USA Perpignan

USA Perpignan
Full name	Union sportive arlequins Perpignan-Roussillon
Founded	1902; 122 years ago (as AS Perpignan); 1919; 105 years ago (as US Perpignan); 1933; 91 years ago (as USA Perpignan)
Location	Perpignan, France
Ground(s)	Stade Aimé Giral (Capacity: 14,593)
President	François Rivière
Coach(es)	Franck Azéma
Captain(s)	Mathieu Acebes
League(s)	Top 14
2023–24	10th
Team kit	2nd kit
Official website
	www.usap.fr

Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais, also referred to as USA Perpignan or Perpignan, is a French professional rugby union club founded in 1933 and based in Perpignan, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. They compete in the Top 14, France's elite division of rugby.

The club is a result of a merger between US Perpignan and Arlequins Perpignanais in 1933. US Perpignan was also born from a union of merging clubs AS Perpignan (founded in 1902) and Stade Olympien Perpignanais, which took place in 1919.^[1]

Its home ground is the 14,593-capacity Stade Aimé Giral but important fixtures may occasionally be taken to Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, in Barcelona.^[2] The club's colours are sky blue, scarlet and golden yellow, which derived from the Catalan Senyera and gives Perpignan its nickname Les Sang et Or (French for "The Blood and Golds").

History

Early years

One of the two merging clubs was established in 1902 as AS Perpignan. It would be in 1914 that the club would go on to make its first ever final appearance. On 3 May, Perpignan defeated Stadoceste Tarbais 8–7 at Stade des Ponts Jumeaux in Toulouse in front of 15,000 people. 19-year-old fly-half Aimé Giral converted a late try and went on to become captain. 14 months after their victory, Aimé Giral died alongside seven other members of the team at the outbreak of WW1^[3] and, to honour their sacrifice, it was decided to colour USAP jersey like a Poilu uniform and to name the stadium after Giral.

Four years after the championship in 1914, the club was renamed as US Perpignan after a merging with Stade Olympien Perpignanais. Under the new club name, US Perpignan made it to the final of the French championship three seasons after the change. On 17 April 1921, Perpignan defeated Stade Toulousain 5–0 at Parc des Sports de Sauclières in Béziers and thus claiming their second championship. Three seasons later, the finalists of 1921 would meet again in the final of 1924, though this time Toulouse won the game 3–0 in Bordeaux.

The success continued throughout the 1920s, and following the final defeat of the 1924 season, US Perpignan were able to make it to the final of the 1925 season. They faced US Carcassonne in Narbonne, and defeated them 5–0 to win the 1925 Championship. For the third season in a row, US Perpignan made it to the final. The opponents were Stade Toulousain once again, the two sides had each defeated each other once in a final in recent years. Toulouse won 11–0 in Bordeaux. After their prominence in the mid-1920s, Perpignan's final appearance in 1926 was their last for nearly a decade.

Perpignan's next final appearance came in 1935 against Biarritz at Stade des Ponts Jumeaux in Toulouse on 12 May, with Biarritz winning 3–0. That season they also won the Challenge Yves du Manoir. Three seasons later Perpignan were again involved in the Championship final against Biarritz. The final was played on 8 May, and this time, Perpignan defeated Biarritz, winning 11–6 to claim their first Championship since 1921. They were also runners-up of the Challenge Yves-du-Manoir that same season as well.

The success continued throughout the late 1930s, with Perpignan again being runners-up of the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1936. It was also the 1936 season that Biarritz and Perpignan would face off in the Championship. Both of Perpignan's last two final appearances were against Biarritz, and both Perpignan and Biarritz had won one each against each other. The final took place on 30 April, and Biarritz turned out to be victorious, defeating Perpignan 6–0. Two years later, Perpignan were in the final of the Challenge Yves du Manoir, but became runners-up.

Their next final appearance would not be until the season of 1944. Perpignan played Aviron Bayonnais at Parc des Princes in Paris on 26 March to decide who would be the champions of France. Perpignan won, defeating Aviron Bayonnais 20–5, claiming their first Championship since 1938.

