History of Stade Français Paris
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This article deals with the history of the Stade Français Paris rugby union team.
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[edit] Early years
[edit] 1800s
The Stade Français Paris was founded in 1883. The club was established by a group of students who met in Le Procope restaurant in Saint-Germain-des-Prés (Paris). The club made history in 1892, being a finalist in the first ever championship match. The club lost by one point, to Racing Club de France 3 points to 4, in front of just 2,000 spectators in Paris. The referee was a certain Pierre de Coubertin. Until 1899, although the competition was called the French championship, entry was confined to just Parisian clubs. A year after their loss to the Racing club, both teams were again competing for the championship, this time however, the Stade Français emerged victorious, winning 7 points to 3.
The side quickly emerged as a powerful club in the competition and captured two more consecutive titles that decade, winning the championship in 1894 as well as 1895. The club lost the 1895 championship match, but did win the next two seasons (1896 and 1897). The club were also losing finalists in the 1899 championship match, going down 5 to 3.
[edit] 1900-1927
The beginning of the 1900s saw a decade of dominance by the club, starting with championship wins in 1901 and 1903. The club made it to the next four championship matches, from 1904 through to 1907, but were unfortunate in not winning any of them. In 1908, after four unsuccessful finals, they again won the championship. It would not be until 1927, that the club would feature in another grand final. The side lost the championship in the 1927 season, being defeated by Stade Toulousain 19 points to 9. After that, there would be no championship success for a long time, as Stade Français spent around 50 years in the lower divisions of French rugby.
[edit] The 1990s
[edit] 1992-1998
Entrepreneur Max Guazzini wished to bring back top-class rugby to Paris. Guazzini took over the club in 1992, when they were in the third division. Guazzini's takeover led to a huge rise in player recruitment, as well as a club merger with the Club Athlétique des Sports Généraux (CASG) in 1995. It was this same year that the club finally returned to the elite division, with Bernard Laporte leading the way as coach. In the late 90s the club launched a vigorous recruitment drive .
The club matched its success of the early 1990s, as they won four championships over six years. This era of success started with a championship win over USA Perpignan in the final of the 1998 season (this was the first championship to be moved to Stade de France, thus having a capacity crowd of 78,000). Although Guazzini had seen his dream come true, Paris Rugby rising from third division to French champions in the space of just five seasons, Paris Rugby still had a long way to go in the city, as home crowds were still fairly low at this stage, and the club had very little support.
[edit] 1999-2004
Despite having low support in Paris as well as facing constant criticism from the south, the squad, which had seven different nationalities within it, became a very close group of players, which became one of their biggest strengths. After being crowned the champions of France in 1998, they followed this up with a Coupe de France championship in 1999.
Laporte left the club in November of 1999 to become the head-coach of the national team. He was succeeded by George Coste. Stade Français found immediate success, making it to the final of French championship and capturing their second title since Guazzini had arrived at the club in 1992, defeating the US Colomiers in the final. Stade Français soon had another head coach in John Connolly. Connolly took the club to the final of the 2000-2001 European Rugby Cup. The club went down to the Leicester Tigers at Parc des Princes. Connolly left the club in 2002 and was replaced by South African Nick Mallett.
Three years later the club defeated Stade Toulousain in the final as well. The following year, season 2004, the defending champions successfully held on to their title, by defeating USA Perpignan in the grand final. Crowds were now on the rise, though they were still not excellent, and support at away games was still fairly low, at least in comparison to other French teams.
[edit] 2005-present
The 2004-05 season was mixed for the fans as popular coach Mallett parted ways with the club, returning to South Africa for family reasons. Former Stade footballer, as well as French captain Fabien Galthie, who had previously no coaching experience, was appointed as the head coach at the club. Galthie's appointment as coach brought further success to Paris, as they again made it to the final of the European Rugby Cup, but lost in the 2005 decider to fellow French club Toulouse, in extra-time.[1] Despite losing the Heineken Cup, Stade still captured the French championship, sitting at the top of the league table. They defeated Heineken Cup winners Toulouse in the finals to make it to the final in 2005, but lost the match to Biarritz Olympique. That it was also after extra-time was very hard for the Paris fans.
The club started the 2006-07 season very well, and after nine rounds were undefeated at well ahead at the top of the table. The winning streak stopped in round 10 when Montauban defeated them, but Paris bounced back the next week, defeating Biarritz in front of 80,000 at Stade de France.
[edit] Overview of finals results
[edit] French championship
[edit] Heineken Cup
| Date | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Venue | Attendance |
| 19 May 2001 | Leicester Tigers | Stade Français | 34-30 | Parc des Princes, Paris | 44,000 |
| 22 May 2005 | Stade Toulousain | Stade Français | 18-12 a.e.t. | Murrayfield, Edinburgh | 51,326 |
[edit] Coupe de France
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 1998 | Stade Toulousain | 22-15 | Stade Français Paris |
| 1999 | Stade Français Paris | 27-19 | CS Bourgoin-Jallieu |
[edit] Coupe de l'Espérance
| Date | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 1916 | Stade Toulousain | 8-0 | Stade Français |
[edit] External link
- History on stade.fr
