Aviron Bayonnais, commonly called Bayonne, is a French rugby union club from Bayonne in Pyrénées-Atlantiques which, for the 2016-17 season, competed in the top tier of the French league system, in the Top 14 competition. In the 2015–16 Rugby Pro D2 Season they were promoted after finishing 2nd and winning the playoff final against Aurillac. In the 2016-2017 season, they finished in last place, and will be relegated back to Pro D2 for the 2017-18 season. Founded in 1904, they play at the Parc des Sports also known as Stade Jean-Dauger in Bayonne. Their mascot is a pottok pony called pottoka. They have ties to the French Basque community.

Pyrénées-Atlantiques is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlantic Ocean, it covers the French Basque Country and the Béarn. Its prefecture is Pau. In 2019, it had a population of 682,621.