AS Béziers Hérault
File:ASBH.jpg | |||
Union | Fédération Française de Rugby | ||
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Founded | 1911 | ||
Location | Béziers, France | ||
Ground(s) | Stade Raoul-Barrière (Capacity: 18,555) | ||
President | Cédric Bistué | ||
Coach(es) | Manny Edmonds Christophe Hamacek | ||
League(s) | Pro D2 | ||
2023–24 | 3rd | ||
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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 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 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. 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
The Béziers squad for the 2023–24 season is:[6][7] Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
Espoirs squad
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
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Notable former players
This list of "famous" or "notable" people has no clear inclusion or exclusion criteria. Please help improve this article by defining clear inclusion criteria to contain only subjects that fit those criteria. (June 2012) |
- Argentina Santiago González Bonorino
- Argentina Federico Todeschini
- Argentina Gonzalo Quesada
- Argentina Santiago Iglesias Valdez
- Argentina Matias Viazzo
- Australia Rodney Iona
- Australia Jye Mullane
- Australia Josh Valentine
- Australia Warwick Waugh
- Cook Islands Tyrone Viiga
- England Anthony Hill
- France Marc Andrieu
- France Richard Astre
- France Yoan Audrin
- France Marc Baget
- France David Banquet
- France Raoul Barrière
- France Lionel Beauxis
- France Pierre Bérard
- France Mohamed Boughanmi
- France Terry Bouhraoua
- France André Buonomo
- France Yvan Buonomo
- France Adolphe Bousquet
- France Sébastien Bruno
- France Henri Cabrol
- France Didier Camberabero
- France Gilles Camberabero
- France Jack Cantoni
- France Alain Carminati
- France Romain Carmignani
- France Richard Castel
- France Frédéric Cermeno
- France Olivier Chaplain
- France Arnaud Costes
- France Pierre Danos
- France Paul Dedieu
- France Cédric Desbrosse
- France Benjamin Desroches
- France Michel Dieudé
- France Richard Dourthe
- France Jean-Frédéric Dubois
- France Nicolas Durand
- France Philippe Escande
- France Alain Estève
- France Michel Fabre
- France Patrick Fort
- France Philippe Gallart
- France Camille Gérondeau
- France Kevin Gimeno
- France Jean-Philippe Grandclaude
- France Steven Hall
- France Jean-Pierre Hortoland
- France Alain Hyardet
- France Pierre Lacans
- France Thibault Lacroix
- France Julien Laharrague
- France Félix Lambey
- France Brice Mach
- France Rémy Martin
- France Jean-Paul Medina
- France Alexandre Menini
- France Ludovic Mercier
- France Pierre Mignoni
- France Brice Miguel
- France Hakim Miloudi
- France Yannick Nyanga
- France Alain Paco
- France Michel Palmié
- France Jean-Pierre Pesteil
- France Jean-Baptiste Peyras-Loustalet
- France Jérôme Porical
- France Thibaut Privat
- France Jean-Luc Rivallo
- France Olivier Saïsset
- France Claude Saurel
- France Jean Sébédio
- France Cédric Soulette
- France Dimitri Szarzewski
- France Armand Vaquerin
- Georgia (country) Vasil Katsadze
- Georgia (country) Davit Khinchagishvili
- Georgia (country) Irakli Machkhaneli
- Georgia (country) Lasha Malaghuradze
- Georgia (country) Lasha Lomidze
- Georgia (country) Goderdzi Shvelidze
- Ireland Jamie Hagan
- Namibia Conrad Marais
- New Zealand Andrew Mehrtens
- New Zealand Lachie Munro
- New Zealand Elijah Niko
- Romania Alin Petrache
- Romania Cristian Petre
- Romania Augustin Petrechei
- Romania Lucian Sîrbu
- Samoa Steve Fualau
- South Africa Robert Ebersohn
- South Africa Dries Swanepoel
- Spain Álvar Gimeno
- Tonga Suka Hufanga
- Tonga Winston Mafi
- Tonga Samiu Vahafolau
- United States Salesi Sika
- United States Seta Tuilevuka
- United States Albert Tuipulotu
- Wales Andy Powell
See also
References
- ↑ "Béziers sacré champion". L'Équipe (in français). 2011-06-26. Archived from the original on 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
- ↑ "Rugby - Fiche equipe Béziers - Calendrier - It's rugby".
- ↑ Moriarty, Ian (9 August 2012). "Bourgoin wilt under financial pressure". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
- ↑ Parker-Turner, Charlie. "F1 icon Eddie Jordan planning to buy new team and make them 'Man City of their sport'". Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ↑ Lowe, Alex. "Eddie Jordan wants to buy London Irish – and make them Man City of rugby". The Times. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
- ↑ "Effectif Pro". Association Sportive Béziers Hérault. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ↑ "Béziers squad for season 2023/2024". All Rugby. 30 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
External links
- (in French) AS Béziers Hérault Official website