AS Béziers Hérault
 | |||
| Union | Fédération Française de Rugby | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1911 | ||
| Location | Béziers, France | ||
| Ground(s) | Stade de la Méditerranée (Capacity: 18,555) | ||
| President | Cédric Bistué | ||
| Coach(es) |
Manny Edmonds Christophe Hamacek | ||
| League(s) | Pro D2 | ||
| 2017–18 | 5th (playoff quarter-finalists) | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
|
www | |||
Association Sportive Béziers Hérault (Occitan: Associacion Esportiva de Besièrs Erau), often referred to by rugby media simply by its location of Béziers, is a French rugby union club currently playing in the second level of the country's professional rugby system, Pro D2. They earned their most recent promotion as 2011 Fédérale 1 champions,[1] but the club also won 11 Top 14 titles since its establishment in 1911.
Béziers was a major force in French rugby throughout the 1970s and 1980s; however, at the end of 2004–05 season they were relegated to Pro D2. After some years playing in French second division, they finished bottom of the table in 2008–09 and were relegated to amateur Fédérale 1,[2] before returning to Pro D2 after their 2011 title. They are based in Béziers in Occitania, and play at Stade de la Méditerranée (capacity 18,555). The club colors are red and blue.
History
The club was established in 1911. Their first notable honour was being runners-up in the Coupe de France. However it would not be until the 1960s when the club began its rise to prominence. Béziers made their first championship appearance in the 1960 season. On May 22 they faced FC Lourdes in the final, losing 14 points to 11 in Toulouse. Béziers found mixed success during the 1960s following their first championship loss to Lourdes. The next season they won their first championship, defeating US Dax 6 points to 3 in Lyon. They were also runners-up in the Challenge Yves du Manoir that season. They also contested the domestic championship in 1962, though they lost to SU Agen 14 to 11 in the final. Béziers performed well in the 1964 season as well; losing the championship final to Section Paloise, and winning the Challenge Yves du Manoir.
After the success during the early 1960s Béziers became a powerful club in the 1970s. In 1971 Béziers made it to the final of the domestic championship; defeating RC Toulon 15 points to 9 in Bordeaux. The following season Béziers captured the championship, defeating Brive 9 points to nil in Lyon, and winning the Challenge Yves du Manoir as well. The club won championships in 1974 and 1975, defeating RC Narbonne and Brive respectively, both times at Parc des Princes in Paris. They were also involved in the 1976 final, though they lost to Agen, 13 to 10. The following season they won the championship again, defeating Perpignan 12 to 4 in the final. They also won the Challenge Yves du Manoir as well.
The next season they successfully defended their domestic title; defeating AS Montferrand 31 points to 9 in the championship game in Paris. They however did not win back-to-back Challenge Yves du Manoir titles; though they came close, being runners-up. The success continued in the early 1980s as well, winning the championship of the 1980 season, defeating Toulouse 10 to 6 in the final, as well as being Challenge Yves du Manoir runners-up that season. Béziers repeated this again the next season; actually defeating Toulouse in the championship final again, and were runners-up in the Challenge Yves du Manoir. They were champions again in 1983 and 1984, defeating RC Nice and Agen in the finals respectively. They also won the Coupe de France in the 1986 season.
Béziers returned to the professional ranks in 2011–12 following their 13–6 win over Périgueux in the 2011 Fédérale 1 final on June 26. Both finalists were assured of promotion to Pro D2.
They struggled in their return season in Pro D2, finishing next-to last on the league table and well out of the safety zone. However, when ninth-place Bourgoin were forcibly relegated to Fédérale 1 for financial reasons,[3] Béziers remained in Pro D2 for 2012–13.
