Vannes facing a tough early test

PROMOTED ProD2 winners Vannes will kick off their first-ever season in the Top 14 at home against 23-time French champions Toulouse on the evening of Sunday, September 8, to round out the opening weekend of the 2024/25 campaign.

- JAMES HARRINGTON

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.