Rugby Club CERN explained

Teamname:Rugby Club CERN
Fullname:Rugby Club CERN - Meyrin - St Genis
Location:Geneva, Switzerland
Shortname:RC CMSG
Countryflag:
Founded:1965
Ground:Stade des Serves
46.2393°N 6.0371°W
Stade de Meyrin
46.2334°N 6.0708°W
President: Grégory Bertrand
Captain: Kévin Boonroy Nicolas Baronciani
Coach: Gica Vacariu
Url:www.cern-rugby.ch
League:Swiss 2nd Division
Season:2018-19
Position:8th and relegated from 1st Division
Pattern La1:_whitelower
Pattern Ra1:_whitelower
Pattern Sh1:_blue_stripes_adidas
Leftarm1:87ceeb
Body1:3333FF
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Rugby Club CERN - Meyrin - St Genis (RC CMSG) are a semi-professional Swiss rugby union club situated on the French–Swiss border, 5km (03miles) northwest of Geneva. The club plays in the Swiss first division where it is one of the most successful teams in the country's history, behind Hermance RRC.[1]

Club history

RC CMSG was formed as Rugby Club du CERN (Rugby Club of CERN) in 1965,[2] making it the oldest club currently playing in Switzerland. The earliest recorded match in Switzerland was in 1869 and if they were still in existence, Lausanne RFC could have claimed to be as old as Blackheath.[3] The club was originally formed by staff of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in around 1960, playing against other companies and organizations in the Geneva area. In 1970, RC CERN organised a memorial competition, Challenge Laurent Membrez,[4] in honor of Laurent Membrez, the founder of Albaladejo Rugby Club.[5] This led to the creation of the Swiss Rugby Federation in 1972 with the then president of RC CERN, André Cordaillat, becoming the federation's first president.[6] In 1984, the club moved to its present ground just across the border in Saint-Genis-Pouilly, France; despite being officially renamed to Rugby Club CERN - St Genis, it was still referred to as RC CERN. Then in 2003 the club merged with the successful Ecole de rugby Meyrin (Meyrin Rugby School), creating the present Rugby Club CERN - Meyrin - St Genis with two stadiums, one in France and one in Switzerland. In 2005, the Wildcats,[7] RC CMSG's women's rugby team, were created, adding to the growth of women's rugby in Switzerland.

After the creation of the Swiss Federation, the club enjoyed considerable success, winning both the Swiss Championship and Swiss Cup repeatedly. In the early 1990s, the fortunes of the club started to change and their successes became less frequent, with the club eventually being relegated to the second division in 1994. The club regained promotion a couple of years later but were only to remain in the first division for a further two years. After a dispute between players, coaches and management, the president removed the club from all competitions. In the autumn of 2000, a new management took control of the club, bringing in ex-England B,[8] Ireland A,[9] Northampton and Gloucester[10] second row, John Etheridge, as coach. The club then won the third and second divisions in consecutive years, but were unable to stay in the first division, and after the second relegation from the first division, Etheridge left the club. In 2007, RC CMSG appointed Claude Ezoua as head coach, who notably took the Ivory Coast rugby team to the 1995 Rugby World Cup. The club then achieved promotion back to the first division in the 2008–2009 season, losing only one game in the whole season, with the club managing to stay in the first division during the 2009–2010 season for the first time in 15 years. RC CMSG slowly climbed to the top of table, each season finishing higher than the previous, and making the league knock-out stages for three consecutive seasons. In 2014 CERN re-enforced the coaching setup with the ex-Romanian national squad captain Ioan Doja who represented his country at the World Cup,[11] also playing teams such as for Oyonnax.

The January 2015 General Assembly voted in new club president Grégory Bertrand, long time member of the club. Due to a number of players leaving the club, the management asked the Swiss Federation for the club to be relegated to the second division for the 2015/2016 season after 6 years in the first division. The 2015/2016 season saw CERN undefeated at home and following the league play off matches they were promoted back to the first division after only one season in the second division.

Club honours

CompetitionsYears
Swiss Champions (NLA)1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1991
Swiss Champions (LNFA- Wildcats)2018
Swiss Cup1973, 1974, 1977, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992
Federation Cup1975, 1991
Second Division Champions (NLB)1998, 2002, 2009, 2016
Third Division Champions (NLC)2001

Presidents

1965 – 1972André Cordaillat
1972 – 1975Michael Gamble
1976 – 1991Jacques Morand
1992 - 1993Pascal Mesenge
1994 - 1995Neil Calder
1996 - 1998Henri Masseboeuf
1999 - 2000Roger Girardot
2001 - 2003Ray Veness
2004 - 2005Matteo Mazzanti
2005 - 2015Peter MacAvock
2015 - 2020Grégory Bertrand
2020 - 2021Thierry Nicod
2021 - 2024Sabrina El yacoubi

Coaches

Men

1965 – 1996?
1996 – 1999Christian Marcon
1999 – 2000Eric Planes
2000 - 2007John Etheridge
2007Ali Day Damian Moore
2007 - 2010Claude Ezoua Ali Day
2010 - 2011Ali Day Gianni Di Martino
2011 - 2014Sebastien Frunza Yann Mauvoisin
2014 - 2015Sebastien Frunza Ioan Doja
2015 - 2018Ioan Doja Yann Mauvoisin
2018 - 2019Yann Mauvoisin Vicent Suchaud Gabriel Trochard Michael Conway
2019 - Gica Vacariu

Women (Wildcats)

2005Paul Clements-Hunt
2005 - 2007Ali Day
2007 - 2008Gianni Di Martino
2008 - 2015Moyenda Chaponda
2015 - 2018Christian Von Arx
2021 - 2024Amy Berthaut Farr
2023 - 2024Julie Coupard

See also

References

  1. Web site: Ligue A.
  2. Web site: Contacts Clubs.
  3. Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997) p 75
  4. Web site: Rugby Club Zurich - Teams . www.rugbyzurich.ch . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070925052250/http://www.rugbyzurich.ch/teams.php . 2007-09-25.
  5. Web site: Rugby Club Albaldejor . www.albaladejorugby.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081009070109/http://www.albaladejorugby.com/club.php . 2008-10-09.
  6. Web site: Suisse Rugby.
  7. Web site: Wildcats Instagram.
  8. Web site: Etheridge, John.
  9. Web site: Rugby Union: Field comes in at centre for Ireland: Malone man's debut. Independent.co.uk. 22 October 2011.
  10. Web site: Rugby Union: Beal edges it for the Saints. Independent.co.uk. 23 October 2011.
  11. Web site: Ioan Doja.