# Aviron Bayonnais

Aviron Bayonnais (AB, Basque: Baionako Arrauna), commonly called Bayonne, is a French rugby union club from Bayonne (Baiona in Basque) in Pyrénées-Atlantiques which competes in the Top 14, the top tier of the French league system. Founded in 1904, they play at the Parc des Sports, also known as Stade Jean-Dauger, in Bayonne. The club mascot is a pottok pony called pottoka. They have ties to the French Basque community.

## History

The club was established on 14 October 1906. They made their first final appearance in the 1913 season, when they defeated S.C.U.F. 31–8 at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir. The national domestic championship was replaced by the Coupe de l'Espérance during World War I. This competition was played for four seasons, with Aviron Bayonnais contesting the last final, which they lost to Stadoceste Tarbais 4–3.
With the French championship resumed, the club made their next championship game in the 1922 season, when they met Toulouse. Bayonne lost the final 6–0. The two teams would contest the championship final once more the next season, which Toulouse won again, 3–0.
Aviron Bayonnais enjoyed success during the mid-1930s, beating Biarritz 13–8 in Toulouse to win their second championship, their first since 1913. They also won the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1936, defeating Perpignan in the final. The club saw similar results during the mid-1940s, with two championship final appearances, defeating SU Agen in the 1943 final at Parc des Princes in Paris and losing the 1944 season final to Perpignan.
The following decades were less successful, and the club would have to wait until the 1980s to reach another championship final. In 1980 they contested the final of the Challenge Yves du Manoir, defeating AS Béziers 16–10 to win their second title in that competition. They made it to the championship final in the 1982 season, but were defeated by SU Agen, 18–9.
Aviron Bayonnais was relegated to the Group A2 in 1996, where it spent eight seasons. Following promotion to the Top 16/14 in 2004, they remained in the top flight for 11 consecutive seasons. The team was relegated to the Pro D2 in 2015, and has been a yo-yo club since then. In the 2021–22 Rugby Pro D2 season, they were promoted after defeating Stade Montois 49–20 in the playoff final.

## Honours

* French championship/Top 14
** Champions (3): 1913, 1934, 1943
** Runners-up (4): 1922, 1923, 1944, 1982
* Pro D2
** Champions (2): 2019, 2022
* Challenge Yves du Manoir
** Champions (2): 1936, 1980
* Coupe de l'Espérance
** Runners-up: 1919

## Finals results
### French championship

| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
| 20 April 1913 | Aviron Bayonnais | 31–8 | S.C.U.F. | Stade Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes | 20.000 |
| 23 April 1922 | Stade Toulousain | 6–0 | Aviron Bayonnais | Route du Médoc, Le Bouscat | 20.000 |
| 13 May 1923 | Stade Toulousain | 3–0 | Aviron Bayonnais | Stade Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes | 15.000 |
| 13 May 1934 | Aviron Bayonnais | 13–8 | Biarritz Olympique | Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse | 18.000 |
| 21 March 1943 | Aviron Bayonnais | 3–0 | SU Agen | Parc des Princes, Paris | 28.000 |
| 26 March 1944 | USA Perpignan | 20–5 | Aviron Bayonnais | Parc des Princes, Paris | 35.000 |
| 29 May 1982 | SU Agen | 18–9 | Aviron Bayonnais | Parc des Princes, Paris | 41.165 |

### Challenge Yves du Manoir

| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up |
| 1936 | Aviron Bayonnais | 9–3 | USA Perpignan |
| 1980 | Aviron Bayonnais | 16–10 | AS Béziers |

### Coupe de l'Espérance

| Date | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 1919 | Stadoceste Tarbais | 4–3 | Aviron Bayonnais |

