Montpellier HR
Full nameMontpellier Hérault Rugby
Nickname(s)Les Cistes (The Rockroses)
Les Bleu et Blanc (The Bleu and Whites)
Founded1986 (1986)
LocationMontpellier, France
Ground(s)GGL Stadium (Capacity: 15,697)
ChairmanMohed Altrad
Coach(es)Patrice Collazo
Captain(s)Alexandre Bécognée
Yacouba Camara
Arthur Vincent
Most appearancesFulgence Ouedraogo (340)
Top scorerBenoît Paillaugue (1,368)
Most triesTimoci Nagusa (92)
League(s)Top 14
2022–2311th
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.montpellier-rugby.com

Montpellier Hérault Rugby (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃pɛlje eʁo ʁyɡbi klœb, -pəl-]; Occitan: Montpelhièr Erau Rugbi Club) is a French professional rugby union club, based in Montpellier, Occitanie and named after the Hérault river. The club competes in the top level of the French league system, the Top 14. They originally played at Stade Sabathé (capacity 5,000) but moved to the Stade Yves-du-Manoir, later known as Altrad Stadium, and since renamed the GGL Stadium, in 2007. They wear white and blue.

History

The club was established in 1986 through the merger of two other rugby union clubs, the Stade Montpelliérain and MUC Rugby.

In 1993 the club won the Challenge de l'Espérance.

In 2003 the club became the champion of France's second division national rugby league, the Pro D2. After finishing second in the league table at the end of the 2002–03 season, Montpellier advanced to the playoffs. They defeated Auch in the semi-finals and Tarbes in the finals to win promotion to the Top 14. The following season the club played for the European Shield, and contested the final. Played in May 2004, Montpellier defeated Italian club Viadana 25 points to 19 to win the Shield.

The club barely avoided relegation after the 2006–07 season. Winning only nine games during a twenty-six-game season, Montpellier found itself in a relegation position with only two games left to play. Thanks to a bonus-point victory in week 25, the team finished just four points ahead of Agen which was relegated to the Pro D2 at the end of the year.

After 2006–07, the club's fortunes began to improve. In June 2007, Fulgence Ouedraogo became the first Montpellier player to play on the French national rugby union team. That same summer the club's new stadium, the Stade Yves-du-Manoir (now GGL Stadium), opened. In 2007–08 Montpellier enjoyed its first winning season in the Top 14. The club made its next step up the table in 2010–11 when it unexpectedly finished sixth by a single point and made the Top 14 playoffs for the first time. The underdog squad defeated both Castres and Racing Métro to make the championship game where they were defeated 15–10 by Toulouse. Since that season, Montpellier has become a consistent playoff contender, finishing fifth in both 2011–12 and 2012–13 and second on the league table in 2013–14.

Thanks to the club's excellent 2010–11 showing, Montpellier was awarded its first spot in the Heineken Cup tournament for 2011–12. The club returned for the 2012–13 tournament and made the quarter-finals before being eliminated by Clermont. Montpellier returned for the final edition of the Heineken Cup in 2013–14, and are participating in the successor to the Heineken Cup, the European Rugby Champions Cup, in 2014–15.

From 2011 the club has been chaired and funded by Mohed Altrad.[1]

Honours

Finals results

Top 14

Date Winners Runners-up Score Venue Spectators
4 June 2011 Stade Toulousain Montpellier Hérault RC 15–10 Stade de France, Saint-Denis 77,000
2 June 2018 Castres Olympique Montpellier Hérault RC 29–13 Stade de France, Saint-Denis 79,441
24 June 2022 Montpellier Hérault RC Castres Olympique 29–10 Stade de France, Saint-Denis 78,245

European Shield

Date Winners Runners-up Score Venue Spectators
21 May 2004 Montpellier Hérault RC Viadana 25-19 Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma 2,553

European Challenge Cup

Date Winners Runners-up Score Venue Spectators
13 May 2016 Montpellier Hérault RC Harlequins 26-19 Grand Stade de Lyon, Lyon 28.556[2]
21 May 2021 Montpellier Hérault RC Leicester 18-17 Twickenham, London 10.000

Current standings

2023–24 Top 14 Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Diff. Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1Stade Français650115998+611022
2Pau650115495+591122
3Racing6401166114+521119
4Castres6401166122+441119
5Toulouse6402153129+241018
6Clermont6402154132+221018
7Toulon6303145122+230115
8Bordeaux Bègles6303124125-10115
9Lyon6204144170–261012
10La Rochelle6204119112+70111
11Bayonne620485130–450110
12Oyonnax6204112169-57008
13Montpellier610594142–48008
14Perpignan6105115230–115004

