AS Béziers Hérault

Béziers
Union	Fédération Française de Rugby
Founded	1911; 113 years ago
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
1st kit	2nd kit
Official website
	www.asbh.net

Association sportive de Béziers Hérault (French pronunciation: [asɔsjasjɔ̃ spɔʁtiv də bezje eʁo]; 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
- Champions (11): 1961, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984
- Runners-up (4): 1960, 1962, 1964, 1976
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

2024–25 Pro D2 Table
Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Provence	10	6	1	3	245	192	53	3	2	31	Semi-final promotion playoff place
2	Grenoble	10	7	0	3	263	229	34	2	1	31	Semi-final promotion playoff place
3	Montauban	10	7	0	3	274	251	23	1	2	31	Quarter-final promotion playoff place
4	Brive	10	6	0	4	265	217	48	3	2	29
5	Biarritz	10	6	0	4	249	234	15	2	1	27
6	Béziers	10	5	0	5	252	191	61	2	5	27
7	Soyaux Angoulême	10	5	2	3	225	215	10	1	1	26
8	Colomiers	10	5	1	4	212	235	−23	0	2	24
9	Agen	10	4	0	6	230	232	−2	0	5	21
10	Mont-de-Marsan	10	4	0	6	264	247	17	2	3	21
11	Dax	10	5	0	5	192	219	−27	0	1	21
12	Nevers	10	4	0	6	194	243	−49	1	2	19
13	Oyonnax	10	4	0	6	201	217	−16	1	1	18
14	Aurillac	10	4	0	6	231	282	−51	0	1	17
15	Nice	10	3	0	7	193	267	−74	0	4	16	Relegation play-off
16	Valence Romans	10	3	0	7	255	274	−19	0	3	15	Relegation to Nationale

Updated to match(es) played on 8 November 2024. Source: [1]

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.

Player	Position	Union
Wilmar Arnoldi	Hooker	South Africa
Yvann Lalevée	Hooker	Franceé
José Luis González	Hooker	Argentina
Giorgi Akhaladze	Prop	Georgia
Filippo Alongi	Prop	Italy
Youssef Amrouni	Prop	France
Yannick Arroyo	Prop	France
Francisco Fernandes	Prop	Portugal
John-Henry Fincham	Prop	France
Luka Tchelidze	Prop	Georgia
Jon Zabala	Prop	Spain
Clément Bitz	Lock	France
Pierre Gayraud	Lock	France
John Madigan	Lock	Ireland
Hans N'Kinsi	Lock	France
Clément Ancely	Back row	France
Gillian Benoy	Back row	Belgium
Pierrick Gunther	Back row	France
Thomas Hoarau	Back row	France
Sias Koen	Back row	South Africa
Otunuku Pauta	Back row	Tonga
William Van Bost	Back row	Belgium

Player	Position	Union
Jean-Victor Goillot	Scrum-half	France
Samuel Marques	Scrum-half	Portugal
Mitch Short	Scrum-half	Australia
Victor Dreuille	Fly-half	France
Harry Glynn	Fly-half	England
Romain Uruty	Fly-half	France
Maxime Espeut	Centre	France
Branden Holder	Centre	France
Paul Réau	Centre	France
Paul Recor	Centre	France
Taleta Tupuola	Centre	New Zealand
Watisoni Votu	Centre	Fiji
Paul Alquier	Wing	France
Pierre Courtaud	Wing	France
Nicolas Plazy	Wing	France
Raffaele Storti	Wing	Portugal
Gabin Lorre	Fullback	France
Charly Malie	Fullback	France
Tim Nanai-Williams	Fullback	Samoa

Espoirs squad