Association Sportive Béziers Hérault ( oc, Associacion Esportiva de Besièrs Erau), often referred to by rugby media simply by its location of

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...

, is a French

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

club currently playing in the second level of the country's professional rugby system,

Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

. They earned their most recent promotion as 2011 Fédérale 1 champions, but the club also won 11

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

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 Le championnat de France de première division fédérale, a.k.a. Fédérale 1, is a French rugby union club competition, the fifth highest level of amateur rugby. The competition has been organised by the Fédération Française de Rugby since 20 ...

, before returning to Pro D2 after their 2011 title. They are based in

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...

, and play at

Stade Raoul-Barrière Stade Raoul-Barrière, formerly Stade de la Méditerranée, is a multi-purpose stadium in Béziers, France. The stadium is able to hold 18,555 (16,110 seated) people and was built in 1989. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is ...

(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 The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...

. 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 FC Lourdais is a French rugby union club from Lourdes currently competing in the French league system. Formed in 1911, they have won the French league eight times and the French cup six times. They play in the Stade Antoine-Beguere and traditiona ...

in the final, losing 14 points to 11 in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. 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 Union sportive dacquoise, also known as US Dax, is a French rugby union club currently playing in Nationale, the third level of the French league system. They were founded in 1904. They play at Stade Maurice Boyau (capacity 16,170). They wear ...

6 points to 3 in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. They were also runners-up in the

Challenge Yves du Manoir The Challenge Yves du Manoir was a rugby union club competition that was played in France between 1931 and 2003 under different names. It is named after former player Yves du Manoir. History The Challenge Yves du Manoir was officially created on S ...

that season. They also contested the domestic championship in 1962, though they lost to

SU Agen Sporting Union Agen Lot-et-Garonne (), commonly referred to as SU Agen, Agen () or SUALG, is a French professional rugby union club based in Agen, Lot-et-Garonne that competes in the Pro D2, France's second division of rugby. Founded in 1908, A ...

14 to 11 in the final. Béziers performed well in the 1964 season as well; losing the championship final to

Section Paloise Section Paloise (, Bearnese: ), commonly referred to as ''Section'' or as ''Pau'' , is a professional rugby union club based in Pau, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the EPCR Challenge Cup. Their home g ...

, 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 R&C, RC, R/C, Rc, or rc may refer to: Science and technology Computing * rc, the default Command line interface in Version 10 Unix and Plan 9 from Bell Labs * .rc (for "run commands"), a filename extension for configuration files in UNIX-like ...

15 points to 9 in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. The following season Béziers captured the championship, defeating

Brive Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 75 ...

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 R&C, RC, R/C, Rc, or rc may refer to: Science and technology Computing * rc, the default Command line interface in Version 10 Unix and Plan 9 from Bell Labs * .rc (for "run commands"), a filename extension for configuration files in UNIX-like ...

and Brive respectively, both times at

Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. 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 Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

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 Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French ...

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

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 R&C, RC, R/C, Rc, or rc may refer to: Science and technology Computing * rc, the default Command line interface in Version 10 Unix and Plan 9 from Bell Labs * .rc (for "run commands"), a filename extension for configuration files in UNIX-like ...

and Agen in the finals respectively. They also won the

in the 1986 season. Béziers returned to the professional ranks in 2011–12 following their 13–6 win over

Périgueux Périgueux (, ; oc, Peireguers or ) is a communes of France, commune in the Dordogne departments of France, department, in the administrative regions of France, administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Périgueux i ...

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 Bourgoin-Jallieu (; frp, Brégon) is a commune in the Isère department in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France. The city had 28,834 inhabitants in 2019 and lies 35 kilometres east-southeast of Lyon. It was formed by the merger of th ...

were forcibly relegated to Fédérale 1 for financial reasons, Béziers remained in Pro D2 for 2012–13.

Honours

French championship The French rugby league championship (french: Le Championnat de France de Rugby à XIII) has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. ...

