On September 7, 10 weeks after Toulouse lifted the Bouclier de Brennus for the 23rd time, the race for French club rugby’s elite men’s domestic championship begins again. Here’s what you need to know about the teams dreaming of Top 14 glory
French champions Toulouse kick off the defence of their title, and their bid to become the first French side to win three championships in a row, with something of a voyage into the Top 14 unknown, as they head to promoted ProD2 champions and French top-flight first-timers Vannes for the first primetime Sunday match of the new season.
A day earlier, it is Bayonne and Perpignan who officially get the Top 14 party started on an impressively stacked opening weekend, in which Bordeaux host Stade Francais and La Rochelle entertain Toulon before Toulouse’s trip to Brittany.
The campaign – which has gone back to a more traditional schedule after last season’s World Cup-affected run – kicks off on the weekend of September 7, starting a long run to the final in Saint-Denis on June 28, 2025.
Here’s the fixture list for the opening weekend.
There’s a long way between now and the season-ending showpiece at Stade de France, so here is a look at all 14 teams’ form and chances heading into the campaign.
BAYONNE
In: Andy Bordelai; Baptiste Chouzenoux; Baptiste Germain; Giovanni Habel-Kuffner; Lucas Martin; Alex Moon; Veikoso Poloniati; Joris Segonds; Manu Tuilagi.
Out: Thomas Acquier; Gela Aprasidze; Remy Baget; Riko Buliruarua; Thomas Ceyte; Thomas Dolhagaray; Pierre Huguet; Manuel Leindekar; Yan Lestrade; Konstantine Mikautadze; Luke Morahan; Matis Perchaud; Bastien Pourailly; Kaminieli Rasaku.
Staff: Gregory Patat, Gerard Fraser, Joel Rey, Nick Abendenon, Louic Louit
First five matches: Perpignan (h), Pau (a), Clermont (a), Montpellier (h), Bordeaux (a)
An eye-catching first campaign back in the Top 14 back in 2022/23 was followed – as the cliche runs – by a typically difficult second season. But there are few easy phrases for a third campaign after promotion, the one in which the squad-build stabilisers officially come off.
Bayonne’s two-season JIFF allowance ended at the end of the 2023/24 campaign – not that they needed it, as they averaged more than 19 JIFF players in their 26 Top 14 matchday squads last season, higher than every club in the French top flight other than Toulouse and Racing 92, enough to gain a share of additional league funding.
So, where are Bayonne heading as they go into their epithet-free third season? The one in which they are considered to be settled and experienced Top 14ers?
They’ve brought in Joris Segonds and Baptiste Germain – who can also play nine – to wean themselves off their Camille Lopez dependency, and they’re looking to build on the legacy of those two seasons back in the top flight. With that in mind, Manu Tuilagi is an excellent catch, but a pre-season hand injury that means he will miss the first six to eight weeks is a blow.
Word is, too, they have the inside track on Toulouse scrum-half Paul Graou for 2025/26.
But it is reported that they are already resigned to losing tighthead Tevita Tatafu to Bordeaux at the end of the 2024/25 season – even though he’s contracted through to 2026. Ireland’s Tadhg Furlong and Georgian Beka Gigashvili are among the replacements they have eyes on, reports say.
The downside is that Bordeaux already have one Tevita Tatafu on their books in the Japanese backrow. Won’t somebody think of the journalists and commentators?
BORDEAUX
In: Matis Perchaud; Jonny Gray; Lachlan Swinton; Joey Carbery; Rohan Janse Van Rensburg; Temo Matiu; Tiaan Jacobs; Enzo Reybier; Arthur Retiere.
Out: Madosh Tambwe; Clement Maynadier; Jandre Marais; Tani Vili; Yanis El Maslouhi; Lesko Kaulashvili; Kane Douglas; Thomas Jolmes; Antoine Miquel; Zack Holmes.
