Duncan Casey: Descent into hell, and a heavenly rebound - the fascinating tales of French rugby's second tier

Grenoble find themselves in the playoff despite finishing top of the ProD2 with a staggering 98 points from 30 league matches. Sadly, despite seeming destined to clinch the title all season, they were undone by Montauban in the championship final last weekend. That in itself is a story that epitomises how professional rugby in France offers a level of drama and entertainment that is simply not found anywhere else in the world.

Montauban is a town of 60,000 people, 45 minutes from Toulouse, and its journey is one that many French clubs have faced since the turn of professionalism. 

Highs, lows, financial ruin and resurrection. I watched them lose narrowly to Munster, the defending Heineken Cup champions, in Thomond Park in 2008. I recall a drunken fan invading the pitch and tackling one of their players to the ground. Having put the kings of Europe to the pin of their collar on their own patch, Montauban were relegated to France’s semi-professional third tier two years later.

Their Wikipedia page lists this period as ‘La descente aux enfers’ – the descent into hell. A very French way of looking at things. Financial rules are strict in French rugby and the Ligue National de Rugby (LNR) can be ruthless with their application. Grenoble were previously jettisoned to the lower leagues and Munster man James Coughlan is currently in the throes of it as boss of Biarritz, who have as of now, been relegated to the third tier due to poor financial health.

After spending four years in the Fédérale 1, Montauban were promoted to the ProD2 in 2014. To describe their form since then as inconsistent would be a gross understatement. Just last year, they retained their status as a second tier outfit by the skin of their teeth, defeating Narbonne by a single point to win the ProD2’s promotion/relegation playoff. A year on, and they are celebrating winning the league. Not a bad 12 months, is it?

The most impressive aspect of their success is how unlikely it all seemed to be, right to the very end. They scraped into sixth position, finishing level on points with Beziers, who had a significantly better points difference than them. In France, positional ties are determined by head-to-head encounters during the season, so Montauban came out on top. That was a big enough achievement in itself after the previous year, and few gave them a chance of progressing past that stage.

Away victories are a rarity in France’s second tier, and are even more of a rarity in playoff rugby. Despite this, Montauban surprised many by beating their southwest rivals Colomiers in the quarter-finals, before shocking many by beating Brive – once again away from home – in the semis. At that point, their confidence was sky high and Grenoble’s success in the final was far from certain. 

As they had done the previous two weeks, they found a way to rattle and beat a side that was, objectively speaking, far stronger on paper.

It's not widely known but there was some Irish interest in the final. If you were to ask casual followers of Irish rugby who Frank Bradshaw Ryan is, few enough outside Limerick would be able to tell you. The 6’ 8", 120kg Shannon second row is someone I lined out with a few times in blue and black, prior to his initial move to France in 2016. Things never really progressed for Frank at Munster but he didn’t let that deter him from his ambitions of having a career in professional rugby.

An opportunity came up to join third division outfit Auch and with the exception of a one-season spell back in Ulster in 2022, he has been playing in France since then. After eight games with Auch, he graduated to Nevers in the ProD2 and made 101 appearances for the club. He didn’t figure in last weekend’s final, missing out and playing the role of 24th man, but his 15 games during the campaign mean he has a ProD2 winners’ medal to show for his efforts and next season, he will be one of the few Irishmen plying their trade in the Top 14.

Like his fellow giant, John Madigan from Charleville, who I have previously written about in these pages, Frank’s story of the road less travelled is a terrific lesson in perseverance, resilience and belief in oneself. While it doesn’t happen often these days, France still offers a route to a life as a professional athlete for players who do not fit into what is, at times, a narrowly focused provincial system. French clubs are much more willing to roll the dice on players and give them a crack. 

If it doesn’t work out, no big deal, but nothing ventured nothing gained and all that.

Now back to Grenoble, and what the playoff this Saturday means for them. By any metric, the city is sport obsessed, and they are spoiled for choice. Football team Grenoble Foot 38 play in France’s Ligue 2, and ice hockey team Brûleurs de Loups (Wolf Burners) won the French championship in 2022. Winter sports are hugely popular in general due to the town’s close proximity to the Alps. Despite this, Grenoble retains a small-town feel with its rugby club.

I always felt very attached to the supporters of the club and there was a nice, but not overly imposing, level of familiarity, which felt like a throw back to the amateur era (like many things in French rugby, good and bad). The same dozen or so people would come to the training ground to see us off on our bus to away games. The operation of the club hinged entirely on our volunteers – retired men who loved the team and wanted to give their time and energy to help out.

You would always get a handshake, a slap on the back and a genuine conversation when you were out and about in town, and there seemed to be a genuine connection with the club around every corner. I remember going into a patisserie to order an almond and chocolate croissant (my go-to) and the elderly owner explaining that he used to be the guy who dressed up in the mammoth costume as our mascot.

The mobility of players between clubs in France today means it’s a real novelty when a home-grown player makes the grade and stays around. An even bigger deal is when that player becomes club captain, as flanker Antonin Berruyer current is in Grenoble today. 

Anto won a Junior World Cup with the France 20s when I was at the club and was hotly tipped to go on and play for France. Less than a year later, we were called to an urgent meeting at the training ground and informed that Anto, at 20 years of age, had suffered a stroke the evening before.

Luckily, he was in the presence of his best friend Killian Geraci (now playing with Lyon) and was able to get swift medical attention. While his overall prognosis was positive, it was less so for his rugby career. To their eternal credit, the club stood by him for over two and a half years while he worked relentlessly to get back on the pitch. Not only did he manage to do so, he has gone on to excel for the club and repay the faith they showed in droves.

As captain, he was instrumental in their dominance of the regular season and he seems to be getting better every year. A remarkable story, one there is a documentary in I reckon. I was at the club the last time it gained promotion to the Top 14, in similar circumstances to now. We were hammered by Perpignan in the ProD2 final on Sunday and faced Oyonnax in the playoff the following Saturday. We went on the piss and didn’t reassemble until Wednesday.

The buzz around the city was incredible and it will be the exact same this week. I tore my calf against Perpignan so unfortunately, had to settle for soaking up the atmosphere of 20,000 people watching a do-or-die match on a sunny afternoon in the south of France. Not the worst alternative to playing. 

The lads destroyed Oyonnax that day and we went up, to the elation of the entire city. Hopefully for everyone involved at the club but especially, Antonin Berruyer, those scenes will be replicated again on Saturday.