Toulon (rugby club)

Toulon was founded on June 3, 1908 as a result of the merger of the Étoile sportive varoise team and the Toulon branch of the Stade varois club. After 23 years, the team first became a national champion. In the final match of the 1931 season in Bordeaux , Toulon beat Lyon Olympic University with a score of 6: 3. In the hometown of rugby players met 30 thousand happy fans. Lilies of the valley appeared on the emblem of the club in 1921. Felix Mayol , who donated money to the club for the construction of the stadium, which was named after him, arrived at his first concert in Paris on May 1, 1895. A friend of the artist presented him with a bouquet of lilies of the valley, often presented by the French on the first day of May. The superstitious Mayol, whose concert was a success, made the lily of the valley his personal symbol. Then the custom was also adopted by rugby players.

Subsequently, the team became a regular contender for the title. At the same time, the club played in four finals for 35 years (1948, 1968, 1971, 1985) and did not win a single one. Defeated in 1985 from Toulouse , Toulon suffered after extra time and with desperate resistance (22:36). Two years later, on the fifth attempt, the club won the champion title. Then in the capital's arena “ Park de Prens ” rugby players beat “ Racing ”. Another victory in the championship came in 1992, in the final match the club defeated opponents from Biarritz Olympic . That game was the last for the legend of “Biarritz” by Serge Blanco, who did not submit to the French champion title.

Over the next eight years, the club experienced financial difficulties, there was a deficit of 10 million francs . As a result, the team’s athletic performance has become less impressive. As a result, the organizers of the championship decided to move Toulon to the Second Division in the summer of 2000. Players could return to the big leagues in the very first season, but in the decisive game for a single quota, the team was defeated by Montauban . Only after five seasons, the team again reached the level that allowed her to again become a member of the leading league. Confident support of fans (on average, more than 12 thousand spectators came to the stadium) did not help Toulon gain a foothold in the championship. The club won only 3 games out of 26 and for the second time was forced to become a member of the Second Division.

The new president of the club, Murad Bujellal, who was born and raised in the city and made a fortune by selling comics , took up the position with the promise to build a strongest team. Already under the leadership of Bujellal, the club signed contracts with famous players Jean-Jacques Krens, Iann Deleg, Gonzalo Quesada and Dan Lager. The mentioned players and some other newcomers by that time had already overcome the thirty-year milestone. Of particular interest to the public and the media was the signing of former All Black captain Tan Umag. The New Zealander arrived in France at the end of the ITM Cup , and, as expected, the amount of the contract was about € 300 thousand. Bujellal announced that he was going to pay the star from his own pocket, while the player had to spend only 8-10 matches in the Toulon. In a 2010 interview, Bujellal said: “It was incredible, because we were in the second division, and I spoke with the best player in the world. But he said “yes” and came to play “Toulon” ” ^[3] .

Bujellal continued his active transfer policy in relation to eminent age athletes. The composition of the team was replenished by the captain of the Australian national team and world record holder in the number of test matches George Gregan . It was reported that the player will receive about € 400 thousand, also from the personal state of Bujellal ^[4] . Other recruits of the club were the all-time best scorer (by points) “ All Blacks ” Andrew Mertens ^{[5] [6]} and one of the leaders of the England team Johnny Wilkinson .

Returning to the second league in the 2006/07 season, the club finished in fourth place. Toulon got the right to play in the playoffs for reaching the main division, but already in the semifinals the team lost to the opponents from La Rochelle (17:21). In the next competitive year, the team almost from the very beginning became the leader of the standings and guaranteed themselves access to the big league two rounds before the end of the regular season. The 2008/09 season did not work for the team, but this time was spent on a significant restructuring of the team. Umaga began working in the coaching staff, and subsequently Bujellal said that the transition to coaching competence was too early for the athlete. In addition, the businessman said that Umag does not have the qualities of a manager ^[3] . The club fought for survival, but managed to avoid relegation, demonstrating the potential for achievements in the next season. The highly successful campaign — 2009/10, was led by Johnny Wilkinson. The leading French rugby magazine Midi Olympique later named the Englishman the best fly-hav of the year in the championship ^[7] . Wilkinson's achievements were also appreciated on the other side of the strait : after a break, the player again received a call to the national team . “Toulon” took second place in the championship, skipping ahead “ Perpignan ”. The Catalan competitor gained the highest position due to the result of personal confrontation, however, in many respects (in particular, in the number of victories) it was Toulon that was the leader. After that, the club lost in the semifinals of the playoffs, being weaker than future champions from Clermont according to the results of the extra time of the match (29:35). Nevertheless, the club from the Cote d'Azur got the opportunity to play in the main international tournament of Europe - the Heineken Cup .

In the same season, the club competed in the second most important international competition, the European Challenge Cup . Toulon won their group and advanced to the next stage. The 1/4 finals home match against the Welsh Scarlets team won easily (38:12). The semi-final barrier - a guest match with the Irish Connaught - Toulon also overcame, although with a smaller advantage (19:12). Victory in this match allowed the French to hold the final at home, and taking into account the limited opportunities of Stud Mayol, the meeting was moved to the Marseille Velodrome . To the chagrin of the local audience, Toulon lost to Cardiff Blues guests (21:28) from Wales and, with a very high-quality game, could not win a single trophy.

The 2011/12 season was almost the same for the team. The club again lost in the final of the challenge cup: now the Biarritz Olympic players are more successful. “Toulon” did not achieve victory in the national championship, losing in the main match of the year “ Toulouse ”. A year later, the team won the Heineken Cup. In the final match, rugby players beat another French team, Clermont-Auvergne . The match was extremely intense and ended with a score of 16:15 ^[2] . In addition, the team took second place in the regular season and reached the finals of the championship. However, in the final match, Toulon lost to Castro with a score of 14:19. May 2, 2015 in London in the final of the rugby Champions Cup Toulon beat Clermont (24:18). In the main European Cup, Toulon won for the third year in a row - earlier the French club won the Heineken Cup twice.

• French Championship
  • Champion: 1931, 1987, 1992, 2014
  • Finalist: 1946, 1968, 1971, 1985, 1989, 2012, 2013
• Heineken Cup
  • Winner: 2013, 2014
• Challenge Yves du Manoit
  • Winner: 1934, 1970
  • Finalist: 1939, 1954, 1983
• European Challenge Cup
  • Finalist: 2010, 2012
• French Championship Second Division
  • Winner: 2005, 2008
  • Finalist: 2001

Season 2016/17 ^[8]

• Club official website