If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:

  1. Competition points earned in head-to-head matches
  2. Points difference in head-to-head matches
  3. Try differential in head-to-head matches
  4. Points difference in all matches
  5. Try differential in all matches
  6. Points scored in all matches
  7. Tries scored in all matches
  8. Fewer matches forfeited
  9. Classification in the previous Top 14 season
Green background (rows 1 and 2) receive semi-final play-off places and receive berths in the 2024–25 European Rugby Champions Cup.
Blue background (rows 3 to 6) receive quarter-final play-off places, and receive berths in the Champions Cup.
Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the 2024–25 European Rugby Challenge Cup.
Pink background (row 13) will be contest a play-off with the runners-up of the 2023–24 Rugby Pro D2 season for a place in the 2024–25 Top 14 season.
Red background (row 14) will be relegated to Rugby Pro D2. Updated: 2 September 2023

Current squad

The Montpellier squad for the 2023–24 season is:[3] [4]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Vano Karkadze Hooker Georgia (country) Georgia
Brandon Paenga-Amosa Hooker Australia Australia
Simon-Pierre Chauvac Prop France France
Baptiste Erdocio Prop France France
Grégory Fichten Prop France France
Enzo Forletta Prop France France
Luka Japaridze Prop Georgia (country) Georgia
Titi Lamositele Prop United States United States
Lasha Macharashvili Prop Georgia (country) Georgia
Henry Thomas Prop Wales Wales
Karl Tu'inukuafe Prop Tonga Tonga
Harry Williams Prop England England
Bastien Chalureau Lock France France
Tyler Duguid Lock Canada Canada
Nico Janse van Rensburg Lock South Africa South Africa
Florian Verhaeghe Lock France France
Paul Willemse Lock France France
Alexandre Bécognée Back row France France
Yacouba Camara Back row France France
Masivesi Dakuwaqa Back row Fiji Fiji
Clément Doumenc Back row France France
Lenni Nouchi Back row France France
Sam Simmonds Back row England England
Marco Tauleigne Back row France France
Player Position Union
Léo Coly Scrum-half France France
Martin Doan Scrum-half France France
Cobus Reinach Scrum-half South Africa South Africa
Louis Carbonel Fly-half France France
Louis Foursans-Bourdette Fly-half France France
Paolo Garbisi Fly-half Italy Italy
Auguste Cadot Centre France France
Thomas Darmon Centre France France
Jan Serfontein Centre South Africa South Africa
Arthur Vincent Centre France France
Alexandre De Nardi Wing France France
Ben Lam Wing Samoa Samoa
Pierre Lucas Wing France France
Gabriel N'Gandebe Wing France France
Anthony Bouthier Fullback France France
George Bridge Fullback New Zealand New Zealand
Julien Tisseron Fullback France France

Espoirs squad

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Luka Akrab Hooker France France
Adrien Sonzogni Hooker France France
Jules Veyrier Hooker France France
Adam Bouare Prop France France
Luka Kotorashvili Prop Georgia (country) Georgia
Tom Petit Prop France France
PJ Potasi Prop New Zealand New Zealand
Valentin Welsch Prop France France
Charlie Moss Lock Scotland Scotland
Maël Perrin Lock France France
Aurelien Barreau Back row France France
Romain Delemarle Back row France France
Maxim Ermakov Back row Russia Russia
Cantin Foguet Back row France France
Edgard Lubin Back row France France
Player Position Union
Aubin Eymeri Scrum-half France France
Romain Delemarle Fly-half France France
Giovanni Sante Fly-half Italy Italy
Lucas Berti Centre Chile Chile
Jules Ducros Centre France France
Karl Martin Centre Ireland Ireland
Titoan Rouvelet Centre France France
Ridhau Bey Wing South Africa South Africa
Julien Burguillos Wing France France
Gabin Rocher Wing France France
Jack Kellner Fullback France France
Axel Malaret Fullback France France

Notable former players

See also

References

  1. Savchuk, Katia (23 March 2015). "From Bedouin To Billionaire: Meet The Man Changing What It Means To Be French After Charlie Hebdo". Forbes. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
  2. "REPORT: Montpellier claim maiden Challenge Cup crown : European Rugby Challenge Cup (EPCR)". Archived from the original on 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  3. "Effectif - Montpellier Hérault Rugby" (in French). Montpellier Rugby. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  4. "Montpellier squad for season 2023/2024". All Rugby. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
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