French rugby’s healthy second tier reveals failings across the Channel

The prospect of ‘doing a Vannes’ in England could bring a much-needed feelgood factor back to the Premiership

Vannes' New Zealand wing Salesi Rayasi celebrates scoring a try as tiny Vannes made history with their maiden Top 14 win last Saturday against Lyon at Stade de la Rabine. Pic: Loic Venance, Getty. 

There were tears at the final whistle at Stade de la Rabine last Saturday. And with good reason. RC Vannes had never played in the French Top 14 before this season, which made their 30-20 inaugural win against Lyon a genuinely historic moment. Rugby has not traditionally been a big deal in Brittany but, all of a sudden, the Breton public have become oval‑ball connoisseurs.

There were 11,792 crammed into the stadium and the hometown heroes in blue – even Mako Vunipola is a Vannes man these days – looked anything but a side happy to make up the top‑flight numbers for a season. No surprise there. The second‑tier league of French rugby, the Pro D2, is rising in quality and competitiveness each year, assisted by the latest huge broadcasting deal struck between Canal+ and the Ligue Nationale de Rugby.