RC Narbonne
# RC Narbonne

Racing Club de Narbonne Méditerannée (also known as RCNM) is a French rugby union club that play in the second-level Pro D2.

They are based in Narbonne in Occitania. They were founded in 1907. They play at Parc des Sports Et de l'Amitié (capacity 12,000). They wear orange and black.

## History

RC Narbonne were established in 1907. The club's first appearance in the domestic championship final came in May 1932, where they faced Lyon in Bordeaux. However, Narbonne were not able to capture their first title, as Lyon would go on to win the final 9 points to three. The following season Narbonne again made it to the final of the league, and once again, Lyon were their opponents. Again played in Bordeaux, Lyon were victorious once again, defeating Narbonne 10 points to three. However, by 1936 Narbonne were once again finalists of the French championship, and on May 10 in Toulouse they defeated Montferrand 6 points to three, claiming their first ever championship.

In 1967 Narbonne contested the final of the Challenge Yves du Manoir, playing FC Lourdes (the 1966 Challenge Yves du Manoir champions). FC Lourdes held onto their title, defeating Narbonne 9 points to three. However the following season, Narbonne were again finalists, and won their first Challenge Yves du Manoir title, defeating Dax 14 points to six.

The 1970s were another successful era for RC Narbonne. In 1973 Narbonne captured their first Challenge Yves du Manoir title since the 1968 season, defeating Béziers 13 points to six. 1974 was a great season for Narbonne; they successfully defended their Challenge Yves du Manoir title by defeating CA Brive in the final, they were also runners-up in the main French championship, being defeated by their 1973 Challenge Yves du Manoir opponents AS Béziers (16 points to 14). In 1978 Narbonne again won the Challenge Yves du Manoir, being awarded the title after drawing 19-all with AS Béziers due to them scoring more tries. 1979 was a very successful year for Narbonne; they were able to hold on to their Challenge Yves du Manoir title, defeating AS Montferrand 9 points to seven, as well as the Challenge Yves du Manoir, Narbonne won the French championship (for the first time since 1936), defeating Stade Bagnérais 10 to nil at Parc des Princes in the final.

Narbonne would also win a number of honours during the 1980s. The club were runners-up in the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1982, losing to US Dax 19 points to 22 in the final. Narbonne won it again in 1984, defeating Toulouse 17 points to 13 in the final. In 1985 Narbonne won the Coupe de France, defeating AS Béziers 28 to 27 after extra time. In 1989 Narbonne won the Challenge Yves du Manoir again, defeating Biarritz 18 points to 12. The club won it again in 1990, defeating Grenoble 24 to 19 in the final. Narbonne made it three in a row after winning the 1991 Challenge Yves du Manoir, defeating CA Bègles 24 to 19 in the final game. Narbonne came close to winning the Challenge Yves du Manoir four times in a row, but lost to SU Agen 23-18 in the final. In 2001 Narbonne were runners-up in the European Challenge Cup, losing to the Harlequins 42 to 33 in the final.

The Club has been owned by an Australian Consortium since 2012. The consortium includes Bob Dwyer, Rocky Elsom, Pete O'Connell and Chris Bayman. RCNM made the finals of ProD2 in 2013/14 season losing narrowly to SG Agen. This was achieved with the smallest player budget in the League and the innovation in recruitment, preparation and training enabled the club to perform well above expectation.

