After the possibly criminal fire that destroyed its changing rooms, Rugby club de l'Aurence, in the Haute-Vienne, could have sunk into gloom. But in a city where sporting rivalries have fuelled passions for decades, solidarity took over instead. Rival clubs, volunteers and the town hall joined forces to save the season and to prove that rugby is more than a sport: it is a brotherhood.
At the Olympia in Paris, on Monday 6 October, the 21st Nuit du Rugby crowned Stade Toulousain's England back-rower Jack Willis as player of the 2024-2025 season. The Haute-Garonne club also dominated the awards, with several individual and collective honours.
Perpignan announced on Monday 6 October the departure of two influential members of their coaching staff. David Marty and Gérald Bastide, in charge of attack and defence respectively, asked to step aside "for the good of the team" and their association with the club has been ended "by mutual agreement".
We saw the very good, the very heavy, unexpected turnarounds, tries by the bucketload, nerves giving way, with Perpignan pulling a long face once again and Bayonne helping themselves to Toulouse the way you pick ripe figs. The Top 14 proved once again this weekend that it doesn’t need Netflix to keep us awake. Here’s a quick tour (in studs) of the talking points.
Stade Toulousain are reportedly about to pull off a big move in the transfer market with the imminent signing of Italy international wing Tommaso Menoncello.
In an interview relayed on Thursday 2 October by AFP, Le Monde and SportBusiness Club, French rugby star Antoine Dupont laid into the salary limit imposed on Top 14 clubs. In his view, the system not only penalises players but restricts their individual freedom of action. The Ligue nationale de rugby (LNR) responded that evening, defending the framework while clarifying players' rights.
In a selection heavily dominated by the newly crowned world champions from England, France wing Joanna Grisez, outstanding during the World Cup despite France's 4th place, is the only French player named in the women's team of the year chosen by World Rugby.
Out since March with a ruptured cruciate ligament in his right knee, Antoine Dupont is preparing his return without "rushing the process". His recovery is progressing at a good pace and, despite his guaranteed absence from the autumn tour matches, France's iconic captain could join up at Marcoussis as early as the start of November to take part in the squad's preparations. A powerful symbol for a France side searching for reference points before three prestige showdowns.
A former France centre and a leading figure at Stade Bagnérais, Roland Bertranne has died at the age of 75. Capped 69 times between 1971 and 1981, he remains one of the symbols of French rugby's golden era.
Injured on Saturday during LOU's rout at Pau (40-15), Lyon scrum-half and captain Baptiste Couilloud has a tendon lesion in his left shoulder and will be out for between six and eight weeks.
RC Toulon wing Gaël Dréan (three tries in three matches), the victim of a violent blow to the head on Sunday evening at Bayonne (Toulon lost 35-32), provided reassuring news on Monday. Although he left the field on a stretcher late in the game, causing serious concern, he came round during the evening. The young wing nonetheless remains under the concussion protocol.
Seriously injured in his right knee last March, Stade Toulousain scrum-half and France captain Antoine Dupont could be back in action between the end of November and the start of December, after a cautious recovery.
This weekend, the Top 14 gave it everything: Toulouse turned Castres into a punching bag, Bayonne pulled a magic drop goal out of the hat and Montpellier were held by a promoted side that refuses to behave. In short, a round that smelled strongly of camphor, sweat and… the post-match sandwich.
Knocked out by England in the semi-final (17-35), France want to end the World Cup on a positive note. Against New Zealand, on Saturday at Twickenham (1.30pm), they are banking on the return of wing Joanna Grisez and on Émilie Boulard starting at full-back to claim another bronze medal.
Forced off injured during the Top 14 match between Pau and Clermont, the Section wing-cum-full-back and France international is to undergo knee surgery. He is expected to be out for three to four months, ruling him out of France's autumn tour in November.
Stade Français are proposing a naming rights deal with the department store BHV to the Paris city council, to rename the iconic Jean-Bouin stadium. The plan, put to a vote at the next Conseil de Paris in early October, provides for a commercial name over four seasons and would bring in around €100,000 a year for the city.
That gap between the power on display and the real vulnerability sends supporters back to an era they thought was over, one in which the weather still laid down the law, and which still makes itself heard now and again in the present. In an oval-ball world where every try is dissected in high-definition slow motion, where stadiums fit giant screens and premium hospitality, the inability to anticipate or manage a natural hazard looks anachronistic...
The fact remains that, by choosing early November, the LNR has resigned itself to slotting the match into an already saturated calendar. The question of club-country clashes will inevitably come back to the table. And, much like every year, certainly not to say anything good about it...
The Pro D2 champions' trophy, won by US Montauban last spring, went missing on Saturday at an agricultural fair in Montbeton (Tarn-et-Garonne). Prosecutors have opened an investigation, and the case has caused a stir in the rugby world.
