Earlier the same day, La Rochelle will host Toulon at Stade Marcel Deflandre, as the French rugby schedule skirts around the final weekend of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.
The day before, Bayonne and Perpignan get the season under way in the early afternoon kick-off at Stade Jean Dauger, while in the evening, losing Top 14 finalists Bordeaux host Stade Francais, the side they beat in last season’s semi-finals at the Matmut Atlantique.
Clermont entertain Pau, Castres face Racing 92, and Montpellier take on Lyon in the other matches on the opening weekend of the new season.
Vannes’ Top 14 debut, at the 11,865-capacity Stade de la Rabine, a ground with a truly astonishing approach in which fans pass through a remarkable 18th-century facade not far from the port, is guaranteed to be a sell-out.
The club’s president, Olivier Cloarec, had to issue a public apology this week after the club’s website crashed under the virtual weight of 50,000 people trying to sign up for a season ticket for the 2024/25 campaign. Bear in mind that Vannes has a population of 54,420 people, according to the 2021 census. Nearly one in five of them attended ProD2 matches last season, as the club averaged home gates of over 10,000.
It looks a lot like the 13 Top 14 home matches will be sell-outs this season – especially if the squad gets off to a decent start.
Denne historien er fra July 21, 2024-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
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Denne historien er fra July 21, 2024-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Ring fence has made English rugby go soft
THE most positive aspect to come out of the opening round of the European Cup was that, despite six out of the eight English clubs losing, it can get better and relatively quickly.
The global travellers who light up game
THERE is nothing especially funny about short-term memory loss, but it may just have an upside when it comes to rugby.
Battling Bath looking to revive cup campaign
JOHANN van Graan is braced to take on the Italian national team in all but name as Bath look to revive their Champions Cup campaign.
Off-target Gloucester get lesson in finishing
KIWI Michael Ruru scored two early tries and put in a silky display as Vannes created a famous night in their history, securing a first ever Challenge Cup win over a misfiring Gloucester.
We're happy to be the hunted, says Beckett
SARAH Beckett admits Gloucester-Hartpury have made an underwhelming start to their title defence but believes that's partly due to competition across the PWR being at an alltime high.
Heard takes charge to keep out Sarries
GLOUCESTER-HARTPURY secured a pulsating victory over Saracens to leapfrog the Londoners in the PWR table.
Hellfire Corner gives a warm welcome to all
RUGBY was undergoing a massive boom 150 years ago so we shouldn’t be surprised so many teams are celebrating their sesquicentennial anniversary as those who glory in long words like to call it.
My fierce Tigers are roaring-Howison
A RUTHLESS second-half display saw Sheffield Tigers come from behind to score 29 unanswered points and seal a vital bonus point win against bottom of the table Billingham.
Brave Lupus banking on Mo'unga class
THE fourth season of Japan Rugby League One kicks off this week, with the tournament opening with the clash between Mie Honda Heat and Ricoh Black Rams Tokyo on December 21.
Oyonnax must live without El-Abd
OYONNAX’S seven-try 53-10 bonus-point win over ProD2 rivals Soyaux-Angouleme on Friday – their first victory since October 25 – was a relief in more ways than one. In fact, relief probably doesn’t cover it.
