The Final of the Championnat
Paris is the place to be on Sunday night when the annual invasion takes place for the Final of the Championship, the Final of France's Top 14. It is a great national feast and the winners become feted heroes ever after.
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Roughly 80 000 will pack into the Stade de France in Paris's northern suburb of St-Denis where the match has been played since 1998. Not one of those 80 000 will be a neutral. They will all be noisily partizan, especially because Stade Français is a Paris side, the first since they won it in 2007. They will shout and sing and make all manner of noises, and then they will pour out onto the streets of the City of Lights, the City of Love, still with lots of energy before eventually many of them head back to the south from which Clermont come, leaving the Stade Français supports to continue to soak up the delights of the great city.
The last time these two teams played in finals, they won – Stade Français when they won in 2007 and Clermont in 2010, the only time they have won it though for three years in succession they were losing finalists.
Both teams will be packed with internationals from all over the world. Both sides have 36 in their squad and each side has 20 Frenchmen in that squad. The other 16 players in each squad are foreigners, who may well be more likely to be in the match-day 23. Stade Français have four from South Africa, four from Australia, two each from Georgia, Samoa and Fiji and one each Italy and New Zealand. Clermont have three from Georgia, two each from Australia, England (one from South Africa), Fiji and one each from South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina, Canada, Portugal, Wales and Samoa.
France's Championnat started as mostly Englishmen, then entirely Frenchmen and then a mixture of many lands.
The French Championship is one of the oldest and one of the toughest in world rugby. Only South Africa amongst major rugby countries has competitions older and still in existence.
Western Province established its Grand Challenge in 1883. Griqualand West followed in 1886. Then cam Eastern Province (1888), Transvaal (now Golden Lions)(1889), Natal (1890) and Border (1892).
South Africa established a national competition in 1889. In 1892 it acquired an additional trophy – the Currie Cup, which has been the Holy Grail of South African rugby ever since.
The oldest competition in the Four Home Unions is the Border League, founded in 1902. In Ireland the Provincial Championship dates back to 1946. New Zealanders started playing for the Ranfurly Shield in 1901 but it was an entirely different form of competition – a challenge affair in which holders played challengers. The New Zealand Provincial Championship started only in 1976. Scotland started its league in 1973, England in 1987 and Wales in 1990.
France's championship dates back to 1892.
In South Africa competitions have been run in various ways – sometimes as leagues, sometimes as knock-outs, sometimes as a combination of both. Right from the start France has produced a final and has done so out of league standings.
The first winners were the glamorous Racing Club de France, now Métro-Racing, back in Top 14 after a spell in Pro D2, the second division of professional rugby in France. Some of the clubs which did well in the embryo championship died young.
The referee for that first final was Baron de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games.
In the professional era Toulouse, Stade Français and Biarritz have dominated the French championship. To show that winning the Bouclier de Brennus is no shield against later disappointment, Biarritz are now in Pro D2 and not having everything their own way.
Log of Winners
Overall Toulouse have won most often.
19: Toulouse
13: Stade Français
11: Béziers
9: Stade Bordelais
8: Agen, Lourdes
6: Perpignan, Biarritz
4: Castres, Toulon
3: Bayonne, Bourgoin, Pau
2: Narbonne, Lyon, Tarbes
1: Clermont, Mont-de-Marsan, Quillan, Olympique, Grenoble, Montauban, Carmaux, Vienne, La Voulte Sportif
Championnat Finals Down the Years
1892: Racing Club de France vs Stade Français, 4-3
1893: Stade Français vs Racing Club de France, 7-3
1894: Stade Français vs Inter-Nos, 18-0
1895: Stade Français vs Olympique, 16-0
1896: Olympique vs Stade Français, 12-0
1899: Stade Bordelais (Université Club) vs Stade Français, 5-3
1900: Racing Club de France vs Stade Bordelais, 37-3
1901: Stade Bordelais vs Stade Français, 3-0
1902: Racing Club de France vs Stade Bordelais, 6-0
1903: Stade Français vs Toulouse, 16-8
1904: Stade Bordelais vs Stade Français, 3-0
1905: Stade Bordelais vs Stade Français, 12-3
1906: Stade Bordelais vs Stade Français, 9-0
1907: Stade Bordelais vs Stade Français, 14-3
1908: Stade Français vs Stade Bordelais, 16-3
1909: Stade Bordelais vs Toulouse, 17-0
1910: Lyon vs Stade Bordelais, 13-8
1911: Stade Bordelais vs Sporting Club Universitaire de France, 14-0
1912: Toulouse vs Racing Club de France, 8-6
1913: Bayonne vs SCUF, 31-8
1914: Perpignan vs Tarbes, 8-7
1920: Tarbes vs Racing Club de France 8-3
1921: Perpignan vs Toulouse, 5-0
1922: Toulouse vs Bayonne, 6-0
1923: Toulouse vs Bayonne, 3-0
1924: Toulouse vs Perpignan, 3-0
1925: Perpignan vs Carcassonne, 0-0 after extra time. The match was replayed.
