Montpellier Hérault Rugby

Montpellier
Full name Montpellier Hérault Rugby
Nickname(s) Les Cistes, The Cistuses
Founded 1986 (1986)
Location Montpellier, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Ground(s) Altrad Stadium (Capacity: 14,700)
President Roy Spiers
Coach(es) Jake White
Captain(s) Fulgence Ouedraogo
League(s) Top 14
2013–14 2nd (playoff semi-finalists)
Team kit
2nd kit
3rd kit
Official website
www.montpellier-rugby.com

Montpellier Hérault Rugby (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃.pə.lje eʁo ʁʊɡbi klʊb]) (In Occitan: Montpelhièr Erau Rugbi Club) is a professional French rugby union, based in Montpellier, the capital of Languedoc-Roussillon. The club competes in the top level of the French league system, in the Top 14. They originally played at Stade Sabathé (capacity 5,000) but moved to the Stade Yves-du-Manoir, now known as Altrad 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 9 games during a 26-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. Also that summer the club's new stadium opened, the Stade Yves-du-Manoir (renamed Altrad Stadium in 2014). 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 semi-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.

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

European Shield

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

Current standings

2015–16 Top 14 Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Diff. Tries For Tries Against Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Clermont (X) 23 16 1 6 631 391 +240 64 29 9 4 79
2 Montpellier 23 16 0 7 643 492 +151 70 43 7 2 73
3 Toulon 23 14 0 9 647 394 +253 74 33 9 7 72
4 Racing 23 15 1 7 501 470 +31 50 41 4 2 68
5 Toulouse 23 13 2 8 580 351 +229 67 30 6 4 66
6 Bordeaux 23 13 2 8 499 433 +66 39 36 2 3 61
7 Castres 23 12 0 11 523 442 +81 53 29 5 5 58
8 La Rochelle 23 11 0 12 511 502 +9 46 43 4 6 54
9 Brive 23 11 1 11 442 477 −35 30 43 2 4 52
10 Grenoble 23 10 0 13 555 652 −97 55 74 4 3 47
11 Pau 23 9 1 13 368 574 −206 25 63 1 2 41
12 Stade Français 23 8 0 15 491 534 −43 44 51 2 3 37
13 Oyonnax (R) 23 5 0 18 373 774 −401 34 90 2 0 22
14 Agen (R) 23 4 0 19 469 747 −278 43 80 1 4 21

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 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup.
Blue background (rows 3 to 6) receive quarter-final play-off places, and receive berths in the Champions Cup.
Yellow background (row 7) indicates the team that may qualify for the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup. To facilitate the 2015 Rugby World Cup, there will be no play-offs for the Champions Cup with the 20th place going to the winner of the 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup if not already qualified.
Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
Red background (row 13 and 14) will be relegated to Rugby Pro D2. Updated 8 May 2016

Current squad

For player movements leading up to the 2016–17 season, see List of 2016–17 Top 14 transfers § Montpellier.

2015-16 Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union
Charles Geli Hooker France France
Mickaël Ivaldi Hooker France France
Bismarck du Plessis Hooker South Africa South Africa
Thomas Sauveterre Hooker France France
Clément Castets Prop France France
Pat Cilliers Prop South Africa South Africa
Jannie du Plessis Prop South Africa South Africa
Mohammed Haouas Prop France France
Oleg Ishchenko Prop France France
Nicolas Mas Prop France France
Schalk van der Merwe Prop South Africa South Africa
Davit Kubriashvili Prop Georgia (country) Georgia
Mikheil Nariashvili Prop Georgia (country) Georgia
Yvan Watremez Prop France France
Johan Aliouat Lock France France
Julien Delannoy Lock France France
Tom Donnelly Lock New Zealand New Zealand
Thibaut Privat Lock France France
Robins Tchale-Watchou Lock Cameroon Cameroon
Sitaleki Timani Lock Australia Australia
Paul Willemse Lock South Africa South Africa
Antoine Battut Flanker France France
Jacques du Plessis Flanker South Africa South Africa
Tristan Labouteley Flanker France France
Wiaan Liebenberg Flanker South Africa South Africa
Fulgence Ouedraogo Flanker France France
Akapusi Qera Flanker Fiji Fiji
Martin Devergie Number 8 France France
Kélian Galletier Number 8 France France
Ben Mowen Number 8 Australia Australia
Pierre Spies Number 8 South Africa South Africa
Player Position Union
Benoît Paillaugue Scrum-half France France
Nic White Scrum-half Australia Australia
Cameron Wright Scrum-half South Africa South Africa
Demetri Catrakilis Fly-half South Africa South Africa
Ben Lucas Fly-half Australia Australia
François Trinh-Duc Fly-half France France
Robert Ebersohn Centre South Africa South Africa
Ilian Perraux Centre France France
François Steyn Centre South Africa South Africa
Anthony Tuitavake Centre New Zealand New Zealand
Benjamin Fall Wing France France
Julien Malzieu Wing France France
Timoci Nagusa Wing Fiji Fiji
Seveci Nakailagi Wing Fiji Fiji
Marvin O'Connor Wing France France
Pierre Berard Fullback France France
Anthony Floch Fullback France France
Jesse Mogg Fullback Australia Australia

Notable former players

See also

References

    External links

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