Perpignan would have to wait another eight years until they would make it to the final again. In the 1952 season, Perpignan met FC Lourdes in the final at Stadium Municipal in Toulouse, where they went down to FC Lourdes 20–11. However, both sides would meet in another final three years later to decide the 1955 Championship. This time Perpignan emerged victorious, defeating FC Lourdes 11–6 in Bordeaux. Perpignan also won the Challenge Yves du Manoir during the 1955 season, and were runners-us the following year as well.

Perpignan won the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1965, but made their first final appearance 20 years after 1955, to decide the 1977 season Championship. They met AS Béziers in the final, who defeated Perpignan 12–4 at Parc des Princes. Perpignan won the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1994,

Professional era

They would next appear in the final in 1998, where they went down to Stade Français 34–7 in Paris in front of 78,000 people.

In 2002, the club entered into a partnership with the University of Barcelona Rugby Union Club, hence renaming them USAP Barcelona, which compete in the División de Honor, the national Championship in Spain. Perpignan made it to the 2004 final, where they met Stade Français, who defeated them in the 1998 final. Stade Français won again, 38–20 at Stade de France in front of 79,722 people.

In European competition, Perpignan reached the final stage in 2003 (losing 21–17 to Toulouse in Dublin Lansdowne Road) after losing a 1999 semi-final in Toulouse Stadium against Colomiers. They were beaten in the quarter-finals in Lansdowne Road again in 2006 by eventual winners Munster.

They signed All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter, widely regarded as one of the world's best players, on a six-month deal starting from December 2008.^[4] Carter's stint at Perpignan, however, ended prematurely when he tore an Achilles tendon.

Their season ended by progressing into the Top 14 semi-final with a 25–21 win over Stade Français and eventually winning it with a fantastic 22–13 win over ASM Clermont Auvergne in the final. In 2010, they advanced to the final again against Clermont, but they saw Les Jaunards end decades of frustration by winning their first championship final in 11 tries.

In 2011 they signed a twinning agreement with FC Barcelona of Spain, which proposes USAP to be promoted through FC Barcelona.

Club honours

French championship Top 14
- Champions (4): 1938, 1944, 1955, 2009
- Runners-up (7): 1935, 1939, 1952, 1977, 1998, 2004, 2010
Heineken Cup/European Rugby Champions Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2003
Challenge Yves du Manoir
- Champions (3): 1935, 1955, 1994
- Runners-up (5): 1936, 1937, 1938, 1956, 1965
Pro D2
- Champions (2): 2018, 2021

Finals results

French championship

Date	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Venue	Spectators
12 May 1935	Biarritz Olympique	3–0	USA Perpignan	Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse	23,000
8 May 1938	USA Perpignan	11–6	Biarritz Olympique	Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse	24,600
30 April 1939	Biarritz Olympique	6–0 AP	USA Perpignan	Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse	23,000
26 March 1944	USA Perpignan	20–5	Aviron Bayonnais	Parc des Princes, Paris	35,000
4 May 1952	FC Lourdes	20–11	USA Perpignan	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse	32,500
22 May 1955	USA Perpignan	11–6	FC Lourdes	Parc Lescure, Bordeaux	39,764
29 May 1977	AS Béziers	12–4	USA Perpignan	Parc des Princes, Paris	41,821
16 May 1998	Stade Français	34–7	USA Perpignan	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	78,000
26 June 2004	Stade Français	38–20	USA Perpignan	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	79,722
6 June 2009	USA Perpignan	22–13	ASM Clermont	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	79,205
29 May 2010	ASM Clermont	19–6	USA Perpignan	Stade de France, Saint-Denis	79,262

Heineken Cup

Date	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Venue	Spectators
24 May 2003	Stade Toulousain	22–17	USA Perpignan	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	28,600

