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
European Shield
Current standings
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Club |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Points For |
Points Against |
Points Difference |
Tries For |
Tries Against |
Try Bonus |
Losing Bonus |
Points |
| 1 | Racing | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 309 | 260 | +49 | 31 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 48 |
| 2 | Toulon | 15 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 460 | 285 | +175 | 53 | 25 | 6 | 4 | 46 |
| 3 | Toulouse | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 371 | 204 | +167 | 44 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 43 |
| 4 | Clermont | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 368 | 251 | +117 | 35 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 43 |
| 5 | Bordeaux | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 314 | 284 | +30 | 22 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 41 |
| 6 | Montpellier | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 348 | 337 | +11 | 34 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 37 |
| 7 | Brive | 14 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 269 | 243 | +26 | 15 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 36 |
| 8 | Castres | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 311 | 301 | +10 | 32 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 33 |
| 9 | La Rochelle | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 292 | 309 | −17 | 25 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 30 |
| 10 | Grenoble | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 358 | 382 | −24 | 35 | 42 | 3 | 2 | 29 |
| 11 | Stade Français | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 277 | 302 | −25 | 22 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 26 |
| 12 | Pau | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 226 | 386 | −160 | 16 | 44 | 0 | 2 | 24 |
| 13 | Oyonnax | 14 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 233 | 455 | −222 | 19 | 51 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| 14 | Agen | 14 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 278 | 415 | −137 | 20 | 38 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
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If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
- Competition points earned in head-to-head matches
- Points difference in head-to-head matches
- Try differential in head-to-head matches
- Points difference in all matches
- Try differential in all matches
- Points scored in all matches
- Tries scored in all matches
- Fewer matches forfeited
- Classification in the previous Top 14 season
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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 21 February 2016
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Current squad
2015-16
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.
Notable former players
See also
References
External links
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| | 2015–16 Teams | |
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| | The origins | |
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| | Between the wars | |
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| | During the second world war | |
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| | After the second world war | |
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| | 1960–80 | |
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| | 1980–95 | |
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| | Professional era and Top 16 | |
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| | Top 14 | |
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| | Trophy | |
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| | | | 2015–16 teams | |
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| Heineken Cup
(1995-2014) | |
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| Champions Cup
(2014-present) | |
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| | Qualification play-off | |
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| | Governing body | |
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| | National teams | |
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| | Competitions | | International | |
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| Professional
clubs | |
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| | Related articles | |
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