Nyon Rugby Club
| Founded | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Location | Nyon, Switzerland |
| Ground(s) | Colovray |
| President | Jean-Pierre Pettmann |
| Coach(es) | John Etheridge, Patrice Philippe, Andrew MacKenzie |
| League(s) | LNA, LNB, LNF |
| Official website | |
|
www | |
Nyon Rugby Club is a Swiss rugby union football club based in Nyon, situated on the shores of lake Geneva between Geneva and Lausanne. The club was founded in 1972[1] and is a member of the l'Association des Sociétés Sportives Nyonnaises,[2] the Association Vaudoise de Rugby[3] and the Swiss Rugby Federation. They play their home matches at the Colovray Sports Centre which is under the management of UEFA.[4] Since its creation, Nyon Rugby Club has won the national championship and cup several times and has provided many players to the Swiss national side[5]
History
Early history
Nyon started playing in the 2nd division (League National B) of the Swiss championship in 1972 and played their home matches in La Vuarpillière area of the town. In the late 1970s, the club moved down to the lakeside at Colovray for training sessions and home matches. The Colovray Sports Centre was re-developed in 1989 and since 2010 is under the management of UEFA (The Union of European Football Associations), which has its administrative center on site.
Today
Today, Nyon Rugby Club runs two senior men's sides, a ladies team and has a large junior section with the Minimes (U15) and the Cadets (U17) both playing in the national leagues. The men's teams and juniors sections train on Tuesday and Thursday and the ladies team (Mermaids) on Monday and Wednesday. All home matches are played at the Colovray Sports Centre. Mixed touch rugby is also played on Wednesday evenings and in 2011 a new veterans section (KromaNyon) was created and is managed by Olivier Durand.
In 2005, the rugby club joined forces with La Côte rugby club in nearby Gland, which allowed the two clubs to share resources for the development of the sport with their mini-rugby sections. Today children between the ages of 5 and 12 practice at the collège de Perrerêts in Gland on Tuesday evening, while older children train at Colovray on Tuesday and Thursday evening.
Off the field, Nyon Rugby Club contributes to community life and volunteers in many local events. Since its inception, the club has run a bar at the Paelo Festival and organized an annual loto event.[6] In 2007, a fund raising event resulted in a donation to the pediatrics service at Nyon Hospital.[7] The club has organized training camps for foreign professional rugby teams and in 2010 organized a match on their home ground between ASM Clermont Auvergne and CSBJ Bourgoin, a game that les Clermontois eventually won in front of 4000 spectators.[8]
Honours
- Swiss Champions 2007/2008, 2005, 1995/1996
- Swiss Champions LNB 1982/1983, 1972/1973
- Suisse Cup Winners 2005, 1990/1991,1983/1984
- Winners of La Coupe de la Federation 1994/1995, 1993/1992, 1986/1987, 1982/1983
- Winner Neuchatel International 7s[9] 1991
Presidents
- Jean-Pierre Pettmann (present)
- Alain Winterhalter 2005 - 2010
- Stéphane Gaillard 2000 - 2004
- Marco Deblue 1983 - 2000
- Michel Courtois 1980 - 1982
- Hugues Boillat 1977 - 1979
- Fritz Oberli 1975 - 1976
- Claude Robert 1973 - 1974
- Gilbert Monbaron 1972