Staff: Yannick Bru, Noel McNamara, Shawn Sowerby, Heine Adams, Jean-Baptiste Poux, Thibault Giroud, Christophe Laussucq
First five matches: Stade Francais (h), Lyon (a), Racing 92 (h), Toulouse (a), Bayonne (h)
They were on the wrong end of a chastening Top 14 final result in June. But there’s no denying what Yannick Bru and his staff managed in a single season as Union Bordeaux Bègles reached the showpiece match for their first time in their short history.
“We must not forget that we are in a year of construction,” Bru insisted after that harsh lesson in Marseille. “We have checked off a lot of things this year, [and] laid foundations for the future. And I think we will be better next year, maybe even better the year after. We were perhaps a little ahead on the split times.”
That’s the manager’s promise. But more than one club has struggled in the campaign immediately after reaching a Top 14 final. Do Bordeaux have the squad to start well and keep going after a shortened pre-season? The proof of that will be in the playing.
Meanwhile, there’s the small matter of persuading star fly-half Mathieu Jalibert to sign a new contract. He has already turned down two very lucrative offers, but it is not impossible that he has overplayed his hand. One to watch.
CASTRES
In: Will Collier; Nicolas Corato; Remy Baget; Christian Ambadiang; Paul Jedrasiak; Guillaume Ducat.
Out: Henry Thomas; Wilfrid Hounkpatin; Filipo Nakosi; Nick Champion de Crespigny; Matt Tierney; Ryno Pieterse; Martin Laveau
Staff: Jeremy Davidson, Xavier Sadourny, Stephen Setephano, Karena Wihongi, Yannick Cabellero, Pierre Lassus
First five matches: Racing 92 (h), Toulon (a), Perpignan (h), Lyon (a), Toulouse (h)
Castres scored more league points last season and finished higher up the table than in the previous campaign – the one in which Jeremy Davidson parachuted in as manager after the February sacking of Pierre-Henry Broncan. They scored more tries, played some attractive rugby, and qualified for the Champions Cup.
And yet … they should have done better. Seven defeats in their last 11 saw them slip from third to 10th, before recovering to finish seventh – even holding, briefly on a dramatic final night, the sixth and final play-off place. One more point would have seen them into the play-offs. Misses and comparative distances spring to mind.
Davidson has bolstered his coaching team with former Clermont attack coach Xavier Sadourny, while Pierre Lassus joins from Lyon as head of S&C, following the departures of David Darricarrere to Brive, and Vincent Giacobbi to Clermont.
Sadourny is the key arrival. He’s a coach who prefers possession and structure – but he will have noticed how well Castres played in games and moments without one or both. If he can build on and integrate his style onto the work of the past couple of successful seasons under Darricarrere, Castres should be fun to watch.
Recruitment has been quiet, but clever. Quins’ tighthead Will Collier – on the Champions Cup team of the season – is a superb signing. Out wide, Remy Baget and Christian Ambadiang bring pace and – in the latter’s case – power. And Antoine Zeghdar returns from his Olympic gold-medal winning year with France sevens.
But second row imports have proved particularly prescient, following news out of preseason that ever-present ‘Team of the Season’ stalwart Tom Staniforth has had surgery on an ankle injury and will be out for most of the campaign.
Castres have signed the experienced and combative Paul Jedrasiak from Clermont and mobile Guillaume Ducat from Pau to add to stocks that already include Leone Nakarawa, Florent Vanverberghe, Gauthier Maravat and Romain Macurdy.
A bigger playing concern is at nine. While this campaign’s covered, it is well reported that Toulouse have their eyes on star scrum-half Santiago Arata, and he could be ready to trigger an exit clause in his contract next July.
