rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
Essonne
Essonne () is a department in the southern part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659, across 194 communes.nationale, the third tier of the French league system.
They are based in
Massy, Essonne
Massy () is a Communes of France, commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 14.7 kilometres (9.1 mi) from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris.
Population
Massy underwent rapid development within a short period of ti ...
, in the southern suburbs of Paris and were founded in 1971. They were promoted from the
Fédérale 1
The championnat de France de rugby à XV de 1re division fédérale (), a.k.a. Fédérale 1 (), is a French rugby union club competition, it is the elite of amateur rugby in France. The competition has been organised by the Fédération Français ...
at the end of the 2011–12 season, entering professional rugby for the first time in their history.
Their stay in
Pro D2
The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...
was short-lived: they were demoted at the end of the
2012–13 Rugby Pro D2 season
The 2012–13 Rugby Pro D2 is the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2012–13 season. It ran alongside the 2012–13 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR ...
. On 24 May 2014, it was announced that they had won promotion back to
Pro D2
The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...
Fédérale 1
The championnat de France de rugby à XV de 1re division fédérale (), a.k.a. Fédérale 1 (), is a French rugby union club competition, it is the elite of amateur rugby in France. The competition has been organised by the Fédération Français ...
semi-final 17 – 9 against Tyrosse. They went on to lose the final 18–14 to
Montauban
Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...
.
Massy were again relegated after only one season, finishing bottom on the 2014–15 Pro D2 table. They would return to Pro D2 after winning the promotion group in the 2016–17 Fédérale 1 regular season.