## Honours

* French championship:
   * Champions: 1936, 1979
   * Runners-up: 1932, 1933, 1974
* European Challenge Cup:
   * Runners-up: 2001
* Challenge Yves du Manoir:
   * Champions: 1968, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1991
   * Runners-up: 1967, 1982, 1992
* Coupe de France:
   * Champions: 1985

## Finals results

### French championship

| Date | Winners | Runners-up | Score | Venue | Spectators |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 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 |
| 10 May 1936 | RC Narbonne | AS Montferrand | 6-3 | Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse | 25,000 |
| 12 May 1974 | AS Béziers | RC Narbonne | 16-14 | Parc des Princes, Paris | 40,609 |
| 27 May 1979 | RC Narbonne | Stade Bagnérais | 10-0 | Parc des Princes, Paris | 41,981 |

### Challenge Yves du Manoir

| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1967 | FC Lourdes | 9-3 | RC Narbonne |
| 1968 | RC Narbonne | 14-6 | US Dax |
| 1973 | RC Narbonne | 13-6 | AS Béziers |
| 1974 | RC Narbonne | 19-10 | CA Brive |
| 1978 | RC Narbonne | 19-19 (more tries scored) | AS Béziers |
| 1979 | RC Narbonne | 9-7 | AS Montferrand |
| 1982 | US Dax | 22-19 | RC Narbonne |
| 1984 | RC Narbonne | 17-13 | Stade Toulousain |
| 1989 | RC Narbonne | 18-12 | Biarritz Olympique |
| 1990 | RC Narbonne | 24-19 | FC Grenoble |
| 1991 | RC Narbonne | 24-19 | CA Bègles |
| 1992 | SU Agen | 23-18 | RC Narbonne |

### Coupe de France

| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1985 | RC Narbonne | 28-27 (a.e.t.) | AS Béziers |

### European Challenge Cup

| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| - | - | - | - |
| 2001 | Harlequins | 42-33 | RC Narbonne |

## Current standings

2022–23 Nationale season Table :

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Dax (P) | 26 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 715 | 435 | +280 | 9 | 2 | 104 | Semi-final promotion play-off |
| 2 | Valence Romans (P) | 26 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 675 | 385 | +290 | 10 | 7 | 96 | Semi-final promotion play-off |
| 3 | Albi | 26 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 620 | 398 | +222 | 5 | 4 | 92 | Quarter-final promotion play-off |
| 4 | Blagnac | 26 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 572 | 504 | +68 | 2 | 3 | 86 | Quarter-final promotion play-off |
| 5 | Bourgoin-Jallieu | 26 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 606 | 536 | +70 | 3 | 3 | 83 | Quarter-final promotion play-off |
| 6 | Bourg-en-Bresse | 26 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 527 | 485 | +42 | 4 | 5 | 78 | Quarter-final promotion play-off |
| 7 | Narbonne | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 590 | 565 | +25 | 3 | 5 | 75 | |
| 8 | Nice | 26 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 538 | 475 | +63 | 4 | 9 | 74 | |
| 9 | Chambéry | 26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 581 | 521 | +60 | 3 | 6 | 70 | |
| 10 | Tarbes | 26 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 575 | 577 | −2 | 2 | 6 | 66 | |
| 11 | Suresnes | 26 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 450 | 704 | −254 | 1 | 3 | 51 | |
| 12 | Hyères | 26 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 479 | 590 | −111 | 1 | 7 | 49 | |
| 13 | Rennes | 26 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 322 | 620 | −298 | 1 | 6 | 32 | Relegation to Nationale 2 |
| 14 | Cognac Saint-Jean-d'Angély | 26 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 380 | 835 | −455 | 0 | 9 | 12 | Relegation to Nationale 2 |

## Current squad

The Narbonne squad for 2022–23 season is:

