2. CS Bourgoin-Jallieu
Former leading side in the French top division, CS Bourgoin-Jallieu hold the unique accolade of being the first ever winners of the European Challenge Cup. The first ever Challenge Cup was launched alongside the debuting Champions Cup in 1997, with the French sides out to dominate the secondary European competition. Following the blue-washed pool stages, seven of the eight quarter-finalists were French clubs, with the lonesome Northampton Saints out to maintain the reputation of the Premiership.
The Saints were soon dispatched by now Pro Rugby D2 side Narbonne, for an all-French final four. Bourgoin sent Narbonne out of the competition, and a date with Castres Olympique was set to determine the first ever winner of the newly founded ‘European Shield.’ Bourgoin claimed the first-ever honours, after an 18-9 triumph in Beziers.
Bourgoin would be back in the final two years later, yet could only bring runners-up medals home against a powerful Montferrand (today’s Clermont Auvergne). A third trip to the final in 2009 saw Bourgoin defeated by Northampton Saints, with financial trouble set to come in the early 2010s. Bourgoin entered financial difficulties, and began to slip down the leagues, to the point where the side now currently plays in the French third division, Ligue Nationale.