## Current standings

2024–25 Top 14 Table :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Toulouse | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 385 | 211 | +174 | 48 | 24 | 5 | 3 | 46 | Qualification for playoff semi-finals and European Rugby Champions Cup |
| 2 | Bordeaux Bègles | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 384 | 264 | +120 | 50 | 34 | 3 | 2 | 45 | Qualification for playoff semi-finals and European Rugby Champions Cup |
| 3 | Toulon | 13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 327 | 279 | +48 | 37 | 30 | 3 | 3 | 38 | Qualification for playoff semi-final qualifiers and European Rugby Champions Cup |
| 4 | Bayonne | 13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 345 | 306 | +39 | 39 | 39 | 1 | 1 | 38 | Qualification for playoff semi-final qualifiers and European Rugby Champions Cup |
| 5 | Clermont | 13 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 331 | 319 | +12 | 43 | 34 | 4 | 2 | 34 | Qualification for playoff semi-final qualifiers and European Rugby Champions Cup |
| 6 | La Rochelle | 13 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 300 | 293 | +7 | 37 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 32 | Qualification for playoff semi-final qualifiers and European Rugby Champions Cup |
| 7 | Montpellier | 13 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 270 | 241 | +29 | 24 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 29 | Qualification for European Rugby Champions Cup |
| 8 | Castres | 13 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 324 | 363 | −39 | 37 | 39 | 1 | 2 | 27 | Qualification for European Rugby Champions Cup |
| 9 | Racing 92 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 321 | 335 | −14 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 4 | 26 | Qualification for European Rugby Challenge Cup |
| 10 | Pau | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 304 | 369 | −65 | 35 | 48 | 3 | 1 | 24 | Qualification for European Rugby Challenge Cup |
| 11 | Stade Français | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 285 | 342 | −57 | 32 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 23 | Qualification for European Rugby Challenge Cup |
| 12 | Perpignan | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 228 | 322 | −94 | 21 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 23 | Qualification for European Rugby Challenge Cup |
| 13 | Lyon | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 324 | 362 | −38 | 36 | 40 | 1 | 1 | 22 | Qualification for relegation play-off |
| 14 | Vannes | 13 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 323 | 445 | −122 | 38 | 57 | 0 | 3 | 15 | Relegation to Pro D2 |

## Current squad

The Bayonne squad for the 2024–25 season is:
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
| Player | Position | Union |
| Facundo Bosch | Hooker | Argentina |
| Vincent Giudicelli | Hooker | France |
| Torsten van Jaarsveld | Hooker | Namibia |
| Lucas Martin | Hooker | France |
| Andy Bordelai | Prop | France |
| Swan Cormenier | Prop | France |
| Pascal Cotet | Prop | France |
| Pieter Scholtz | Prop | South Africa |
| Luke Tagi | Prop | Fiji |
| Tevita Tatafu | Prop | France |
| Esteban Capilla | Lock | France |
| Denis Marchois | Lock | France |
| Alex Moon | Lock | England |
| Lucas Paulos | Lock | Argentina |
| Veikoso Poloniati | Lock | New Zealand |
| Rémi Bourdeau | Back row | France |
| Rodrigo Bruni | Back row | Argentina |
| Uzair Cassiem | Back row | South Africa |
| Baptiste Chouzenoux | Back row | France |
| Giovanni Habel-Küffner | Back row | Samoa |
| Baptiste Heguy | Back row | France |
| Arthur Iturria | Back row | France |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Baptiste Germain | Scrum-half | France |
| Maxime Machenaud | Scrum-half | France |
| Guillaume Rouet | Scrum-half | Spain |
| Camille Lopez | Fly-half | France |
| Joris Segonds | Fly-half | France |
| Eneriko Buliruarua | Centre | Fiji |
| Reece Hodge | Centre | Australia |
| Sireli Maqala | Centre | Fiji |
| Manu Tuilagi | Centre | England |
| Guillaume Martocq | Centre | France |
| Federico Mori | Centre | Italy |
| Aurélien Callandret | Wing | France |
| Mateo Carreras | Wing | Argentina |
| Arnaud Erbinartgaray | Wing | France |
| Nadir Megdoud | Wing | Algeria |
| Gaëtan Germain | Fullback | France |
| Tom Spring | Fullback | France |
| Cheikh Tiberghien | Fullback | France |

### Espoirs squad

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
| Player | Position | Union |
| Louka Salvi | Hooker | France |
| Cilliers Viljoen | Hooker | South Africa |
| Pierre Castillon | Prop | France |
| Liam Couturier | Prop | France |
| Paul Ducos | Prop | France |
| Benjamin Lahet | Prop | France |
| Badri Tsikhistavi | Prop | Georgia |
| Martin Villar | Prop | Argentina |
| Sohan Dealle Facquez | Lock | France |
| Aiden Stait | Lock | Australia |
| Manex Ariceta | Back row | Spain |
| Noa Lacombe | Back row | France |
| Nika Lomidze | Back row | Georgia |
| Raphaёl Marchesin | Back row | France |
| Aymeric Rousere | Back row | France |
| Jonah Thompson | Back row | Australia |
| Noa Traversier | Back row | France |
| Lasha Tsikhistavi | Back row | Georgia |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Baptiste Tilloles | Scrum-half | France |
| Yanis Brilliant | Fly-half | France |
| Carlos de la Fuente | Fly-half | Spain |
| Benat Sarraude | Fly-half | France |
| Julien Aguer | Centre | France |
| Gabriel Lapegue | Centre | France |
| Joseph Magne | Centre | France |
| Telmo Fisher | Wing | Spain |
| Victor Hannoun | Wing | France |
| Valentin Iharassarry | Wing | France |
| Xan Mousques | Fullback | France |
| Yohan Orabe | Fullback | France |

