title to Castres. Salles admitted the error 13 years later^[3] .^[4] .^[5]

Players Championship Final in 1993 :

Brice Bardou Arnaud Bazin Olivier Brouzet Gilbert Brunat Xavier Cambres Franck Capdeville Hervé Chaffardon Éric Ferruit

Patrick Goirand Franck Hueber Gregory Kacala Džoni Mandić Dominique Mazille Olivier Merle Philippe Meunier Cyril Savy

Martial Servantes Willy Taofifénua Philippe Tapié Patrice Vacchino Frédéric Vélo

Since then the club has struggled.

Grenoble play the '1999–2000 Heineken Cup in Pool 6.

Team	P	W	D	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Pts
Northampton	6	5	0	1	19	7	12	184	87	97	10
FC Grenoble	6	3	0	3	13	15	−2	110	140	−30	6
Edinburgh Reivers	6	3	0	3	13	19	−6	112	158	−46	6
Neath	6	1	0	5	13	17	−4	128	149	−21	2

Results

Date	Stadium	Team	Score	Team
19 November	Netherdale, Galashiels	Edinburgh	23 - 18	FC Grenoble
27 November	Lesdiguières, Grenoble	FC Grenoble	20 - 18	Northampton Saints
11 December	The Gnoll, Neath	Neath RFC	43 - 14	FC Grenoble
18 December	Lesdiguières, Grenoble	FC Grenoble	21 - 10	Neath RFC
9 January	Franklin's Gardens, Northampton	Northampton Saints	27 - 16	FC Grenoble
15 January	Lesdiguières, Grenoble	FC Grenoble	21 - 19	Edinburgh

They were relegated to the French second division and came back again.

At the end of 2004–05, they were relegated to the French second division, Rugby Pro D2, after the top level was reduced from sixteen to fourteen teams. However, they were relegated even further, to the amateur Fédérale 1, due to financial problems; an audit of the club’s books revealed debts of €3.64 million as of 30 June 2005.^[6] They earned promotion back to the professional ranks at the first opportunity, and played in Pro D2, in 2006–07; they finished their first season back in ProD2 in fourteenth place (out of sixteen), surviving the drop by one point over Limoges. They ended the 2007–08 season in eighth, close to the play-offs. In 2010–11 Grenoble finished second, losing the play-off semi-final game at home against Union Bordeaux Bègles. In 2011–12 Grenoble finished first, securing their return to the Top 14 for the 2012–13 season. In their first season back in the top flight, they were in contention for a playoff place early in the season, but faded to 11th, still safely above the relegation zone.

Honours^[7] · ^[8] · ^[9]

• Top 14
  • Champions (1) : 1954
  • Runners-up (1) : 1993
• Coupe de l'Espérance
  • Runners-up (1) : 1918
• French second division:
  • Champions (2) : 1951, 2012
  • Runners-up (1) : 2002
• Challenge Yves du Manoir:
  • Champions (1) : 1987
  • Runners-up (3) : 1969, 1986, 1990
• Challenge Jean Bouin:
  • Runners-up (2) : 1992, 1994
• French Championship Reserves:
  • Champions (6) : 1921 (Third Team), 1950, 1952, 1953, 1960, 1980 (Nationale B)
  • Runners-up (2) : 1969, 1972
• Cup Frantz-Reichel:
  • Champions (4) : 1981, 1992, 2013, 2014
  • Runners-up (3) : 1989, 1990, 1993
• Challenge complete club:
  • Champions (1) : 1993
• European Champion Clubs' Cup FIRA:
  • Runners-up (1) : 1963

Finals results

French premiership

Date	Winner	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Spectators
23 May 1954	FC Grenoble	US Cognac	5-3	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse	34,230
5 June 1993	Castres Olympique	FC Grenoble	14-11	Parc des Princes, Paris	49,061

Coupe de l'Espérance

Date	Winner	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Spectators
28 April 1918	Racing Club de France	FC Grenoble	22-9	Stade du Matin, Colombes	3,000

Challenge Yves du Manoir

Date	Winner	Runner-up	Score	Venue	Spectators
24 May 1969	US Dax	FC Grenoble	24 – 12	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes	2,902
1 May 1986	AS Montferrand	FC Grenoble	22-15	Stadium, Brive-la-Gaillarde	10,400
10 May 1987	FC Grenoble	SU Agen	26–7	Parc des Sports Et de l'Amitié, Narbonne	3,200
19 May 1990	RC Narbonne	FC Grenoble	24–19	Stade du Hameau, Pau	5,500

