By their own admission, Bayonne do not have the strength in depth to compete on two fronts. They are sitting ninth domestically, so next week’s Top 14 game at home to a Castres side who sit just one point and one place below them is a bigger priority than hosting Leinster on Saturday in the Champions Cup (kick-off 3.15pm Irish time).
This game is a dead rubber for Bayonne after losing their opening three games. The forecast for rain may not encourage a fan base that sees the French championship as its Holy Grail. Nevertheless, the visit of four-time champions Leinster carries a certain cachet, not least for the players.
“The boys are hugely excited,” says Bayonne skills coach Nick Abendanon, the former Bath, Clermont and England fullback.
“Obviously that game [Castres] is the priority for us, but I think it’s important that players get game time before going into that. We don’t want guys coming two weeks off without having played.
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“We’re going to put out a good team. We’ll be putting out a better team than we did against Leicester, that’s for sure.” The Basque side suffered a 57-14 Champions Cup defeat to Leicester last Saturday.
He says Bayonne’s coaching staff often show their players clips of Leinster’s defence and attack as examples of excellence, even before this weekend’s meeting,
“I love the way that Leinster play,” Abendanon says.
“The game that they played against La Rochelle last week was just absolutely outstanding. I thought the intensity in every aspect of the game was of international level. So, it’s a great test for our boys.
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“There’s a lot of guys that have played a huge amount of minutes of rugby here, but they’ve come to the coach and they said, ‘We want to play against this team’. So that shows how excited they are about Leinster coming into town.”
South African-born Abendanon came through the Bath and English underage pathways, and on St Patrick’s Day in 2006 he scored twice on the wing in a 40-5 under-21 Six Nations win over Ireland in Worcester.
It came as little surprise when he swiftly won two caps for England in 2007, but having missed out on their World Cup squad, it seems astonishing that such a dangerous running fullback never added to that haul.
“It’s all about timing in this sport,” he says phlegmatically, noting that Matt Perry’s retirement opened the door for him at Bath before a toe operation hindered his chances with England as first Delon Armitage and then Mike Brown claimed the No.15 jersey.
“As soon as someone else comes in and takes the opportunity like Delon Armitage did, you’re history. In this sport if you don’t take opportunities when they’re there then it can be a cruel game.”
So, in 2014 at the age of 28, Abendanon joined Clermont. He stayed there six seasons and was part of the team that lost the 2015 Champions Cup final to Toulon in Twickenham. He picked up that year’s European Player of the Year award and won the Bouclier de Brennus shield in 2017 after beating Toulon in the final.
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“It’s a fantastic league, and especially going to a club like Clermont. Our team back when I played for them was absolutely outstanding, full of international superstars,” he says.
“It’s the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. I had a fantastic time at Claremont. I’ve played in some really awesome matches and won the Top 14 with them.
“We’re still here in France, so something must have gone right. My wife [Florence] is still with me. She hasn’t left me, so she’s happy as well. We’ve got three young kids, so it’s turned out pretty well.”
Just before finishing his playing career with a three-year stint in the Pro D2 at Vannes in 2022, his then coach Gerard Fraser – a well-travelled former Kiwi outhalf who had stints with Bayonne, L’Aquila and Bordeaux Bègles – asked him if he’d like to join him on the Bayonne coaching ticket as skills coach.
“I was going to try and get my golf handicap down as low as I could possibly get it. But the opportunity was too good to refuse,” he says.
Bayonne supporters have always believed themselves to be bigger and more authentic as both a rugby and Basque town.
But, after the club’s amateur section rejected a controversial merger with Biarritz in 2015, Bayonne became the definitive yo-yo club, with three relegations and three promotions in the seven completed seasons between 2014-15 and 2021-22 (2020-21 was cancelled).
At the end of the 2020-21 season, they finished 13th in the Top 14 and faced Biarritz in a remarkable promotion/relegation playoff, drawing 6-6 before losing a penalty shoot-out 6-5.
That might have broken them, but Bayonne bounced back straight away, beating Mont-de-Marsan in a promotion playoff by 49-22 and passing out Biarritz, who were immediately relegated.
While their neighbours have languished in the Pro D2 since, Bayonne have cemented their Top 14 standing by finishing eighth, 12th and fourth last season. Reaching the semi-finals before losing 32-25 away to Toulouse was Bayonne’s best campaign since their third French championship title in 1982.
“The clubs here can’t really exist without the backing of the local councils,” Abendanon says. “Thankfully, the current president, Philippe Tayeb, and the mayor in Bayonne came to an understanding that it [the rugby club] was something that could be very beneficial for Bayonne as a town and for the people of Bayonne.
“So, they put together this project to reconstruct the stadium and to try and make it into one of the best Top 14 clubs in France. We got to the semi-final last year, and hopefully now we’re here to stay.”
