Rugby Club Vannes

RC Vannes
Full nameRugby Club Vannes
NicknameRCV
Founded1950 (1950)
LocationVannes, France
GroundStade de la Rabine (Capacity: 11,303)
ChairmanOlivier Cloarec
CoachJean-Noël Spitzer
CaptainClément Payen
LeaguePro D2
2024–25Top 14, 14th (relegated)

RC Vannes (pronounced [van]; French: Rugby Club Vannes, Rugbi Klub Gwened) is a French rugby union club based in Vannes, currently competing in Pro D2 , the second level of the country's professional rugby system. Founded in 1950, they play at the Stade de la Rabine and traditionally wear blue and white jerseys.

The team usually competed in the third tier of French rugby, Fédérale 1. During the 2015–16 season, they beat RC Massy during the Fédérale 1 promotion semi-finals automatically accessing to the 2016–17 Pro D2, an historical reach for a Breton rugby team.[1][2][3] Vannes beat FC Grenoble Rugby in the 2024 Pro D2 playoffs to win promotion to the Top 14 for the first time.[4]

Honours

Current standings

2025–26 Pro D2 Table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Vannes 14 11 1 2 453 242 +211 7 1 54 Semi-final promotion playoff place
2 Valence Romans 14 11 0 3 424 380 +44 3 0 47
3 Provence 14 9 0 5 422 317 +105 5 4 45 Quarter-final promotion playoff place
4 Colomiers 14 9 0 5 398 215 +183 4 3 43
5 Oyonnax 14 8 0 6 411 310 +101 3 4 39
6 Aurillac 14 8 0 6 370 392 −22 2 2 36
7 Agen 14 7 0 7 341 342 −1 5 1 34
8 Brive 14 7 1 6 385 312 +73 4 0 34
9 Nevers 14 7 0 7 366 410 −44 4 1 33
10 Soyaux Angoulême 14 7 0 7 263 353 −90 0 2 30
11 Grenoble 14 6 0 8 351 362 −11 2 2 28
12 Biarritz 14 5 1 8 353 422 −69 4 0 21
13 Béziers 14 4 0 10 339 418 −79 3 1 20
14 Dax 14 6 0 8 334 303 +31 3 3 16
15 Mont-de-Marsan 14 3 0 11 283 500 −217 1 1 14 Relegation play-off
16 Carcassonne 14 2 1 11 235 450 −215 0 3 13 Relegation to Nationale
Updated to match(es) played on 17 December 2025. Source: [1]

Current squad

The Vannes squad for the 2025–26 season is:[5][6]

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

Player Position Union
Théo Béziat Hooker France
Cyril Blanchard Hooker France
Dave Cherry Hooker Scotland
James O'Reilly Hooker New Zealand
Wayan de Benedittis Prop France
Charlesty Berguet Prop Belgium
Simon Bourgeois Prop France
Hugo Djehi Prop France
Iñaki Gurruchaga Prop Chile
Santiago Medrano Prop Argentina
Nick Schonert Prop South Africa
Paga Tafili Prop France
Mako Vunipola Prop England
Mattéo Desjeux Lock France
Thomas Geffré Lock France
Eric Marks Lock Germany
Fabrice Metz Lock France
Thomas Mézou Lock France
Simon Augry Back row France
Juan Bautista Pedemonte Back row Argentina
Steeve Blanc-Mappaz Back row France
Léon Boulier Back row France
Joe Edwards Back row New Zealand
Francisco Gorrissen Back row Argentina
Edoardo Iachizzi Back row Italy
Sione Kalamafoni Back row Tonga
Kitione Kamikamica Back row Fiji
Player Position Union
Mikheil Alania Scrum-half Georgia
Richard Judd Scrum-half New Zealand
Jules Le Bail Scrum-half France
Michael Ruru Scrum-half New Zealand
Thibault Debaes Fly-half France
Maxime Lafage Fly-half France
Alex Arrate Centre France
Iñaki Ayarza Centre Chile
Marin Boulier Centre France
Eliott Roudil Centre France
Francis Saili Centre New Zealand
Robin Taccola Centre France
Enzo Benmegal Wing France
Pierre Boudehent Wing France
Romaric Camou Wing France
Filipo Nakosi Wing Fiji
Ben Stevenson Wing England
Anthony Bouthier Fullback France
Gwenaёl Duplenne Fullback France
Paul Surano Fullback France

Espoirs squad

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

Player Position Union
Tom Sarthou Hooker France
Thomas Duchene Prop France
Marnus Maritz Prop South Africa
Tjeerd Aikema Lock Netherlands
Jesse Stegehuis Lock Netherlands
Joёl Tehoiri Lock France
Gabin Bouregois Back row France
Owen Nouvion Back row France
Player Position Union
Romain Valentin Scrum-half France
Jean Cotarmanac'h Fly-half Uruguay
Robin Gicquel Fly-half France
Bryan Burger Centre South Africa
Mitchell Poulter Wing Fiji
Titouan Lemanier Fullback France
Joachim Senga Fullback France

Notable former players

  • Scott Clare
  • Jean-Baptiste Claverie
  • Jo Courtel
  • Étienne Delangle
  • Quentin Étienne
  • Julien Faurois
  • Jonathan Garcia
  • Mickaël Garcia
  • Martín García Veiga
  • Jean-Yves Gauthier
  • Pieter Grobler
  • Bautista Guemes

See also

References

  1. ^ "Rugby. Le RC Vannes en Pro D2, victoire 25-13 face à Massy". ouest-france.fr. ouest france. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  2. ^ Grammont, Stéphane. "Rugby: la montée historique de Vannes en proD2". france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr. France 3 Bretsgne. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  3. ^ "Rugby. Vannes écrit l'histoire en accédant en Pro D2 !". Le Télégramme. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  4. ^ News, Americas Rugby (2024-06-08). "Vannes Win Promotion to Top 14 with South America a Part of the Glory". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved 2024-06-17. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ "Vannes 2017-18 Squad". Rugby Club Vannes. 21 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-10-22. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Vannes squad for season 2025/2026". all.rugby. Retrieved 2024-07-23.