And, then there is the coaching set-up. Davidson and his staff, even the freshly arrived Sadourny, are out of contract at the end of the season. And it is rumoured that president Pierre-Yves Revol has cast about for a replacement. All sorts of former players-turned-successful coaches have been mentioned. Uncertainty does not, necessarily, make a successful campaign. But a successful campaign is exactly what the coaches need, if they’re looking for a longer-term future at the club…
CLERMONT
In: Michael Alaalatoa; Giorgi Akhaladze; Thomas Ceyte; Kylan Hamdaoui; Sacha Lotrian; Barnabé Massa; Régis Montagne; Lucas Tauzin.
Out: Rabah Slimani; Yohan Beheragaray; Giorgi Beria; Daniel Bibi Biziwu; Robin Couly; Paul Jedrasiak; Julien Heriteau; Henzo Kiteau; Tomas Lavanini; Marvin O’Connor; Jules Plisson; Thomas Rozière; Caleb Timu.
Staff: Christophe Urios, Julien Lairle, Frederic Charrier, Ian Vass, Koula Tukino, Vincent Giacobbi
First five matches: Pau (h), Racing 92 (a), Bayonne (h), Perpignan (a), Toulon (h)
How you view Clermont’s 2023/24 campaign depends on whether you have a glass half-full or half-empty personality.
A ‘half-full’ person would discuss the easing of the club’s financial worries as small local business Michelin upped its involvement, the notable improvement after a poor start, the run to the Challenge Cup semi-final, and qualification for next season’s Champions Cup.
Armchair experts of the ‘half-empty’ kind would perhaps talk about losing that Challenge Cup semi-final to eventual champions Sharks by a single point, or missing out on the Top 14 play-offs – a result of their early campaign problems.
Half-empty types can point to something else, too. It has been three seasons since Clermont last featured in the post-season play-offs. One more league point would have been good enough last season to finish top six. It may as well have been 20.
Either way, Christophe Urios has something to work with after an undoubtedly frustrating campaign.
He’s clearly in rebuild mode. There’s been something of a bonfire of the front row, in particular, but the incoming balance of experience and potential looks about right – and the goal of building a pack capable of competing all season long is obvious, for all that they look lightweight at lock. Expect a few backrowers to do some filling in throughout the campaign.
Top six has to be the target this season for a club that no longer has money issues, thanks to small, local business Michelin. One way or another, Clermont could be the surprise of the season…
LA ROCHELLE
In: Kane Douglas.
Out: Yoan Tanga; Remi Picquette; Thomas Ployet.
Staff: Ronan O’Gara, Sebastien Boboul, Romain Carmignani, Donnacha Ryan, Gurthro Steenkamp, Remi Tales, Sean Dougall
First five matches: Toulon (h), Toulouse (a), Pau (h), Racing 92 (a), Lyon (h)
Off topic for a 2024/25 season preview, but recruitment news for the 2025/26 campaign flung half-a-dozen cats among the La Rochelle preview pigeons in mid-August.
Until Raymond Rhule’s late-preseason achilles injury prompted unconfirmed reports of an urgent search for a medical joker, it had been all quiet on the recruitment front at La Rochelle.
Head coach Ronan O’Gara had put retention first, it appeared. Four coaches, 18 senior stars and 11 academy players had all extended their stays, while veteran lock Kane Douglas was the sole senior arrival.
It suggested a certain confidence in and satisfaction with the current set-up. And when sporting director Robert Mohr confirmed that La Rochelle were running close to the LNR’s salary cap, it seemed the short-term future was set internally.
It turns out, La Rochelle were playing a longer game. In mid-August, with preseason in full swing, Racing 92 confirmed whispers that scrum-half Nolan Le Garrec will join O’Gara’s set-up in July 2025. He has agreed a four-season deal.
That pretty much put to bed the idea that La Rochelle were rebuilding from within. News of Le Garrec’s arrival hints that this will be a holding season of sorts, in anticipation of greater squad developments later.
Now, the club is linked to several players for the 2025/26 season, such as Damian McKenzie, Davit Niniashvili, and Gabin Lorre. Leo Barre was on the list, briefly, but has committed his future to Stade Francais.