Current standings

2015–16 Top 14 Table
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Diff.	Tries For	Tries Against	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points
1	Clermont	20	14	1	5	557	345	+212	54	26	8	4	70
2	Montpellier	20	14	0	6	556	426	+130	59	37	6	2	64
3	Racing	20	14	1	5	445	403	+42	46	34	4	2	64
4	Toulon	20	12	0	8	596	366	+230	68	32	8	6	62
5	Bordeaux	20	11	2	7	429	372	+57	33	30	2	3	53
6	Toulouse	20	9	2	8	502	319	+183	57	26	5	4	53
7	Castres	20	10	0	10	446	391	+55	43	26	4	5	49
8	Grenoble	20	10	0	10	503	548	−45	51	62	4	2	46
9	La Rochelle	20	9	0	11	437	460	−23	39	40	3	5	44
10	Brive	20	9	1	10	359	400	−41	22	34	1	4	43
11	Pau	20	9	1	10	343	496	−153	24	52	1	2	41
12	Stade Français	20	7	0	13	377	465	−88	30	43	1	3	32
13	Oyonnax	20	4	0	16	335	658	−323	30	74	2	0	18
14	Agen	20	3	0	17	403	638	−235	34	65	0	4	16
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Competition points earned in head-to-head matches Points difference in head-to-head matches Try differential in head-to-head matches Points difference in all matches Try differential in all matches Points scored in all matches Tries scored in all matches Fewer matches forfeited Classification in the previous Top 14 season
Green background (rows 1 and 2) receive semi-final play-off places and receive berths in the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup. Blue background (rows 3 to 6) receive quarter-final play-off places, and receive berths in the Champions Cup. Yellow background (row 7) indicates the team that may qualify for the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup. To facilitate the 2015 Rugby World Cup, there will be no play-offs for the Champions Cup with the 20th place going to the winner of the 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup if not already qualified. Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the European Rugby Challenge Cup. Red background (row 13 and 14) will be relegated to Rugby Pro D2. Updated 3 April 2016

Current squad

2015-16 Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Laurent Bouchet Hooker France Anthony Hegarty Hooker Australia Arnaud Heguy Hooker France Loick Jammes Hooker France Fabien Barcella Prop France Denis Coulson Prop Ireland Alexandre Dardet Prop France Rossouw de Klerk Prop South Africa Walter Desmaison Prop France Dayna Edwards Prop New Zealand Kevin Goze Prop France Sona Taumalolo Prop Tonga Ben Hand Lock Australia Mathias Marie Lock France James Percival Lock England Hendrik Roodt Lock South Africa Fabien Alexandre Flanker France Jonathan Best Flanker France Mahamadou Diaby Flanker France Peter Kimlin Flanker Australia Henry Vanderglas Flanker Australia Rory Grice Number 8 New Zealand Dylan Hayes Number 8 New Zealand Stephen Setephano Number 8 Cook Islands

Player Position Union James Hart Scrum-half Ireland Christophe Loustalot Scrum-half France Charl McLeod Scrum-half South Africa Lilian Saseras Scrum-half France Gilles Bosch Fly-half France Clement Gelin Fly-half France Jonathan Wisniewski Fly-half France Fabrice Estebanez Centre France Chris Farrell Centre Ireland Nigel Hunt Centre New Zealand Jackson Willison Centre New Zealand Armand Batlle Wing France Lucas Dupont Wing France Daniel Kilioni Wing Tonga Xavier Mignot Wing France Maritino Nemani Wing Fiji Gio Aplon Fullback South Africa Robinson Caire Fullback France Fabien Gengenbacher Fullback France

Notable former players

Diego Albanese José Orengo Federico Todeschini Joaquín Tuculet Ezequiel Jurado Sam Cordingley / Andrew Farley Peter Kimlin John Welborn Robbie Deans John Blaikie Nigel Hunt Tone Kopelani Mark Mayerhofler / Daniel Browne Blair Stewart Jackson Willison Stuart Evans Grzegorz Kacala Levan Ghvaberidze Paliko Jimsheladze Vasil Katsadze Sergio Lanfranchi

Franco Piccinini Olivier Brouzet Didier Camberabero Julien Caminati Vincent Clerc Julien Frier David Aucagne Thierry Devergie Fabrice Landreau Raphaël Lakafia / Brian Liebenberg Alain Lorieux Sylvain Marconnet Legi Matiu Ludovic Mercier Olivier Merle Geoffroy Messina Jonathan Pélissié Julien Puricelli Jonathan Wisniewski Willy Taofifénua Kenan Mutapčić

Peter Steven Tony Stanger Petru Bălan Florin Corodeanu Romeo Gontineac Petre Mitu Gheorghe Solomie Ovidiu Tonita Theo van Rensburg Wylie Human Gio Aplon Charl McLeod Olly Barkley James Hart Jamie Cudmore Jone Daunivucu Aloisio Butonidualevu Alipate Ratini William Helu Suka Hufanga Inoke Afeaki

Internationally Capped Players

Edmond Besset Gérard Bouguyon Christian Boujet Olivier Brouzet Claude Chenevay Édouard Coulon Jean de Grégorio Michel Greffe Félix Lasserre Alain Lorieux Henri Masse Olivier Merle Patrick Mesny Pierre Milliand André Morel Edmond Vellat Stéphane Weller

See also

• List of rugby union clubs in France
• Rugby union in France

References

1. "Castres et " la magie du rugby "". http://www.republicain-lorrain.fr/. 3 June 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013. External link in |website= (help)
2. lacapitale_sto3554485/story.shtml "Combien de fois Bayonne s’est imposé dans la capitale ?" Check |url= value (help). www.rugbyrama.fr. Midi olympique. 3 January 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
3. "Finale Castres-Grenoble 93 : l’insupportable aveu de l’arbitre Salles". rugbyolympic.com. 12 December 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
4. "Daniel Salles à propos de Castres-Grenoble en 1993 : " Je me suis trompé "". sudouest. 1 June 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
5. "Parc des Princes, Paris, 5 june 1993". LNR. 28 December 2004. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
6. "Grenoble drop out". rugbyrugby.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2006.
7. "Football Club de Grenoble Rugby". histoire.maillots.free.fr. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
8. "Fiche club : Grenoble". www.finalesrugby.com. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
9. "Equipes du FC Grenoble Rugby honorées d'un titre". www.fcgrugby.com. Retrieved 21 May 2014.

External links

• (French) FC Grenoble Official website