mobanmarketYOU WOULD MISS Stade Francais at Europe’s top table, wouldn’t you? Sure, Toulon play some great rugby but they lack the charm and the swagger that the Parisians exuded during their decade of dominance in French rugby.
And they don’t have nearly as many cheerleaders either.
We think of Guy Noves’ Toulouse as the top power in France in the professional era but between 1998-2007, the club from the capital claimed five of the ten Top 14 titles on offer.
And they looked damn good doing it.
This is the jersey they wore when dispatching Clermont in the Top 14 final in 2007, which was their last triumph. Not the traditional hooped style that many clubs go with, that’s for sure.
Source: Associated Press
The team’s style was dictated by the then owner, Max Guazzini, whose flamboyant nature showed up not only in Stade’s sartorial choices but also in the pre-match entertainment.
He booked out the Stade de France for big games and had cheerleaders, fireworks and stuntmen there to greet the fans.
And while the club’s jerseys were usually flash, the team actually played a very traditional style, especially in their first four championship wins. With French international props Sylvain Marconnet and Pieter De Villiers anchoring their scrum, they regularly relied on the boot of Italian legend Diego Dominguez to kick their goals.
Their famous 34-30 defeat to Leicester in the 2001 Heineken Cup final remarkably saw the out-half kick all 30 points for the losers.
However, with players like Christophe Dominici and Juan Martin Hernandez in their backline, they were capable of cutting loose on occasion too.