## Notable former players

* Lisandro Arbizu
* Martín Bustos Moyano
* Matías Cortese
* Nicolás Fernández Miranda
* Santiago Fernández
* José María Núñez Piossek
* Juan Pablo Orlandi
* Rodney Blake
* Mark Chisholm
* Cameron Treloar
* Ramón Ayarza
* Phil Davies
* Filimoni Bolavucu
* Gabiriele Lovobalavu
* Savenaca Rawaca
* Metuisela Talebula
* Saïmoni Vaka
* André Alvarez
* Clément Ancely
* Grégory Arganese
* Yoan Audrin
* Julien Audy
* Denis Avril
* Marc Baget
* Antoine Battut
* Robert Baulon
* André Béhotéguy
* Henri Béhotéguy
* Christian Bélascain
* Eugène Billac
* Benjamin Boyet
* Renaud Boyoud
* Maurice Celhay
* Baptiste Chouzenoux
* Jean Condom
* Jean Dauger
* Walter Desmaison
* Pierre Dospital
* Richard Dourthe
* Bernard Duprat
* Pépito Elhorga
* Jean-Pierre Élissalde
* Anthony Étrillard
* Benjamin Fall
* Fernand Forgues
* Xavier Garbajosa
* Pierre Gayraud
* Jean-Michel Gonzalez
* Steven Hall
* Arnaud Héguy
* Cédric Heymans
* Yoann Huget
* Aretz Iguiniz
* Vincent Inigo
* Jean Iraçabal
* Louis Junquas
* Paul Labadie
* Simon Labouyrie
* Thibault Lacroix
* Patrice Lagisquet
* Damien Lagrange
* Daniel Larrechea
* Grégoire Lascubé
* René Lasserre
* Christophe Lamaison
* Camille Lopez
* Christian Magnanou
* Jean-Jo Marmouyet
* Romain Martial
* Rémy Martin
* Lionel Mazars
* Yannick N'Gog
* Marvin O'Connor
* Charles Ollivon
* Clément Otazo
* Laurent Pardo
* Patrick Perrier
* Jean-Baptiste Peyras-Loustalet
* Roland Pétrissans
* Lucas Pointud
* Julien Puricelli
* Jérôme Schuster
* Scott Spedding
* Jacques Rollet
* David Roumieu
* Benjamin Thiéry
* Matthieu Ugalde
* Jean-Marie Usandisaga
* Giorgi Jgenti
* Davit Khinchaguishvili
* Avto Kopaliani
* Lorenzo Cittadini
* Craig Gower
* Salvatore Perugini
* Ramiro Pez
* Wataru Murata
* P. J. van Lill
* Stephen Brett
* Tom Donnelly
* Ross Filipo
* Troy Flavell
* Gerard Fraser
* Dwayne Haare
* Tanerau Latimer
* Sione Lauaki
* Joe Rokocoko
* Blair Stewart
* Neemia Tialata
* Willie du Plessis
* Sam Gerber
* JC Janse van Rensburg
* Rassie Jansen van Vuuren
* Joe Pietersen
* Viacheslav Grachev
* Census Johnston
* Leo Lafaiali'i
* Jeremy Tomuli
* Johnnie Beattie
* James McLaren
* Oscar Astarloa
* Cédric Garcia
* Francisco Puertas Soto
* Manu Ahotaeiloa
* Lisiate Faʻaoso
* Pila Fifita
* Opeti Fonua
* Ben Broster
* Mike Phillips

## Coaches

* 2008–2010 : Richard Dourthe, Thierry Mentières, Jean-Philippe Coyola.
* 2010 : Christian Gajan.
* 2010–2011 : Christian Gajan, Thomas Lièvremont, Frédéric Tauzin.
* 2011–2012 : Jean-Pierre Elissalde, Didier Faugeron, Pierre-Henry Broncan.
* 2012–2012 : Didier Faugeron, Denis Avril.
* 2012–2013 : Christian Lanta, Christophe Deylaud, Denis Avril.
* 2013–2014 : Christian Lanta, Christophe Deylaud.
* 2014–2015 : Patricio Noriega, Nicolas Morlaes, Rob Linde, Daniel Larrechea.
* 2015–2017 : Vincent Etcheto, Dewald Senekal, Simone Santa Maria.
* 2017–2018 : Pierre Berbizier, Joël Rey, Vincent Etcheto, Simone Santa Maria.
* 2018–2019 : Yannick Bru, Joël Rey, Vincent Etcheto, Éric Artiguste.
* 2019–2021 : Yannick Bru, Joël Rey, Rémy Ladauge, Éric Artiguste.
* 2021–2022 Yannick Bru, Joël Rey, Éric Artiguste, Jean-Frédéric Dubois.
* 2022- : Grégory Patat, Joël Rey, Gerard Fraser, Éric Artiguste.