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Montpellier Hérault Rugby

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Montpellier HR
Full nameMontpellier Hérault Rugby
Nickname(s)Les Cistes (The Rockroses)
Les Bleu et Blanc (The Bleu and Whites)
Founded1986; 38 years ago (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
2023–2413th
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.montpellier-rugby.com

Montpellier Hérault Rugby (MHR) (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

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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

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Finals results

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French championship

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

European Rugby Challenge Cup

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Date Winners Score Runners-up Venue Spectators
13 May 2016 France Montpellier Hérault RC 26-19 England Harlequins Grand Stade de Lyon, Lyon 28,556 [2]
21 May 2021 France Montpellier Hérault RC 18-17 England Leicester Twickenham, London 10,000

European Shield

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

Current standings

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2024–25 Top 14 Table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Toulouse 7 5 0 2 203 128 +75 24 15 2 2 24 Playoffs and Qualification for 2025–26 European Rugby Champions Cup
2 Bordeaux Bègles 7 5 0 2 258 171 +87 36 23 2 1 23
3 La Rochelle 7 5 0 2 194 172 +22 26 21 2 0 22
4 Toulon 7 4 0 3 167 134 +33 18 14 1 2 19
5 Clermont 7 4 0 3 176 182 −6 23 19 3 0 19
6 Castres 7 4 0 3 213 179 +34 24 19 1 2 19
7 Bayonne 7 4 0 3 184 175 +9 23 22 1 1 18 Qualification for 2025–26 European Rugby Champions Cup
8 Lyon 7 4 0 3 197 191 +6 21 21 1 1 18
9 Pau 7 3 0 4 170 192 −22 22 26 2 1 15 Qualification for 2025–26 European Rugby Challenge Cup
10 Racing 92 7 3 0 4 175 182 −7 20 21 0 2 14
11 Perpignan 7 3 0 4 123 179 −56 11 20 1 1 14
12 Montpellier 7 2 0 5 149 164 −15 15 17 0 2 10
13 Stade Français 7 2 0 5 131 211 −80 15 27 0 1 9 Qualification for Relegation play-off
14 Vannes 7 1 0 6 179 259 −80 22 34 0 3 7 Relegation to Pro D2
Updated to match(es) played on 20 October 2024. Source: Top 14


Current squad

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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
Christopher Tolofua Hooker France France
Nika Abuladze Prop Georgia (country) Georgia
Baptiste Erdocio Prop France France
Enzo Forletta Prop France France
Mohamed Haouas Prop France France
Wilfrid Hounkpatin Prop France France
Luka Japaridze Prop Georgia (country) Georgia
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
Nicolas Martins Back row Portugal Portugal
Lenni Nouchi Back row France France
Sam Simmonds Back row England England
Marco Tauleigne Back row France France
Billy Vunipola Back row England England
Player Position Union
Alexis Bernadet Scrum-half France France
Léo Coly Scrum-half France France
Cobus Reinach Scrum-half South Africa South Africa
Domingo Miotti Fly-half Argentina Argentina
Thomas Vincent Fly-half France France
Auguste Cadot Centre France France
Thomas Darmon Centre France France
Christa Powell Centre Fiji Fiji
Jan Serfontein Centre South Africa South Africa
Arthur Vincent Centre France France
George Bridge Wing New Zealand New Zealand
Pierre Lucas Wing France France
Gabriel N'Gandebe Wing France France
Madosh Tambwe Wing Democratic Republic of the Congo DR Congo
Anthony Bouthier Fullback France France
Stuart Hogg Fullback Scotland Scotland
Josh Moorby Fullback New Zealand New Zealand
Julien Tisseron Fullback France France

Espoirs squad

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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
Charlie Moss Lock Scotland Scotland
Nikoloz Chkhortolia Lock Georgia (country) Georgia
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
Romain Delemarle Fly-half France France
Giovanni Sante Fly-half Italy Italy
Lucas Berti Centre Chile Chile
Jules Ducros Centre France France
Titoan Rouvelet Centre France France
Ridhau Bey Wing South Africa South Africa
Julien Burguillos Wing France France
Jack Kellner Fullback France France

Notable former players

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See also

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References

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  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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