Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais. A club that is more than just a sports team. Known more commonly in France as USAP, and in the English-speaking rugby world as Perpignan, they are the only professional rugby union side from French Catalonia. Nowadays, this area forms part of the region of Occitania. USAP remains one of its great flagbearers; a proud community which seldom has any representation at the top of the sporting tree.
Despite being embroiled in a Top 14 relegation scrap, Les Catalans have lifted the Bouclier de Brennus four times, most recently in 2009, and were consistently hitting the domestic heights. While rugby first appeared in Perpignan in the 1900s, the club was only formed in 1933 following the merger US Perpignan and Arlequins Club Perpignanais.
One result of this merger was the creation and ongoing use of the “Horizon Blue” jersey, a tribute to French soldiers who lost their lives in World War I, and a tradition which continues today.
It took only three years for USAP to win their first major trophy, the Challenge Yves du Manoir, defeating AS Montferrand in the final to take home the French Cup. In 1938, they would go on to claim the French league title, becoming, at the time, a massive juggernaut and a threat to the established powers. However, while historical facts and successes are always eye candy for the reader, they don’t truly tell us why USAP matters – and why you should try to fall in love with it.
While Perpignan is geopolitically integrated as part of Occitania, its heart and soul beat to the rhythm of the Catalan drum. Yes, they are French, but they are also Catalans, possessing a quite unique identity that is easily recognisable, be it for their ardent, fiery passion, their profound love of life, or their unbreakable survival instinct, all characteristics you will find in USAP. The club is an extension of the almost 300,000 people who call the region home.
It doesn’t matter if the USAP are fighting to win the Top14, wrestling to avoid relegation, or trying to overcome the mental and physical challenges of the ProD2; the Perpinyanès and Perpinyanesa won’t desert their team. Actually, it’s the other way around – they will support the club with even greater vigour through its periods of adversity. For the Catalans, this is a matter of identity, of cultural representation and respect. It is a matter of remaining true to their essence.
Tom Ecochard was not born here. The 33-year-old scrum half has played the entirety of his senior club career for USAP, having arrived in 2009, and is close to completing 300 matches for the side. In his words, USAP isn’t just a club.
Last season, 800 fans made the trip to Vannes – a 1,800-kilometre, 18-hour round trip by car. Two seasons ago, nearly 5,000 people descended upon Montpellier, 150 kilometres away.
“USAP represents not only a city, a region, but also a people who have their own identity and culture. When you put on the jersey, you have to understand that you are representing something greater than just a place. That’s what Perpignan is.
“USAP is like a religion for the French Catalan people, so you have to dignify it. Everybody knows the club, follows the team, and keeps up with how we are doing. It is a historical club that has been part of French rugby history for a long time. It is a club that has represented the region at a highest sporting level.”
Hugo Bové is of the same opinion, as the seasoned journalist from L’Indépendant learnt after years of reporting and following the club around, communing with fans, players and staff.
“All week long, people eagerly await the weekend match,” he says. “It’s the main topic of conversation for many people in the city. It’s also the only club in France to transport so many supporters over hundreds of kilometres. Last season, 800 fans made the trip to Vannes – a 1,800-kilometre, 18-hour round trip by car. Two seasons ago, nearly 5,000 people descended upon Montpellier, 150 kilometres away… There’s a real culture surrounding this club.”
As witnessed by Bové, even while the club is at its worst, Perpignan’s fanbase won’t vote with their feet.
“People are bound to be disappointed to see their team in this state. Sixteen years ago, USAP won the Bouclier de Brennus. That was a long time ago. But those generations are understandably struggling to see USAP fighting relegation every year. As I said earlier, the passion remains intact. It is a unique club that tends to leave its mark in every new Catalan generation.”
Amongst its uniqueness, USAP isn’t shy of showing its Catalan heritage and identity, and the best example of that is the L’Estaca, the club’s official anthem. Its lyrics portray the Catalan people’s quest for freedom, yoked to the metaphorical stake which was Francisco Franco’s Spain. Before any home fixture, supporters belt out the tune with thunderous gusto, as if laying down a challenge to the opposition.
“L’Estaca is not just an anthem for the fans, it is for the team as well,” says Ecochard, who has experienced the singing more than 100 times.
“I get fired up listening to it. It tells the history of the Catalan region and explains why we are so passionate about life. It defines us. Every time I hear it, I just want to run to the pitch and start playing.”
If you translate folie, it means ‘crazy’, but it is the good kind of crazy, with an undying, feverish passion and love for the colours of the region and the club. For me, that’s what Perpignan is.
