Stade Francais

In the professional era of French rugby, Stade Français have been one of France's most dominant sides. In fact, since the turn of the millennium, Stade Français have won the French championship five times. In the team's history, they've been crowned as the champions of France on a colossal 14 occasions.

Read on to discover even more about Stade Français. On this page you'll find all of the latest Stade Français news, as well as an overview of the team's upcoming fixtures and recent results.

The original Stade Français team was founded back in 1883. However, the modern day Stade Français team was actually formed in 1995 when the rugby sections of Stade Français and Club Athlétique des Sports Généraux merged. The team was immediately successful, too. Only three years later, they won the French championship for the first time since 1908.  

By the turn of the millennium, the team was regularly competing for domestic and European honours. They reached the final of the European Rugby Champions Cup (then known as the Heineken Cup) in 2001 and they won the French league in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, the team reached the final of the French league and the Heineken Cup. However, Stade Français were on the losing side on both occasions.

But, things haven't always been rosy for Stade Français. In 2010-11, the team faced serious financial issues and only narrowly avoided an administrative relegation. Then, in 2017, the team almost merged with Racing 92. However, the move was aborted when the players said they would strike.

Shortly following the failed merger, the ownership of Stade Français changed. As a result, the good times returned to Stade Français. The team continues to be highly competitive in the Top 14 and the team even won the European Rugby Challenge Cup in 2017. Now, the team has a focus on developing and improving young French players.

Due to the team's success since the millennium, a number of international stars have played for Stade Français, including England flanker James Haskell, Australia scrum-half Will Genia and New Zealand half back Byron Kelleher. In fact, a number of current internationals still play for Stade Français today. These players include Australia hooker Tolu Latu and France lock Yoann Maestri.