Perpignan vs Carcassonne, 5-0
1926: Toulouse vs Perpignan, 11-0
1927: Toulouse vs Stade Français, 19-9
1928: Pau vs Quillan, 6-4
1929: Quillan vs Lezignanais, 11-8
1930: Agen vs Quillan, 4-0
1931: Toulouse vs Lyon, 6-3
1932: Lyon vs Narbonne, 9-3
1933: Lyon vs Narbonne, 10-3
1934: Bayonne vs Biarritz, 13-8
1935: Biarritz vs Perpignan, 3-0
1936: Narbonne vs Montferrand, 6-3
1937: Vienne vs Montferrand, 13-7
1938: Perpignan vs Biarritz, 11-6
1939: Biarritz vs Perpignan, 6-0
1943: Bayonne vs Agen, 3-0
1944: Perpignan vs Bayonne, 20-5
1945: Agen vs Lourdes, 7-3
1946: Pau vs Lourdes, 11-0
1947: Toulouse vs Agen, 10-3
1948: Lourdes vs Toulouse, 11-3
1949: Castres vs Mont-de-Marsan, 3-3 after extra time. The match was replayed.
Castres vs Mont-de-Marsan, 14-3
1950: Castres vs Racing Club de France, 11-8
1951: Carmaux vs Tarbes, 14-12
1952: Lourdes vs Perpignan, 20-11
1953: Lourdes vs Mont-de-Marsan, 21-16
1954: Grenoble vs Cognac, 5-3
1955: Perpignan vs Lourdes, 11-6
1956: Lourdes vs Dax, 20-0
1957: Lourdes vs Racing Club de France, 16-13
1958: Lourdes vs Mazametain, 25-8
1959: Racing Club de France vs Mont-de-Marsan, 8-3
1960: Lourdes vs Béziers, 14-11
1961: Béziers vs Dax, 6-3
1962: Agen vs Béziers, 14-11
1963: Mont-de-Marsan vs Dax, 9-6
1964: Pau vs Béziers, 14-0
1965: Agen vs Brive, 15-8
1966: Agen vs Dax, 9-8
1967: Montauban vs Bègles, 11-3
1968: Lourdes vs Toulon, 9-9 after extra time. Lourdes declared winners , scoring two tries to nil.
1969: Bègles vs Toulon, 11-9
1970: La Voulte Sportif vs Montferrand, 3-0
1971: Béziers, vs Toulon, 15-9
1972: Béziers vs Brive, 9-0
1973: Tarbes vs Dax, 18-12
1974: Béziers vs Narbonne, 16-14
1975: Béziers vs Brive, 13-12
1976: Agen vs Béziers, 13-10
1977: Béziers vs Perpignan, 12-4
1978: Béziers vs Montferrand, 31-9
1979: Narbonne vs Stade Bagnerais, 10-0
1980: Béziers vs Toulouse, 10-6
1981: Béziers vs Stade Bagnerais, 22-13
1982: Agen vs Bayonne, 18-9
1983: Béziers vs Nice, 14-6
1984: Béziers vs Agen, 21-21 after extra time. Béziers won by scoring three tries to one.
1985: Toulouse vs Toulon, 36-22 after extra time
1986: Toulouse vs Agen, 16-6
1987: Toulon vs Racing Club de France, 15-12
1988: Agen vs Tarbes, 9-3
1989: Toulouse vs Toulon, 18-12
1990: Racing Club de France vs Agen, 22-12
1991: Bordeaux-Bordeaux vs Toulouse, 19-10
1992: Toulon vs Biarritz, 19-14
1993: Castres vs Grenoble, 14-11
1994: Toulouse vs Montferrand, 22-16
1995: Toulouse vs Castres, 31-16
1996: Toulouse vs Brive, 20-13
1997: Toulouse vs Bourgoin, 12-6
1998: Stade Français vs Perpignan, 34-7
1999: Toulouse vs Montferrand, 15-11
2000: Stade Français vs Colomiers, 28-23
2001: Toulouse vs Montferrand, 34-22
2002: Biarritz vs Agen, 29-26 after extra time.
2003: Stade Français vs Toulouse, 32-18
2004: Stade Français vs Perpignan, 38-20
2005: Biarritz vs Stade Français, 37-34 after extra time
2006: Biarritz vs Toulouse, 40-13
2007: Stade Francias vs Clermont, 23-18
2008: Toulouse vs Clermont, 26-20
2009: Perpignan vs Clermont, 22-13
2010: Clermont vs Perpignan, 19-6
2011: Toulouse vs Montpellier, 15-10
2012: Toulouse vs Toulon, 18-12
2013: Castres vs Toulon, 19-14
2014: Toulon vs Castres, 18-10
2015: ?