That undying passion and love have often transcended to some more reprehensible situations, but for Bové, it is sometimes a case of misunderstanding.
“Just listen to [Scotland flanker and summer signing] Jamie Ritchie, who knows the superb atmosphere of Murrayfield well, saying he’d never seen anything like it in terms of passion. Here, everything is amplified tenfold. In my opinion, the broadcaster (Canal+) doesn’t give Catalan supporters enough exposure. Perhaps this is also due to the poor results… They are often spoken of negatively, when in fact they are simply incredible!”
For those fans, playing for the club can’t just be another step or chapter in the player’s careers, it has to mean much more than that.
“You can easily break down what USAP means for them and what we, the team, have to represent when we play: pride, fight and folie,” Ecochard goes on. “If you translate folie, it means ‘crazy’, but it is the good kind of crazy, with an undying, feverish passion and love for the colours of the region and the club. For me, that’s what Perpignan is, and that’s how I have been playing my whole life.”
The combo of folie and passion has supplied the Stade Aimé-Giral with vibrant and burning colours, engulfing the whole ground in an absolutely addictive frenzy. Bové, who, like Ecochard, wasn’t born or raised in this side of Catalonia, now considers the region and club his home.
“It’s a club that makes you want to give your all behind it. I am not Catalan, so I discovered this culture gradually. One of the most memorable moments was when the 5,000 supporters came to Montpellier and USAP turned the game around to win 20-25. Last June’s access match was also a good moment, with incredible suspense. USAP managed to win at the very end.”
And speaking of ecstatic and radiant stadium receptions, Ecochard reminisces about one of his favourite moments since his debut in 2012.
“Two years ago, I enjoyed one of the best games of my life. We faced Stade Toulousain at home, around 9pm. I was captaining the side, and I remember stepping onto the pitch when they turned off the lights, with fans turning on their phones and singing L’Estaca and Cantem mes forts. It was a wonderful environment, and it was even more special because we won that game.”
I was born in Narbonne, but I feel like a member of the French Catalan region nowadays. There’s no place like this.
Once a regular title prospect, USAP have endured a barren decade. They have twice dropped to the ProD2 and sit second bottom with just nine points from their opening 14 matches. USAP are the only rugby union show in town. The Catalan Dragons, in rugby league, are another huge draw in the opposite code. Yet even with a large and emotionally engaged fanbase, the club has struggled to attract investment.
“Money is, today, the sinews of war,” states Bové. “USAP has the lowest budget in the league if you exclude the teams promoted from ProD2. It isn’t easy to compete. There also aren’t any major sponsors unlike in Pau, for example, which allows for very rapid development. I repeat, we are in an area of France that is not very wealthy. This is sometimes noticeable.”
Despite its modest financial backdrop, for Ecochard, there’s no better place.
“For me, it is the best region of all of France,” he says, gazing up at the Canigó mountain long revered in Catalan culture. “I am biased: I moved here when I was young, met my wife here, and my two kids were born and raised in the region, and I am deeply in love with it.
“But that tells you why this region, its people, and its culture are so special. I was born in Narbonne, but I feel like a member of the French Catalan region nowadays. There’s no place like this, with such a blue sky, with the best wine, with so many good and warm people. I am a proud Catalan, now and forever.”
Ecochard’s love for Perpignan is palpable, and he isn’t an exception. Most of those who don the fabled jersey are bound to it by the same infectious sense of belonging.
While for some, facing a fight for survival season after season can feel like Dantean inferno, for Bové it is the quintessential core of what it means to be part of the USAP identity.
“To be loved in Perpignan, you have to be like this team. That means having grit, never giving up, and fighting to the very end. The Catalan fans love players with character like Jamie Ritchie, who is already adored here. There have been so many! Naturally, from Jean-François Imbernon to Bernard Goutta or Nicolas Mas, there have been a great many who have embodied the club’s soul and mind.”
It is easy to understand this intangible notion; a place where sports team and people merge into one. French Catalonia has waged many battles to preserve its identity; yet embraces newcomers from across the world. It doesn’t matter if you were born in Lisbon, Paris, Cairo, Auckland, Perth, Glasgow or Beijing… Perpignan will adopt you as one of their own, dress you in the USAP colours and teach you to sing the L’Estaca like they were your first words.
Unsurprisingly, Ecochard says it best. “You know you are in Perpignan when you see the blue skies, a glass of wine on a table, the Canigó in the backdrop and the colours of USAP’s flag flying in the wind.”
Brilliant article, the passion there is insane.