RC Narbonne

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^[1] and the innovation in recruitment, preparation and training enabled the club to perform well above expectation.

• French championship Top 14
  • Champions (2): 1936, 1979
  • Runners-up (3): 1932, 1933, 1974
• European Rugby Challenge Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2001
• Challenge Yves du Manoir
  • Champions (9): 1968, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1991
  • Runners-up (3): 1967, 1982, 1992
• French Cup
  • Champions (1): 1985

The Narbonne squad for 2022–23 season is:^[3]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby 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

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby 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

• List of rugby union clubs in France
• Rugby union in France

• (in French) Racing Club de Narbonne Méditerannée Official website