But O’Gara has more immediate concerns than who will and who might arrive next season. There’s a recovery campaign to run after Leinster ripped La Rochelle’s Champions Cup title away last season, and two red cards did for their hopes of a first Top 14 title when they met Toulouse in the semi-finals.
Shortly before the season kicked off, it emerged that props Uini Atonio and Reda Wardi had both served four-match suspensions after getting red-carded in the Top 14 semi-final loss to Bordeaux, courtesy of France’s three-match July tour and a pre-season friendly against Pau, allowing them to be in the squad for the opening match of the competition.
“I’m going to try to train them a little better,” O’Gara admitted after the Top 14 last-four defeat in Bordeaux. He has a point. Le Garrec will be part of the long-term future at La Rochelle. But the here and now matters, too. He’s got to make the tried and tested work.
LYON
In: Tomas Lavanini; Jermain Ainsley; Irakli Aptsiauri; Cedate Gomes Sa; Sam Matavesi; Steeve Blanc-Mappaz; Charlie Cassang; Theo Millet.
Out: Demba Bamba; Romain Taofifenua; Liam Coltman; Joel Kpoku; Vivien Devisme; Paulo Tafili; Loann Goujon; Jordan Taufua; Joe Powell; Jean-Marc Doussain; Kyle Godwin; Thaakir Abrahams.
Staff: Fabien Gengenbacher, Jono Gibbes, Arnaud Heguy, AB Zondagh, Coenie Basson, Julien Puricelli
First five matches: Montpellier (a), Bordeaux (h), Vannes (a), Castres (h), La Rochelle (a)
Fabien Gengenbacher’s first season in charge at Lyon was always about rebuilding backroom confidence. His arrival was announced at the end of June 2023, just in time for preseason, after one-season boss Xavier Garbajosa was sacked despite guiding the club to the play-offs because of a collapse in dressing room relations.
With that background, last season was, unsurprisingly, difficult. Lyon were saved by strong home form in the Top 14 – banking 12 wins out of 13 and six bonus points at Stade Gerland, compared to just a single point in 13 defeats on the road.
New Zealand U20 coach Jono Gibbes has come on board as a consultant in preseason, and will be available remotely during the campaign – in a role that no one is denying carries a strong whiff of ‘try before you buy’. Lyon are very firmly in the hunt for a head coach to work with Gengenbacher.
For now, though, it is up to Gengenbacher – a young manager with no previous Top 14 experience, whose contract was extended through to 2026 in January – and his current staff to build on what was to all intents and purposes a survival and consolidation campaign.
This will be a defining season for the club – they have already had a major boost after scrum-half Baptiste Couilloud, unfortunate to be playing in the era of Antoine Dupont, Nolan Le Garrec, Baptiste Serin, and Maxime Lucu, signed a new long-term contract through to 2030.
MONTPELLIER
In: Billy Vunipola; Stuart Hogg; Nika Abuladze; Alexis Bernadet; Mohamed Haouas; Wilfrid Hounkpatin; Ryan Louwrens; Nicolas Martins; Luka Matkava; Domingo Miotti; Joshua Moorby; Christa Powell; Madosh Tambwe; Jordan Uelese; Thomas Vincent.
Out: Louis Carbonel; Geoffrey Doumayrou; Clement Doumenc; Harry Williams; Gregory Fichten; Louis Foursans-Bourdette; Ben Lam; Titi Lamositele; Lasha Macharashvili; Brandon Paenga-Amosa; Karl Tu’inukuafe; Masivesi Dakuwaqa; Alexandre De Nardi; Lasha Macharashvili.
Staff: Joan Cardullo, Benoit Paillaugue, Geoffrey Doumayrou, Didier Bes, Antoine Battut, Benson Stanley, Jeremy Valls
First five matches: Lyon (h), Perpignan (a), Toulouse (h), Bayonne (a), Stade Francais (a)
Last season was an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind one to forget for Montpellier, without any of the positives. It started dismally and failed to get better, despite the club’s emergency call for a crack team of coaches from the French rugby underground after parting ways with manager Richard Cockerill just seven matches – and six defeats – into the campaign.
