Lyon Olympique Universitaire Rugby or LOU is a French professional rugby union team based in Lyon that currently competes in the Top 14, the highest level of the country's professional league system, having been most recently promoted for the 2016–17 season after winning the 2015–16 title of the second-level Pro D2. The club has bounced between the top two levels in recent years, having also been promoted in 2011 and 2014 and relegated in 2012 and 2015.
 | |||
| Full name | Lyon Olympique Universitaire Rugby | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Le LOU | ||
| Founded | 1896 | ||
| Location | Lyon, France | ||
| Ground | Stade de Gerland (Capacity: 35,029[1]) | ||
| Chairman | GL Events | ||
| President | Yann Roubert | ||
| Coach | Karim Ghezal | ||
| Captain(s) | Baptiste Couilloud Jordan Taufua | ||
| League | Top 14 | ||
| 2024–25 | 11th | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| www | |||
They were founded in 1896 and play in red and black. In 2011, the team left the Stade Vuillermet for the new Matmut Stadium. In 2017 the team moved to the Matmut Stadium de Gerland.
History
editLe LOU, as it is traditionally known, is one of the oldest sports clubs in France and among the first outside Paris to have set up a rugby section. The club's original name was Racing Club, the result of a merger of the Racing Club de Vaise and the Rugby Club de Lyon. It was renamed Racing et Cercles Réunis in 1902 after several other clubs joined it, then a few months later Lyon Olympique. Finally, in 1910, it became Lyon Olympique Universitaire. The red and black were adopted in 1902.
The club developed several sections (it now has 13), one of the most successful being the rugby union section, which is now known as LOU Rugby. The rugby club took part in three successive French championship finals (1931–33), losing the first one to Toulon (3–6) but winning the next two against Narbonne (9-3 and 10–3). It then played in lower amateur leagues until it was promoted back to the second professional division (Pro D2). In 2006–07, it had the second biggest budget of the championship and its ambition was to rejoin the Top 14 in the next two years, under the leadership of their coach Christian Lanta, who formerly led Racing Club de France, Italian club Treviso and Agen. However, they would not succeed in their promotion quest until 2011. Since then, they have been a proverbial "yo-yo team", having been either relegated or promoted four times in the six seasons since their 2011 promotion.
Honours
edit- European Rugby Challenge Cup
- French championship Top 14
- Pro D2
- Challenge Yves du Manoir
- Champions (1): 1933
- Runners-up (1): 1932
- Fédérale 1
- Champions: 2002
- Deuxième Division
- Champions: 1989, 1992
Finals results
editFrench championship
edit| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 May 1931 | RC Toulon | 6-3 | Lyon OU | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 10,000 |
| 5 May 1932 | Lyon OU | 9-3 | RC Narbonne | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 13,000 |
| 7 May 1933 | Lyon OU | 10-3 | RC Narbonne | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 15,000 |
European Rugby Challenge Cup
edit| Date | Winner | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 May 2022 |  Lyon OU |
30–12 | RC Toulon |
Stade Vélodrome, Marseille | 51,431 |
| 23 May 2025 |  Bath |
37–12 | Lyon OU |
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | 36,705 |
Challenge Yves du Manoir
editCurrent standings
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toulouse | 26 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 981 | 617 | +364 | 134 | 73 | 13 | 3 | 86[a] | Qualification for playoff semi-finals and European Rugby Champions Cup |
| 2 | Montpellier | 26 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 824 | 587 | +237 | 101 | 69 | 8 | 4 | 82 | |
| 3 | Stade Français | 26 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 869 | 664 | +205 | 113 | 83 | 11 | 6 | 79 | Qualification for playoff semi-final qualifiers and European Rugby Champions Cup |
| 4 | Pau | 26 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 817 | 665 | +152 | 98 | 82 | 7 | 3 | 78 | |
| 5 | Racing 92 | 26 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 828 | 723 | +105 | 101 | 91 | 6 | 2 | 74 | |
| 6 | La Rochelle | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 824 | 634 | +190 | 106 | 73 | 8 | 4 | 72 | |
| 7 | Clermont | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 812 | 708 | +104 | 103 | 87 | 8 | 3 | 71 | Qualification for European Rugby Champions Cup |
| 8 | Bordeaux Bègles | 26 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 822 | 719 | +103 | 113 | 90 | 8 | 6 | 70 | |
| 9 | Toulon | 26 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 714 | 820 | −106 | 96 | 103 | 8 | 1 | 59 | Qualification for European Rugby Challenge Cup |
| 10 | Castres | 26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 660 | 751 | −91 | 81 | 96 | 3 | 8 | 55 | |
| 11 | Lyon | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 734 | 774 | −40 | 92 | 101 | 3 | 3 | 52 | |
| 12 | Bayonne | 26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 747 | 869 | −122 | 94 | 113 | 4 | 3 | 51 | |
| 13 | Perpignan | 26 | 6 | 0 | 20 | 550 | 797 | −247 | 64 | 99 | 1 | 4 | 29 | Qualification for relegation play-off |
| 14 | Montauban | 26 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 495 | 1349 | −854 | 61 | 197 | 0 | 1 | 7 | Relegation to Pro D2 |
Notes:
- ↑ Toulouse received a two-point deduction due to irregularities around the transfer of their former player Melvyn Jaminet[2]
Current squad
editThe Lyon squad for the 2025–26 season is:[3][4]
| Lyon 2025–26 Top 14 squad | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Props Hookers Locks |
Back row
Scrum-halves Fly-halves |
Centres Wings Fullbacks |
| (c) denotes the team captain. Bold denotes internationally capped players. |
Espoirs squad
edit| Lyon 2025–26 Espoirs squad | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Props Hookers Locks |
Back row Scrum-halves Fly-halves |
Centres Wings Fullbacks |
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ https://www.alalyonnaise.fr/decouvertes/le-stade-de-gerland
- ↑ "Toulouse rocked by points deduction over Melvyn Jaminet transfer saga". Planet Rugby. 16 December 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Site officiel" (in French). LOU Rugby.fr. 5 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
- ↑ "Lyon squad for season 2024/2025". All Rugby. 5 January 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
External links
edit- Official website (in French)
- LOU Omnisports Sportsclub