US Montauban

US Montauban
Full name Union Sportive Montalbanaise
Union Fédération Française de Rugby
Founded 1903
Location Montauban, France
Ground(s) Stade Sapiac (Capacity: 11,500)
President Robert Gomes
Coach(es) Sébastien Calvet
League(s) Pro D2
2013–14 Champion of Fédérale 1, promoted
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.mtgxv.com

US Montauban is a French rugby union club that currently competes in Rugby Pro D2, the second level of the country's professional league system. They have also competed at the top level, Top 14, in the past, most recently between 2007 and 2010. The club is based in Montauban in the département of Tarn-et-Garonne in Midi-Pyrénées.

In April 2010, it was announced the club would be relegated from the Top 14 to the Rugby Pro D2 at the end of the 2009/2010 season after breaking budget rules for the league. Although the club appealed the ruling it started to release players to reduce its budget.[1] The club was not in the relegation zone at the time, thereby saving CS Bourgoin-Jallieu, Aviron Bayonnais and Montpellier Hérault RC a nervous run in as they were in the relegation battle with Montauban. On the 26 April 2010, the club filed for bankruptcy at a commercial court following a meeting of the club's board of directors.[2]

On 24 May 2014, it was announced that they had won promotion back to Pro D2 for the 2014–15 season as a result of winning the Fédérale 1 semi-final 35 – 12 against Lille Métropole Rugby.[3] They went on to win the Fédérale 1 title, defeating Massy 18–14 in the final [4]

History

The club was established in 1903. The club made its first championship appearance in the 1967 season, when it captured its first championship title, defeating CA Bègles 11 points to 3 in Bordeaux. It gained promotion from Pro D2 for the 2006-07 season.

In its first match of the 2006-07 season, Montauban defeated Narbonne 41-20, gaining five points (including a bonus point) to go to second in the table after round one. The team continued in surprisingly strong form for a newly promoted team, notably handing early runaway league leaders Stade Français their first defeat of the season, 15-9, in Round 10 on 6 October. Montauban ended the season in seventh place, a respectable position for a newly promoted team. The 2007-08 season saw it consolidate its Top 14 position, again finishing seventh. Because Toulouse advanced to the final of the that year's Heineken Cup, which was farther than any team from England or Italy, Montauban was given a place in the 2008-09 Heineken Cup, pooled with champions Munster.

Current standings

2014–15 Rugby Pro D2 Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Pau 28 20 1 7 704 472 +232 93
2 Agen 28 17 0 11 688 559 +129 79
3 Mont-de-Marsan 28 17 0 11 628 506 +122 77
4 Perpignan 28 16 1 11 697 570 +127 77
5 Albi 28 16 0 12 595 558 +37 72
6 Biarritz 28 16 0 12 593 534 +59 72
7 Aurillac 28 15 2 11 593 531 +62 72
8 Colomiers 28 15 0 13 584 571 +13 65
9 Béziers 28 13 0 15 591 585 +6 59
10 Montauban 28 12 1 15 551 576 –25 59
11 Carcassonne 28 13 0 15 624 658 –34 58
12 Tarbes 28 12 2 14 573 697 −124 57
13 Bourgoin 28 10 3 15 478 591 –113 47
14 Narbonne 28 10 1 17 527 682 −155 45
15 Dax 28 9 1 18 469 612 −143 43
16 Massy 28 7 0 21 584 777 −193 37
Green background (row 1) Champions automatically promoted to Top 14. Blue background denotes teams that qualify for the promotion play-offs. Red background (row 15 and 16) will be relegated to Fédérale 1. Updated: 27 April 2015

Honours

Finals results

French championship

Date Winner Runner-up Score Venue Attendance
28 May 1967 US Montauban CA Bègles 11-3 Parc Lescure, Bordeaux 32,115

Trophée Jean-Prat

Date Winner Runner-up Score Venue Attendance
7 June 2014 US Montauban RC Massy 18-14 Stade Jean-Antoine Moueix, Libourne 4,500

References

  1. ↑ http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9818_6079678,00.html
  2. ↑ http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/30042010/58/top-14-montauban-file-bankruptcy.html
  3. ↑ "Demi-finale Fédérale 1 - Massy et Montauban retrouvent la Pro D2" (in French). Midi Olympique. 24 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Rugby: Montauban champion de France de Fédérale 1". L'Équipe (in French). 7 June 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.

External links