Avoiding relegation thanks to Louis Carbonel’s 75th-minute penalty in the ‘access match’ survival play-off against losing ProD2 finalists Grenoble was about as good as it got.
And then there was another backroom, boardroom, and changing room clearout. Former academy boss Joan Cardullo has taken over from Cockerill’s replacement Patrice Collazo, while Benoit Paillaugue and – left-field, this one – Geoffrey Doumayrou have joined the senior coaching staff.
Crucially, there’s a clear Made In Montpellier vibe to the new staff set-up, if not an international playing squad which features a number of players with reputation issues. It is all overseen by Bernard Laporte, who has vociferously defended the recruitment policy, and who’ll no doubt be in Cardullo’s ear more often than not.
The mood in camp at the start of preseason was that a line of sorts had been drawn in the sand. The new era at Montpellier starts here. Again. It’s got to be better than the last one. Hasn’t it?
PAU
In: Daniel Bibi Biziwu; Lekso Kaulashvili; Jon Zabala; Thomas Jolmes; Joel Kpoku; Remi Picquette; Loic Credoz; Olivier Klemenczak; Aaron Grandidier Nkanang; Aymeric Luc; Harry Williams.
Out: Nicolas Corato; Siegfried Fisi’ihoi; Facundo Gigena; Paul Tailhades; Steven Cummins; Guillaume Ducat; Fabrice Metz; Sam Whitelock; Martin Puech; Jale Vatubua; Samuel Ezeala; Aminiasi Tuimaba; Simon-Pierre Chauvac.
Staff: Sebastien Piqueronies, Thomas Choveau, Thomas Domingo, Geoffrey Lanne-Petit, Antoine Nicoud, Romain Bourdiol
First five matches: Clermont (a), Bayonne (h), La Rochelle (a), Stade Francais (h), Perpignan (a)
For a while last season, Pau looked to be strong contenders to break into the post-season play-offs for the first time. In the end, they finished ninth – out of the play-off places and missing out on a first Champions Cup run.
But you can smell the long-term plan that coach Sebastien Piqueronies – who led France to back-to-back World U20 Championships in 2018 and 2019 – is cooking.
Two of his young guns, Emilien Gailleton and Theo Attissogbe were called up to the senior international side this summer.
They will be joined, in a youthful yet experienced Pau side this season, by 22-year-old prop Daniel Bibi Biziwu, 24-year-old France Olympic gold medallist Aaron Grandidier Nkanang, and 25-year-old ex-Saracens lock Joel Kpoku.
In fact, of the 12 new senior arrivals at Stade du Hameau, only props Harry Williams and Lekso Kaulashvili have hit 30 – prime front row age.
So what Pau have is a young squad – only seven senior players are 30 or over – full of potential and ever-increasing experience. They are not quite ready to smash the top six ceiling this season. But it won’t be long.
PERPIGNAN
In: Gela Aprasidze; Antoine Aucagne; Giorgi Beria; Kieran Brookes; Riko Buliruarua; Noe Della Schiava; Bruce Devaux; James Hall; Matthieu Ugena; Adrien Warion; Max Hicks.
Out: Mathieu Acebes; Matthieu Ugena; Ewan Bertheau; Xavier Chiocci; Shahn Eru; Kelian Galletier; Boris Goutard; Arthur Joly; Sacha Lotrian; Victor Moreaux; Matteo Rodor; Eddie Sawailau; Afusipa Taumoepeau.
Staff: Franck Azema, David Marty, Perry Freshwater, Guillaume Vilaceca, Gerald Bastide
First five matches: Bayonne (a), Montpellier (h), Castres (a), Clermont (h), Pau (h)
Manager Franck Azema spent a large public-facing part of his first season at Stade Aime-Giral telling anyone who cared to listen that his side weren’t seriously in the hunt for the play-offs.