Challenge Yves du Manoir

Date	Winners	Score	Runners-up
1935	USA Perpignan	3-3, 6-0	AS Montferrand
1936	Aviron Bayonnais	9-3	USA Perpignan
1937	Biarritz olympique	3-0	USA Perpignan
1938	AS Montferrand	23-10	USA Perpignan
1955	USA Perpignan	22-11	SC Mazamet
1956	FC Lourdes	3-0	USA Perpignan
1965	US Cognac	5-3	USA Perpignan
1994	USA Perpignan	18-3	AS Montferrand

Current standings

2024–25 Top 14 Table
Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Toulouse	7	5	2	203	128	+75	24	15	2	2	24	Playoffs and Qualification for 2025–26 European Rugby Champions Cup
2	Bordeaux Bègles	7	5	2	258	171	+87	36	23	2	1	23
3	La Rochelle	7	5	2	194	172	+22	26	21	2	0	22
4	Toulon	7	4	3	167	134	+33	18	14	1	2	19
5	Clermont	7	4	3	176	182	−6	23	19	3	0	19
6	Castres	7	4	3	213	179	+34	24	19	1	2	19
7	Bayonne	7	4	3	184	175	+9	23	22	1	1	18	Qualification for 2025–26 European Rugby Champions Cup
8	Lyon	7	4	3	197	191	+6	21	21	1	1	18	Qualification for 2025–26 European Rugby Champions Cup
9	Pau	7	3	4	170	192	−22	22	26	2	1	15	Qualification for 2025–26 European Rugby Challenge Cup
10	Racing 92	7	3	4	175	182	−7	20	21	0	2	14
11	Perpignan	7	3	4	123	179	−56	11	20	1	1	14
12	Montpellier	7	2	5	149	164	−15	15	17	0	2	10
13	Stade Français	7	2	5	131	211	−80	15	27	0	1	9	Qualification for Relegation play-off
14	Vannes	7	1	6	179	259	−80	22	34	0	3	7	Relegation to Pro D2

Updated to match(es) played on 20 October 2024. Source: Top 14

Current squad

The Perpignan squad for the 2023–24 season is:^[5] ^[6]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player	Position	Union
Seilala Lam	Hooker	Samoa
Victor Montgaillard	Hooker	France
Ignacio Ruiz	Hooker	Argentina
Lucas Velarte	Hooker	France
Giorgi Beria	Prop	France
Kieran Brookes	Prop	England
Pietro Ceccarelli	Prop	Italy
Bruce Devaux	Prop	France
Akato Fakatika	Prop	France
Vakhtang Jintcharadze	Prop	Georgia
Nemo Roelofse	Prop	South Africa
Giorgi Tetrashvili	Prop	Georgia
Tristan Labouteley	Lock	France
Marvin Orie	Lock	South Africa
Mathieu Tanguy	Lock	France
Posolo Tuilagi	Lock	France
Adrien Warion	Lock	France
Lucas Bachelier	Back row	France
Alan Brazo	Back row	France
Noé Della Schiava	Back row	France
So'otala Fa'aso'o	Back row	Samoa
Joaquín Oviedo	Back row	Argentina
Patrick Sobéla	Back row	France
Jaco van Tonder	Back row	South Africa

Player	Position	Union
Gela Aprasidze	Scrum-half	Georgia
Sadek Deghmache	Scrum-half	France
Tom Ecochard	Scrum-half	France
Tommaso Allan	Fly-half	Italy
Antoine Aucagne	Fly-half	France
Jake McIntyre	Fly-half	Australia
Jean-Pascal Barraque	Centre	France
Riko Buliruarua	Centre	Fiji
Alivereti Duguivalu	Centre	Fiji
Jerónimo de la Fuente	Centre	Argentina
Apisai Naqalevu	Centre	Fiji
Ali Crossdale	Wing	England
Louis Dupichot	Wing	France
Tavite Veredamu	Wing	France
Lucas Dubois	Fullback	France
Théo Forner	Fullback	France

Espoirs squad