Racing 92

Racing 92

Racing 92 is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris. The club was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name to Racing 92. They currently play in the Top 14, having been promoted as 2008–09 champions of Rugby Pro D2.

About Racing 92 in brief

Summary Racing 92Racing 92 is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris. The club was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name to Racing 92. They currently play in the Top 14, having been promoted as 2008–09 champions of Rugby Pro D2. After starting the 2017–18 season at the Stade Yves-du-Manoir stadium at Colombes, Racing played their first match at the new U Arena, since renamed Paris La Défense Arena, in Nanterre on 22 December 2017. Racing Club was established in 1882 as an athletics club, one of the first in France. A rugby section was founded in 1890, which became an immediate protagonist of the early French championship to which, until 1898, only Parisian teams were invited. In the 1950s the club had some success, making their first championship final in 30 years, losing to Castres Olympique, 11 points to 8. After losing the 1957 final to FC Lourdes, the club then won the championship in the 1959 season, defeating Mont-de-Marsan 8 points to 3. But in the wake of the 1990 title, Racing Club had a hard time adapting to the professional era and started to decline, until they were relegated to Division 2 at the end of the 1995–96 season.

They jumped back to the top tier in 1998 but went down again in 2000–01 and played for most of the next decade in Division 2. In 2001 the rugby section split off from the general club to merge with the sports section of Paris public transport to form the current professional sports club. They missed their first Top 14 entry by one goal in 2011, but won the Heineken Cup by one point the next year. Jacky Lorenzetti, who heads a real estate company called Fcia, is the president of Racing 92’s general sports section and is on the board of directors of the club’s sports transport concern, Racing MéTro 92. He is also the director of French rugby club Stade Français. The French national team play for Stade Francois in the Aviva Premiership. The France national team played for several decades at the Colombes Stade de Colombes stadium, where they played for many decades until the 1990s. The Parisian club won the World Cup in 1995 and 1996, and the 1999 World Cup and the 2000 World Cup. They also won the Challenge Yves du Manoir competition in 1931 and the Challenge Rutherford in 1952. The Racing Club made their first final in the 1987 season, against Toulon.