Many stopped listening, as Perpignan strung together a series of wins that shot them up the table and into top-six contention. Maybe they should have paid attention to Franck, because Franck knows.
Perpignan finished 10th in the end – a marked improvement on their back-to-back 13th-place finishes and the annual great ‘access match’ escapes. A decent first season back for Azema, with plenty of room for improvement
Crucially, he and his inherited staff seems to be building something special at the club. At times last season, Perpignan played with unrepressed joy. Fans will hope the staff and players can build on that – and there’s no reason to believe they won’t.
RACING 92
In: Owen Farrell; Demba Bamba; Romain Taofifenua; Robin Couly; Hacjivah Daymani; Diego Escobar; Sam James; Dan Lancaster; Lee-Marvin Mazibuko.
Out: Cedate Gomes-Sa; Baptiste Chouzenoux; James Hall; Juan Imhoff; Kitione Kamikamica; Olivier Klemenczak; Wenceslas Lauret; Bernard Le Roux; Inia Tabuavou; Peniami Narisia; Trevor Nyakane; Veikoso Poloniati; Francis Saili; Christian Wade.
Staff: Stuart Lancaster, Frederic Michalak, Dimitry Szarzewski, Joe Rokocoko
First five matches: Castres (a), Clermont (h), Bordeaux (a), La Rochelle (h), Vannes (a)
Eternal flatterers to deceive Racing failed to match their ambition again last season.
They slipped out of the Champions Cup with hardly a whisper and – having maintained their record of finishing in the top six every season since 2009 by the skin of a 79th-minute conversion to scrape a losing bonus point at La Rochelle – were comfortably beaten by Bordeaux in the barrage round.
So, manager Stuart Lancaster knows scale of the task in front of him at Plessis-Robinson. After his settling-in season, he also knows that boss Jacky Lorenzetti is not the type to accept many more disappointments. M le President made that perfectly clear in a fiery post-season interview, in which he fired both barrels – unfairly – at big-name signings Siya Kolisi and Josua Tuisova.
Cue reports indicating that the World Cup-winning South Africa captain wants out, for all that he was one of the faces of the season ticket campaign.
It’s taken as gospel in English rugby circles that Owen Farrell is the type of player to turn Racing’s fortunes around, starting in Créteil, where they will play their first three ‘home’ matches, while the Olympic and Paralympic Games’ swimming pool is removed from La Defense Arena.
His no-nonsense, astute style may be the missing part of the puzzle. But Racing have been here before with big-name international 10s. Dan Carter enjoyed success here. Johnny Sexton really didn’t.
The jury may be leaning hopefully towards Farrell right now but even he, despite his record, has a lot to prove. Lancaster needs him to work out, because Lorenzetti expects.
More importantly, and more astutely, Racing look to have the beginnings of a pack able to compete on surfaces that aren’t La Defense Arena.
STADE FRANCAIS
In: Louis Carbonel; Raffaele Costa Storti; Samuel Ezeala; Louis Foursans-Bourdette; Pierre Huguet; Joe Jonas; Giacomo Nicotera; Yoan Tanga.
Out: Mathieu de Giovanni; Giovanni Habel-Kuffner; Kylan Hamdaoui; Vasil Kakovin; Rory Kockott; Mickael Ivaldi; Sefa Naivalu; Julien Ory; Laurent Panis; Giorgi Tsutskiridze; Joris Segonds.
Staff: Laurent Labit, Karim Ghezal, Paul Gustard, Morgan Parra, James Kent
First five matches: Bordeaux (a), Vannes (h), Toulon (h), Pau (a), Montpellier (h)
Modern rugby is a business. Never is that more ruthlessly revealed in France than at Stade Francais, who cut short the contract of head coach Gonzalo Quesada – he had done plenty right in his second stint in the hotseat – in favour of a dream team of Laurent Labit and Karim Ghezal, once their duties with France ended after the World Cup.