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 |
| - | - | - |
| Aurélien Blanc | Hooker | France |
| Christophe David | Hooker | France |
| Jordan Rochier | Hooker | France |
| Sylvain Abadie | Prop | France |
| Mohamed Boughanmi | Prop | France |
| Theo Castinel | Prop | France |
| Pascal Cotet | Prop | France |
| Vakhtang Jintcharadze | Prop | Georgia |
| Matthieu Loudet | Prop | France |
| Jules Martinez | Prop | France |
| Geoffrey Moise | Prop | Portugal |
| Pierre Causse | Lock | France |
| Daniel Faleafa | Lock | Tonga |
| Aston Fortuin | Lock | South Africa |
| Mohamed Kbaier | Lock | France |
| Manuel Plaza | Lock | Argentina |
| Valentin Sese | Lock | France |
| Dennis Visser | Lock | South Africa |
| Baptiste Abescat | Back row | France |
| Carl Axtens | Back row | New Zealand |
| Paul Belzons | Back row | France |
| Aleksandre Burduli | Back row | Georgia |
| Bill Caffo | Back row | France |
| Louis-Benoit Madaule | Back row | France |
| Flavien Nouhaillaguet | Back row | France |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Luke Campbell | Scrum-half | New Zealand |
| Jeremy Chaput | Scrum-half | France |
| Christopher Kaiser | Scrum-half | France |
| Pierrick Nova | Scrum-half | France |
| Lucas Meret | Fly-half | France |
| Joris Pialot | Fly-half | France |
| Jason Robertson | Fly-half | New Zealand |
| Saia Fekitoa | Centre | Tonga |
| Lucas Lebraud | Centre | France |
| Apimeleki Nawaqatabu | Centre | Fiji |
| Pierre Nueno | Centre | Spain |
| Jamie-Jerry Taulagi | Centre | Samoa |
| Etienne Ducom | Wing | France |
| Pierre-Hugo Ducom | Wing | France |
| Guillaume Namy | Wing | France |
| Kimami Sitauti | Wing | Australia |
| Save Totovosau | Wing | Fiji |
| Boris Goutard | Fullback | France |
| Pierre Justes | Fullback | France |

### Espoirs squad

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 |
| - | - | - |
| Martin Vaca | Hooker | Argentina |
| Benoit Fontanelle | Prop | France |
| Avto Gogiashvili | Prop | Georgia |
| Leon Gourmand | Prop | France |
| Dylan Hoyeau | Prop | France |
| Odran Peron | Prop | France |
| Paul Tarby | Lock | France |
| Kamil Bouregba | Back row | France |
| Dorian Peron | Back row | France |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Pablo Barbaste | Scrum-half | France |
| Leo Ducasse | Scrum-half | France |
| Cyprien Saillard | Scrum-half | France |
| Theo Gomez | Fly-half | France |
| Louis Balfet | Centre | France |
| Luc Brocas | Centre | France |
| Theo Mias | Centre | France |
| Baptiste Tsague | Wing | France |
| Jason Pupunat | Fullback | France |
| Luca Serrano | Fullback | France |

## Notable former players

* Ignacio Corleto
* Mario Ledesma
* Gonzalo Longo
* Gonzalo Quesada
* Martín Scelzo
* Huia Edmonds
* Rocky Elsom
* Justin Harrison
* Julian Huxley
* Brett Sheehan
* Jone Tawake
* Josh Valentine
* Stan Wright
* René Araou
* Jean-Michel Benacloï
* Laurent Bénézech
* Gérard Bertrand
* Étienne Bonnes
* Julien Candelon
* Aimé Cassayet-Armagnac
* Didier Codorniou
* Patrick Estève
* Jean-Pierre Hortoland
* Christian Labit
* Jean-Marc Lescure
* Arnaud Martinez
* Jo Maso
* Olivier Merle
* Lucien Mias
* Lucien Pariès
* Jean-Baptiste Poux
* Vincent Rattez
* Marc Raynaud
* Francois Sangalli
* Henri Sanz
* Laurent Seigne
* Claude Spanghero
* Jean-Marie Spanghero
* Walter Spanghero
* Gérard Sutra
* Franck Tournaire
* Raynor Parkinson
* Federico Pucciariello
* Alessandro Stoica
* Massimo Giovanelli
* Marco Bortolami
* Tiberiu Brînză
* Gabriel Vlad
* Jerry Collins
* David Smith
* Karl Tu'inukuafe
* Willem de Waal
* Louis Koen
* Bryan Redpath
* Stuart Reid
* Luke Hume
* Gareth Llewellyn