Honours
- French championship:
- Champions: 1961, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984
- Runners-up: 1960, 1962, 1964, 1976
- Challenge Yves du Manoir
- Champions: 1964, 1972, 1977
- Runners-up: 1961, 1973, 1978, 1980, 1981
- Coupe de France
- Champions: 1986
- Runners-up: 1950
- Fédérale 1
- Champions: 2011
- Elite 2
- Champions: 2000
- coupe d'europe Fira
- Champions: 1962
Finals results
French championship
| Date | Winner | Runner-up | Score | Venue | Spectators |
| 22 May 1960 | FC Lourdes | AS Béziers | 14–11 | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse | 37.200 |
| 28 May 1961 | AS Béziers | US Dax | 6–3 | Stade de Gerland, Lyon | 35.000 |
| 27 May 1962 | SU Agen | AS Béziers | 14–11 | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse | 37.705 |
| 24 May 1964 | Section Paloise | AS Béziers | 14–0 | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse | 27.797 |
| 16 May 1971 | AS Béziers | RC Toulon | 15–9 AP | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 27.737 |
| 21 May 1972 | AS Béziers | CA Brive | 9–0 | Stade de Gerland, Lyon | 31.161 |
| 12 May 1974 | AS Béziers | RC Narbonne | 16–14 | Parc des Princes, Paris | 40.609 |
| 18 May 1975 | AS Béziers | CA Brive | 13–12 | Parc des Princes, Paris | 39.991 |
| 23 May 1976 | SU Agen | AS Béziers | 13–10 AP | Parc des Princes, Paris | 40.300 |
| 29 May 1977 | AS Béziers | USA Perpignan | 12–4 | Parc des Princes, Paris | 41.821 |
| 28 May 1978 | AS Béziers | AS Montferrand | 31–9 | Parc des Princes, Paris | 42.004 |
| 25 May 1980 | AS Béziers | Stade Toulousain | 10–6 | Parc des Princes, Paris | 43.350 |
| 23 May 1981 | AS Béziers | Stade Bagnérais | 22–13 | Parc des Princes, Paris | 44.106 |
| 28 May 1983 | AS Béziers | RC Nice | 14–6 | Parc des Princes, Paris | 43.100 |
| 26 May 1984 | AS Béziers | SU Agen | 21–21 | Parc des Princes, Paris | 44.076 |
Challenge Yves du Manoir
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 1961 | Stade Montois | 17–8 | AS Béziers |
| 1964 | AS Béziers | 6–3 | Section Paloise |
| 1972 | AS Béziers | 27–6 | AS Montferrand |
| 1973 | RC Narbonne | 13–6 | AS Béziers |
| 1977 | AS Béziers | 19–18 | FC Lourdes |
| 1978 | RC Narbonne | 19–19 (more tries scored) |
AS Béziers |
| 1980 | Aviron Bayonnais | 16–10 | AS Béziers |
| 1981 | FC Lourdes | 25–13 | AS Béziers |
Coupe de France
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
| 1950 | FC Lourdes | 16–3 | AS Béziers |
| 1986 | AS Béziers | 40–9 | Stade Aurillacois |
Trophée Jean-Prat (Fédérale 1)
| Date | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Venue | Spectators |
| 26 June 2011 | AS Béziers | 13–6 | CA Périgueux | Stade Sapiac, Montauban |
Current standings
The current table for the 2018–19 Rugby Pro D2 is:[4]
| |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Club | Pl | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | ||||||
| 1 | Mont-de-Marsan | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 211 | 150 | +61 | 2 | 1 | 25 | ||||||
| 2 | Nevers | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 199 | 134 | +65 | 2 | 2 | 24 | ||||||
| 3 | Carcassonne | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 197 | 142 | +55 | 1 | 3 | 24 | ||||||
| 4 | Oyonnax | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 221 | 183 | +38 | 2 | 2 | 24 | ||||||
| 5 | Brive | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 201 | 157 | +44 | 1 | 0 | 23 | ||||||
| 6 | Soyaux Angoulême | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 188 | 157 | +31 | 1 | 2 | 23 | ||||||
| 7 | Biarritz | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 186 | 151 | +35 | 1 | 1 | 20 | ||||||
| 8 | Bayonne | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 171 | 159 | +12 | 1 | 1 | 20 | ||||||
| 9 | Montauban | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 161 | 175 | –14 | 1 | 1 | 18 | ||||||
| 10 | Béziers | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 170 | 210 | –40 | 1 | 0 | 17 | ||||||
| 11 | Provence | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 215 | 231 | -16 | 2 | 2 | 16 | ||||||
| 12 | Vannes | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 153 | 159 | -6 | 0 | 2 | 16 | ||||||
| 13 | Colomiers | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 160 | 176 | -16 | 0 | 2 | 14 | ||||||
| 14 | Aurillac | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 148 | 201 | -53 | 0 | 2 | 14 | ||||||
| 15 | Bourg-en-Bresse | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 137 | 270 | -133 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||||||
| 16 | Massy | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 127 | 190 | -63 | 0 | 2 | 6 | ||||||
| Legend: Pos = Position, Pl = Played, W = Won, D = Drawn, L = Lost, PF = Points For, PA = Points Against, PD = Points Difference, TB = Try Bonus Points, LB = Losing Bonus Points, Pts = Points Total Green background (rows 1 and 2) receive semi-final Promotion play-off places. Blue background (rows 3 to 6) receive quarter-final Promotion play-off places. Red background relegation to Fédérale 1. Notes: When two teams have the same points total, position is determined by head-to-head results before points difference. | |||||||||||||||||
Current squad
The Béziers squad for the 2017–18 Rugby Pro D2 season is:[5]
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
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See also
References
- ↑ "Béziers sacré champion". L'Équipe (in French). 2011-06-26. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
- ↑ http://www.itsrugby.fr/equipe-beziers.html
- ↑ Moriarty, Ian (9 August 2012). "Bourgoin wilt under financial pressure". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
- ↑ "Classement PRO D2". Ligue Nationale de Rugby (in French). Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ↑ "Equipe". Association Sportive Béziers Hérault (in French). Retrieved 5 September 2017.
External links
- (in French) AS Béziers Hérault Official website