A season later – in which Paul Gustard’s defensive systems took Stade Francais to second in the table and a Top 14 semi-final – that decision looks … well, still coldly businesslike, to be honest, but thoroughly logical. Ghezal, in his first head coach’s role, faced a few player-management issues, but also had the rather more pastoral Labit on his side to soothe ruffled feathers.
The most important job this season falls to attack coach Morgan Parra who, aided by a noticeably more hands-on Laurent Labit, needs to find a way to bring out the best in a three-quarter line that – with some crucial imports, including the return of Portuguese try addict Raffaele Costa Storti, fullback Joe Jonas and fly-half Louis Carbonel – really should score points by the hatful.
Watch out, too, for a backrow likely to include Sekou Macalou, returning Olympic gold medalist Andy Timo, and likely first-choice eight Yoan Tanga – recruited from La Rochelle specifically to improve the connection between forwards and backs.
TOULON
In: Daniel Brennan; Antoine Frisch; Mickael Ivaldi; Gianmarco Lucchesi; Lewis Ludlam; Pablo Patilla; Kyle Sinckler; Patrick Tuifua.
Out: Kieran Brookes; Yanis Boulassel; Bruce Devaux; Cornell du Preez; Anthony Etrillard; Fabio Gonzalez; Aymeric Luc; Waisea Nayacalevu; Maëlan Rabut; Jack Singleton; Adrien Warion.
Staff: Pierre Mignoni, Andrea Masi, Sergio Parissi, Richie Gray, Sebastien Bourdin
First five matches: La Rochelle (a), Castres (h), Stade Francais (a), Vannes (h), Clermont (a)
A first Top 14 top six finish since 2018 should, perhaps, have led to greater celebrations at Toulon. But this is a club still suffering from the the success – and the excess – of the glory galactico years that demands the same results without the same resources.
The promise of a Made in Var squad, a pledge of president Bernard Lemaitre when he took over from Mourad Boudjellal, has yet to materialise. Evolution like this take time – but the departure of ‘children of the club’ such as Louis Carbonel and Bruce Devaux has not impressed fans. One group argued they had endured ‘six years of nothing’ midway through the season.
Off the pitch, there’s a sizeable financial overspend to claw back – that’s a priority for new GM Jessica Casanova, who switched from Montpellier amid reports of a falling-out with Bernard Laporte, in the inter-season. Expect a back-to-basics approach – with no more NFTs or Web3 offerings. Greater focus on sponsorship and bums on seats at Stade Mayol.
That will be helped by last season’s play-off place, and another Champions Cup run. On the whole, the 2024/25 squad looks well balanced – despite presidential concerns aired late last season about the future of Dan Biggar, and the lengthy disciplinary-enforced absence of Melvyn Jaminet, who must train alone for six months before rejoining his team-mates, and who may well have played his last international.
The goal this season? Lemaitre has left no room for doubt. “Toulon must win a title!” he said at a recent press conference. “It’s unthinkable not to win one again.”
Silverware or bust it is, then. This is the Toulon way.
TOULOUSE
In: Leo Banos; Naoto Saito.
Out: Sofiane Guitoune; Lucas Tauzin; Piula Fa’asalele; Baptiste Germain; Maxime Duprat; Marco Trauth (loan); Ian Boubila (loan); Arthur Retiere.
Staff: Ugo Mola, Clement Poitrenaud, Laurent Thuery. Virgile Lacombe, Jerome Kaino, David Mele
First five matches: Vannes (a), La Rochelle (h), Montpellier (a), Bordeaux (h), Castres (a)
It’s the depth at Toulouse’s disposal that’s so astonishing. Ugo Mola used 59 players in his second double-winning season – a cruel person might point out that it’s one player for every point they inflicted on Bordeaux in the final.
