AS Béziers Hérault
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "about". Template:Short descriptionScript error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Association sportive de Béziers Hérault (Script error: No such module "IPA".; Template:Langx), 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 the 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 the 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 the Hérault department of Occitania, and play at the Stade Raoul-Barrière (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 22 May 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 ASM Clermont Auvergne 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 26 June. 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.
In October 2024, it was reported that a consortium made up of Irish businessman and TV personality Eddie Jordan alongside former New Zealand and South Africa internationals Andrew Mehrtens and Bobby Skinstad respectively, were forming a consortium to buy the club as part of a wider project to emulate the success of the City Football Group.[4][5]
Honours
- French championship Top 14
- Challenge Yves du Manoir
- Champions (4): 1964, 1972, 1975, 1977
- Runners-up (6): 1960, 1961, 1973, 1978, 1980, 1981
- French Cup
- Champions (1): 1986
- Runners-up (1): 1950
- Fédérale 1
- Champions: 2011
- Elite 2
- Champions: 2000
- coupe d'europe Fira
- Champions: 1962
Finals results
French championship
| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
| 22 May 1960 | FC Lourdes | 14–11 | AS Béziers | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse | 37.200 |
| 28 May 1961 | AS Béziers | 6–3 | US Dax | Stade de Gerland, Lyon | 35.000 |
| 27 May 1962 | SU Agen | 14–11 | AS Béziers | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse | 37.705 |
| 24 May 1964 | Section Paloise | 14–0 | AS Béziers | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse | 27.797 |
| 16 May 1971 | AS Béziers | 15–9 AP | RC Toulon | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 27.737 |
| 21 May 1972 | AS Béziers | 9–0 | CA Brive | Stade de Gerland, Lyon | 31.161 |
| 12 May 1974 | AS Béziers | 16–14 | RC Narbonne | Parc des Princes, Paris | 40.609 |
| 18 May 1975 | AS Béziers | 13–12 | CA Brive | Parc des Princes, Paris | 39.991 |
| 23 May 1976 | SU Agen | 13–10 AP | AS Béziers | Parc des Princes, Paris | 40.300 |
| 29 May 1977 | AS Béziers | 12–4 | USA Perpignan | Parc des Princes, Paris | 41.821 |
| 28 May 1978 | AS Béziers | 31–9 | AS Montferrand | Parc des Princes, Paris | 42.004 |
| 25 May 1980 | AS Béziers | 10–6 | Stade Toulousain | Parc des Princes, Paris | 43.350 |
| 23 May 1981 | AS Béziers | 22–13 | Stade Bagnérais | Parc des Princes, Paris | 44.106 |
| 28 May 1983 | AS Béziers | 14–6 | RC Nice | Parc des Princes, Paris | 43.100 |
| 26 May 1984 | AS Béziers | 21–21 | SU Agen | Parc des Princes, Paris | 44.076 |
Challenge Yves du Manoir
| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up |
| 1960 | Stade Montois | 9–9 | AS Béziers |
| 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 |
| 1975 | AS Béziers | 16–12 | SU Agen |
| 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 |
French Cup
| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up |
| 1950 | FC Lourdes | 16–3 | AS Béziers |
| 1986 | AS Béziers | 40–9 | Stade Aurillacois |
Current standings
{{#lst:2024–25 Rugby Pro D2 season|table}}
Current squad
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The Béziers squad for the 2024–25 season is:[6][7]
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Espoirs squad
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
|
Notable former players
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- Template:Flagicon Federico Todeschini
- Template:Flagicon Gonzalo Quesada
