The club we realize as Lyon OlympiqueUniversitaire nowadays changed into based in 1896. However, it had a different call back then. At first, the membership became referred to as the Racing Club since it was fashioned with the aid of the merger of Racing Club de Vaise and the Rugby Club de Lyon.

The membership merged with some other sides and changed its name to Racing et CerclesRéunis in 1902. Merely months after taking up their new name, the club rebranded themselves as Lyon Olympique.

That 12 months, the membership also announced they would adopt purple and black as their professional shades. While the call change didn’t stick, the sun shades of purple and black did. To at the present time, LOU players put on the ones hues.

Lyon Olympique did now not win the French championships within the following years. But they have become a outstanding name in the country wide rugby scene. Lyon 1/3-line Noël Cessieuxwere given the call for France’s historical, first-ever international union rugby healthy in 1906.

In 1910, the club underwent every other call exchange and became referred to as Lyon OlympiqueUniversitaire. The name change observed the membership associating itself with AS de l’Écolecentrale de Lyon, one of the pinnacle engineering colleges in France. Hence the time period Universitaire got into their name. The association gave Lyon access to a pool of young abilties. The membership hasn’t pursued further rebranding due to the fact then.

Between 1920 and 1930, LOU shifted the power dynamics in the Lyon location. They made some fantastic recruitments from Languedoc-Roussillon, who played a primary position in LOU dethroning FC Lyon as the maximum dominating rugby force in Lyon. The Red and Blacks took domestic several Lyonnais regional championships inside this period.

In the ’30s, LOU relayed their local dominance to the countrywide stage. They completed runner-u.S.A.Inside the French championships in 1931. In the subsequent two years, they picked up returned-to-lower back titles. In 1933, they secured a double, winning the Yves du Manoir Challenge and the national championship trophy, the Bouclier de Brennus.

After World War II, LOU experienced a period of decline. Not just LOU, the complete Lyonnais area had a rugby union slump as soccer have become extra popular. In addition, the emergence of rugby league further depleted the union skills pool.

The membership got relegated multiple instances in next years, and once they did go back to the pinnacle flight, they rarely made it to the knock-out ranges. However, the membership received the second department in 1989 and 1992. After triumphing the French championship in 1933, those were the most effective additional pieces of silverware LOU managed to feature to their trophy cabinet earlier than the flip of the millennium.

The club won 3 extra 2d-division titles in 2011, 2014, and 2016. After their 2016 D2 triumph, LOU have remained within the Top 14. They have additionally made some top-4 finishes. In 2018, they disappointed warm favorites FC Toulon to reach the semifinals. However, they couldn't recreate that feat towards Louis Picamoles’ Montpellier HR and suffered a heavy defeat.

LOU had a shot at revenge the subsequent season, and that they made right use of it! The Lyon outfit removed Montpellier from returning to the semis. But yet again, their campaign could not increase in addition as they lost to Clermont.

LOU received their first European title as they got here out on top of Toulon in the European Challenge Cup final in May 2022. On their manner to StadeVélodrome, that they had visible off the Wasps, Glasgow Scots, and Worcester.