No other club in France can tap into such a reservoir of talent. In Europe, arguably only Leinster. And, last season, Toulouse were consistently impressive, with or without their star players.
The ambition, too, is evident. Thomas Ramos said after that Top 14 final victory: “When you see the generation we have, I’m sure that this group is not going to stop there. We have to take advantage of what we have just done.”
Recruitment has been … sparse. Leo Banos – a World Cup joker at Stade Ernest Wallon at the start of the season – has switched permanently from Mont-de-Marsan, while prop Hugo Reilhes returns from loan with Brive (it could class as an arrival).
The surprise signing is Japan international scrum-half Naoto Saito, who comes in as cover for Antoine Dupont and Paul Graou, following Baptiste Germain’s switch to Bayonne in the close season.
Saito can expect some early game time. Dupont is having a well-earned rest after his near two-years of non-stop rugby ended with gold in the men’s rugby sevens at the Olympic Games.
A while ago, club president Didier Lacroix suggested Dupont may take a Greg Alldritt-like three-month break, but reports now suggest we could see him back training in September with a match return pencilled-in for the end of September/early October.
But it’s fair to say, however, that Mola’s put the Toulouse house on continuity this season. It’s not hard to see why, as he sets his eyes on a historic third Top 14 title in as many seasons. No other team has managed that, ever.
The 2025/26 season is set to be different, however. Reports suggest Graou may follow Gemain to Bayonne next July, with the club turning their attention to Castres’ star Santiago Arata. Watch this space…
VANNES
In: Mako Vunipola; Hugo Djehi; Filipo Nakosi; Salesi Rayasi; Fabrice Metz; Francis Saili; Christiaan Van der Merwe; Inaki Ayarza; Kitione Kamikamica; Tani Vili; Santiago Medrano; Baltazar Amaya.
Out: Andy Bordelai; Thomas Moukoro; Wimun Bessonart; Hamish Bain; Darren O’Shea; Grégoire Bazin; Koen Bloemen; Enzo Benmegal; Arthur Proult; Andrés Vilaseca.
Staff: Jean-Noel Spitzer, Yoann Boulanger, Mathieu Cidre, Goulven Le Garrec, Mikaele Tuugahala
First five matches: Toulouse (h), Stade Francais (a), Lyon (h), Toulon (a), Racing 92 (h)
Vannes are the first side from Brittany – the first side from northwest France – to appear in the top division of French men’s professional rugby.
There … that’s the top line from just about every story you’ll read about Vannes for the early part of this season. Hell, I’ve used it before already.
So, the here and now… “This is the start of our problems, let’s face it,” club president Olivier Cloarec said a day or so after Vannes won the ProD2 final at Toulouse’s Stade Ernest Wallon.
“We haven’t had much time to think about what lies ahead. We’re already struggling to realise what’s happening to us, so we might as well tell you that what awaits us in a few weeks seems far away. Very far.”
There was a busy recruitment period in the days that followed. On paper, they look to have done a decent job, with their extra days’ transfer grace, and their additional JIFF allowance for the next two seasons.
But the proof will be in head coach Jean-Noel Spitzer’s gameplan. Objective one: survival. Easier read than done.
And it has been made that bit more difficult by his six-week ban for “behaviour and comments having disrupted the smooth running of the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) control and procedure”, that will keep him away from the touchline until October 6.
Looking for insightful, knowledgeable French rugby content? My name is James Harrington. I’m a France-based freelance sports journalist, writing mostly about French club and international rugby. Contact me for match previews, reviews, articles, news, features, interviews, live blogs, or just all-round, up-to-date, French rugby expertise.
You can read my French rugby column in The Rugby Paper every Sunday. And I also round-up all the weekend’s Top 14 action on the Irish Examiner website.
James Harrington: Rugby writer and freelance sports journalist 
James Harrington: Rugby writer and freelance sports journalist
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