- Template:Flagicon Santiago Iglesias Valdez
- Template:Flagicon Matias Viazzo
- Template:Flagicon Rodney Iona
- Template:Flagicon Jye Mullane
- Template:Flagicon Josh Valentine
- Template:Flagicon Warwick Waugh
- Template:Flagicon Tyrone Viiga
- Template:Flagicon Anthony Hill
- Template:Flagicon Marc Andrieu
- Template:Flagicon Richard Astre
- Template:Flagicon Yoan Audrin
- Template:Flagicon Marc Baget
- Template:Flagicon David Banquet
- Template:Flagicon Raoul Barrière
- Template:Flagicon Lionel Beauxis
- Template:Flagicon Pierre Bérard
- Template:Flagicon Mohamed Boughanmi
- Template:Flagicon Terry Bouhraoua
- Template:Flagicon André Buonomo
- Template:Flagicon Yvan Buonomo
- Template:Flagicon Adolphe Bousquet
- Template:Flagicon Sébastien Bruno
- Template:Flagicon Henri Cabrol
- Template:Flagicon Didier Camberabero
- Template:Flagicon Gilles Camberabero
- Template:Flagicon Jack Cantoni
- Template:Flagicon Alain Carminati
- Template:Flagicon Romain Carmignani
- Template:Flagicon Richard Castel
- Template:Flagicon Frédéric Cermeno
- Template:Flagicon Olivier Chaplain
- Template:Flagicon Arnaud Costes
- Template:Flagicon Pierre Danos
- Template:Flagicon Paul Dedieu
- Template:Flagicon Cédric Desbrosse
- Template:Flagicon Benjamin Desroches
- Template:Flagicon Michel Dieudé
- Template:Flagicon Richard Dourthe
- Template:Flagicon Jean-Frédéric Dubois
- Template:Flagicon Nicolas Durand
- Template:Flagicon Philippe Escande
- Template:Flagicon Alain Estève
- Template:Flagicon Michel Fabre
- Template:Flagicon Patrick Fort
- Template:Flagicon Philippe Gallart
- Template:Flagicon Camille Gérondeau
- Template:Flagicon Kevin Gimeno
- Template:Flagicon Jean-Philippe Grandclaude
- Template:Flagicon Steven Hall
- Template:Flagicon Jean-Pierre Hortoland
- Template:Flagicon Alain Hyardet
- Template:Flagicon Pierre Lacans
- Template:Flagicon Thibault Lacroix
- Template:Flagicon Julien Laharrague
- Template:Flagicon Félix Lambey
- Template:Flagicon Brice Mach
- Template:Flagicon Rémy Martin
- Template:Flagicon Jean-Paul Medina
- Template:Flagicon Alexandre Menini
- Template:Flagicon Ludovic Mercier
- Template:Flagicon Pierre Mignoni
- Template:Flagicon Brice Miguel
- Template:Flagicon Hakim Miloudi
- Template:Flagicon Yannick Nyanga
- Template:Flagicon Alain Paco
- Template:Flagicon Michel Palmié
- Template:Flagicon Jean-Pierre Pesteil
- Template:Flagicon Jean-Baptiste Peyras-Loustalet
- Template:Flagicon Jérôme Porical
- Template:Flagicon Thibaut Privat
- Template:Flagicon Jean-Luc Rivallo
- Template:Flagicon Olivier Saïsset
- Template:Flagicon Claude Saurel
- Template:Flagicon Jean Sébédio
- Template:Flagicon Cédric Soulette
- Template:Flagicon Dimitri Szarzewski
- Template:Flagicon Armand Vaquerin
- Template:Flagicon Vasil Katsadze
- Template:Flagicon Davit Khinchagishvili
- Template:Flagicon Irakli Machkhaneli
- Template:Flagicon Lasha Malaghuradze
- Template:Flagicon Lasha Lomidze
- Template:Flagicon Goderdzi Shvelidze
- Template:Flagicon Jamie Hagan
- Template:Flagicon Conrad Marais
- Template:Flagicon Andrew Mehrtens
- Template:Flagicon Lachie Munro
- Template:Flagicon Elijah Niko
- Template:Flagicon Alin Petrache
- Template:Flagicon Cristian Petre
- Template:Flagicon Augustin Petrechei
- Template:Flagicon Lucian Sîrbu
- Template:Flagicon Steve Fualau
- Template:Flagicon Robert Ebersohn
- Template:Flagicon Dries Swanepoel
- Template:Flagicon Álvar Gimeno
- Template:Flagicon Suka Hufanga
- Template:Flagicon Winston Mafi
- Template:Flagicon Samiu Vahafolau
- Template:Flagicon Salesi Sika
- Template:Flagicon Seta Tuilevuka
- Template:Flagicon Albert Tuipulotu
- Template:Flagicon Andy Powell
See also
References
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External links
- Template:In lang AS Béziers Hérault Official website
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