Montpellier

History of Montpellier Hérault Rugby 

The Montpellier rugby team is considered to be one of the very best in France. However, the club itself is actually relatively young. In fact, the modern day Montpellier Rugby Club was only formed in 1986, when the Stade Montpelliérain and MUC Rugby sides merged. Today, the club is formally known as Montpellier Hérault Rugby, and the team is named after the Hérault River, which runs past the city.

Following the 1986 merger, the newly-formed Montpellier rugby side were competitive immediately. Only seven years after the club initially formed,  the Montpellier rugby team won the Challenge de l'Espérance. Then, only a decade later, the side became the champions of France's second division, the Pro D2. Following this, in the side's first year in the top flight, they won the European Shield, which was a third-tier competition in Europe at the time.

In 2007, the club came close to relegation. However, ever since, they’ve gone from strength to strength. They now regularly qualify for the playoff phase of the Top 14, and they won the competition outright for the first time in 2022. In addition, the team has also been highly successful in European competitions in recent years. They won the European Rugby Challenge Cup in 2016, 2021 and 2026. 

Keep up-to-date with the progress of the Montpellier rugby team with the rugby gurus at RugbyPass. On this page we’ll cover all of the team’s key achievements, as well as their latest results and upcoming fixtures.