Arriving at the port of Vannes, a stone’s throw from the town hall, we came across the expected decorative elements: crepes and other crepes on the plates of the restaurant’s customers, glasses full of cider and seagulls strolling among the moored boats. . But when you raise your head, giant spotlights reveal the presence, one hundred meters further away, of a more surprising element in this landscape: the Rabine stadium and its 11,865 seats.
Vannes Rugby Club (RCV) plays here, recently promoted to the Top 14 and the first Breton club to install its boots in the elite of French rugby. And although its stadium is hidden in the center of Vannes, RCV speaks in a way that is unusual for a newcomer. The scorers appreciate the cathedral-like silence that is respected before each shot, which contrasts with the powerful Brother gozh ma zadou (“the old country of my fathers”) – the Breton anthem –, sung by the spectators before each match, to the sound of The old land of my fathers Welsh.
Beyond this delightful atmosphere, knowing the Top 14 is difficult for Morbihannais, last in the championship after four rounds despite a first victory, at home, against Lyon, in mid-September. The blue and white will receive Racing 92, on Saturday, October 5 at 2:30 p.m., with always the same “ultimate goal” : “keep” in the elite at the end of the 2024-2025 season, explains Jean-Noël Spitzer. The Vannes coach has seen it all about the slow structuring of the club, of which he has been coach since 2005 after having played there. With the former third line, RCV grew slowly, moving successively from the fourth division (1997 to 2006) to the third (2006 to 2016), then to Pro D2 (2016 to 2024) and, therefore, to the Top 14.
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On the edge of the Gulf of Morbihan, here are the Vannes players in the deepest area. And facing the same challenge as all those promoted: not to burn their wings in contact with the elite of French rugby. At Oval, trying to compete too quickly can lead to disintegration and then a free fall, season after season. Despite three Pro D2 semi-finals played in 2019, 2021 and 2023, “We were not prepared to scale in previous years,” My dear Martin Michel, general director of RCV, from the club’s training center, located less than three kilometers from La Rabine.
“We needed this new building to work well, he says. Relegation can happen, we know it, but it will allow us to continue progressing. » Opened in December 2022, includes a 400 m weight room2 and a covered synthetic court. It also allowed the sports and administrative teams to gather in the same place.
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