Monday 1 December 2025, a landmark day for the faithful of the oval ball: eleven supporters’ associations from the Top 14 and Pro D2 championships have formally announced the creation of the Collectif des Supporters de Rugby. The initiative aims to give supporters a common platform to defend their expectations (and sometimes their disappointments) regarding the atmosphere in the stands, lasting conviviality and the preservation of local identities.

Among those associations: Bayonnais d’Origine Certifiée (Bayonne), Rugbiterre (Béziers), Miarritzeko Mutilak (Biarritz), United BB (Bordeaux-Bègles), Club des Bagnards Rochelais (La Rochelle), Ultras Sapiac (Montauban), Honh’Armada (Pau), Penya Els Trabucayres (Perpignan), Les Fils de Besagne (Toulon), Le Huit (Toulouse) and Virage Lutèce (Paris).

A more authentic terrace culture

In their statement, the collective’s representatives set out concrete objectives: standardising the rules on bringing equipment into the stands, rethinking ticketing for away supporters, and adjusting television scheduling to take better account of the constraints on fans, whether at home or travelling. The idea, then, is to encourage an atmosphere that is “human and not artificial” in the grounds and to restore a more authentic terrace culture.

The movement also raises questions about the current model of French professional rugby. At a time when many clubs – in Top 14 as in Pro D2 – are struggling to reconcile economic demands, ticketing policy and audience loyalty, the collective is looking to put supporters at the heart of the thinking. Hence the feeling, expressed with growing insistence in recent months, that supporters should be seen more as partners than as mere consumers. The creation of the new collective therefore stems precisely from that desire for rebalancing.

In plain terms, a return of supporters to the decision-making table, where all too often the fans’ voice risks being lost in the logic of revenue or of tradition. With this coalition, supporters are showing that they are no longer only spectators, but that they want to become players in the rugby world once again.

Because beyond the simple fervour of match days, supporters remain the cultural bedrock of French rugby. Is that not so? Their presence, often passed down from generation to generation, shapes far more than the atmosphere: it embodies a form of loyalty that is rare in professional sport. In the grounds of Top 14 as in the divisions below, they are the ones who keep alive the songs, the colours, the rituals and the local stories that anchor a club in its territory. Their role is not just about filling the stands; they are its living memory.

Respect for supporters

Because respect for supporters is not merely institutional politeness, it also conditions the vitality of clubs. In a game where audiences fluctuate and where some grounds struggle to fill up outside the glamour fixtures, the loyalty built up by supporters’ groups is an irreplaceable asset. “They are the ones who provide continuity, even during difficult seasons, Aurillac president Milette was saying again a few days ago. They are also the ones who carry a club’s identity beyond its results.”

By organising themselves today across the rivalries, the associations are pointing out, vehemently and certainly with a healthy dose of pride, that rugby, a sport renowned for its culture of respect, cannot forget those who keep it alive day after day. Their approach does not wave protest like a banner, but carries one simple demand: to be listened to. And to point out that the warmth of the stands, far from being mere scenery, is one of the last spaces where the original spirit of this game still breathes. In rugby at least…