RC Vannes, a little Breton player in the Top 14, has had a remarkable start to the season despite its limited budget. Find out how this graduate challenges the giants of French Rugby and maintains hope for maintaining…
In the heart of Brittany, a small rugby club is making waves at the start of the 2024-2025 Top 14 season. The Rugby Club Vannetais, just promoted to the elite, continues to surprise despite its status as the smallest championship budget. Portrait of an irreducible Breton who has not finished shaking the big stables.
RC Vannes, Ambitious Little Thumb of the Top 14
For its first season in the elite of French rugby, RC Vannes was expected to turn the corner. With a budget estimated at only 15 million euros, the lowest in the Top 14, few observers saw the Breton club capable of competing. However, after 13 days, Jean-Noël Spitzer’s men are in an encouraging 11th place, with 15 points on the clock.
Certainly, the Vannes residents currently occupy the place of red lantern. But they remain in contact with 10th, Pau, which is only 4 points ahead. Enough to maintain the hope of a continuation which would be a real achievement for this small club of 23,000 souls. Especially since some big clubs, like Stade Français (12th) or Lyon (13th), are far from their standards.
Prestige Victories
If the Bretons can still believe in their chances, it is because they have been able to achieve some brilliant achievements since the start of the season. Starting with a prestigious success on the lawn of the La Rochelle ogre (23-14), reigning European champion. A remarkable performance praised by maritime manager Ronan O’Gara:
“Vannes showed more aggression and desire with a good game plan. It’s a big slap in the face for us but we didn’t disrespect this team. »
The Vannes also made a strong impression for their debut in the Challenge Cup, crushing the English of Gloucester 43 to 19. Proof that the Morbihannais do not give up, even against the greats of Europe. A good omen before a month of January which will see them challenge Bayonne and Clermont at home, interspersed with a crucial trip to a direct competitor for maintenance, Pau.
A Breton State of Mind
If the RCV players are holding on like this, it is because they can count on an audience committed to their cause. Since the start of the season, the Rabine stadium has been full at each meeting, pushing its protégés towards the feat. A craze that does not surprise Martin Michel, the general director of the club:
“Rugby is a sport of character and the Breton has a bit of character. He also has tenacity and pugnacity in effort and commitment. We are hard-working, silent, workers. »
Virtues embodied by players like Jules Le Bail, irresistible scrum half, or Gwenaël Duplenne, tireless fullback. Under the leadership of Jean-Noël Spitzer, himself suspended at the start of the season, the Bretons are moving forward united and determined. With the ambition to permanently invite itself to the table of the greats of French rugby.
Maintenance Objective
Despite its excellent start to the season, RC Vannes knows that there is still a long way to go to ensure its future in the elite. The next few weeks promise to be decisive with duels against direct competitors like Pau, Brive or Perpignan. But the Bretons can count on their cohesion and their fighting spirit to create the feat.
One thing is certain: this little thumb intends to shake up the hierarchy and establish itself permanently in the Top 14. As Gwenaël Duplenne explained before the start of the championship:
“There will surely be a time of adaptation because we don’t really know where we are going. We know it’s going to be hard, that we’re going to lose matches. But we have pride and we are not going to give up. »
A state of mind which could well allow RC Vannes to beat the odds. And to write one of the most beautiful pages of its young history. The giants of the Top 14 have been warned: the irreducible Breton has not said his last word!