: ** Champions: 1961, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984 ** Runners-up: 1960, 1962, 1964, 1976 *

** Champions: 1964, 1972, 1977 ** Runners-up: 1961, 1973, 1978, 1980, 1981 *

** Champions: 1986 ** Runners-up: 1950 *

** Champions: 2011 * Elite 2 ** Champions: 2000 *

coupe d'europe Fira A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

** Champions: 1962

Finals results

French championship

Challenge Yves du Manoir

Coupe de France

Trophée Jean-Prat (Fédérale 1)

Current standings

Current squad

The Béziers squad for the 2022–23 season is:

Espoirs squad

Notable former players

Santiago González Bonorino Santiago Hernán González Bonorino (born May 5, 1975, in Buenos Aires) is a former Argentine rugby union player, most recently playing for Northampton Saints in the Guinness Premiership He has represented Unione Rugby Capitolina in Italy at club ...

* Federico Todeschini *

Gonzalo Quesada Gonzalo Quesada (born 2 May 1974) is a retired Argentine rugby player who presently works as a coach for Stade Français in France's Top 14. Biography Quesada was born May 2, 1974, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He played for amateur club Hindú al ...

Santiago Iglesias Valdez Santiago Iglesias Valdez (born 22 May 1993) is an Argentine rugby union footballer who plays as a hooker for Uni Tucumán. Despite only earning two caps for the Argentina national rugby union team (the Pumas) in the Tier 2 rugby tournament, ...

* Matias Viazzo *

Rodney Iona Rodney Esekia Iona (born 17 August 1991) is a Samoan rugby union footballer who currently plays as a fly half and Centre for the Brumbies in the Super Rugby Pacific 2022. He also plays for the New Orleans Gold in Major League Rugby (MLR) i ...

Jye Mullane Jye Mullane (born 29 July 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in Australia for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. In 2005 he signed with NSW Waratahs Australian Rugby Union ...

* Josh Valentine * Warwick Waugh * Tyrone Viiga * Anthony Hill * Marc Andrieu * Richard Astre *

Yoan Audrin Yoan Audrin (born 14 August 1981) is a French rugby union player. His position is centre or wing and he currently plays for Montpellier Hérault in the Top 14. He began his career with Béziers before moving to Bayonne in 2006, then had spells ...

Marc Baget Marc Baget (born 5 September 1984 in Tournay) is a French professional rugby union player. As a Number eight, Avril played for Biarritz Olympique where which he won two Top 14 titles. In 2008 he left Biarritz to play for Aviron Bayonnais Av ...

David Banquet David Banquet, born 22 July 1974 in Libourne, is a French rugby union player who plays as right prop for RC Toulonnais (1.80 m, 122 kg). Career * Libourne * Mérignac * 1992-1999 : AS Béziers * 1999-2001 : US Dax * 2001-2002 : AS Bézier ...

Raoul Barrière Raoul Barrière (3 March 1928, in Béziers – 8 March 2019) was a French rugby union player and a coach."L'homme qui a «fait» l'équipe de Béziers, c'est incontestablement l'entraîneur Raoul Barrière, 45 ans, un nez cassé de boxeur et une ...

* Pierre Bérard * Mohamed Boughanmi *

Terry Bouhraoua Terry Bouhraoua (born 29 August 1987) is a French rugby union and rugby union sevens player who plays for the France national rugby sevens team. His position is scrum-half. Bouhraoua was born in Châteaudun, France. He began professional rugb ...

André Buonomo André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation o ...

Yvan Buonomo Yvan is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jacques-Yvan Morin, GOQ (born 1931), politician in Quebec, Canada * Marc-Yvan Côté (born 1947), former Quebec politician and Cabinet Minister for the Quebec Liberal Party *Maurice-Yvan ...

* Adolphe Bousquet * Sébastien Bruno * Henri Cabrol *

Didier Camberabero Didier Camberabero (born 9 January 1961), is a former French international rugby union player. He played as fly half. Biography Camberabero is a son of the former international, Guy Camberabero, and the nephew of Lilian Camberabero, two brothe ...

* Gilles Camberabero *

Jack Cantoni Jack Cantoni (11 May 1948 – 25 June 2013) was a French international rugby union player. Cantoni was born in Carmaux, France, he is the son of the rugby league footballer; Vincent Cantoni. Cantoni played as a Fullback or Wing for AS Bé ...

* Alain Carminati * Romain Carmignani *

Richard Castel Richard Castel (born 31 December 1972, in Vendres) is a former French rugby union player. He played as a Flanker. Castel played for Stade Toulousain from 1982/83 to 1992/93, where he won 2 titles of the French Championship, in 1994/95 and 1995/9 ...

Frédéric Cermeno Frédéric Cermeno (born 20 June 1979 in Perpignan), is a French rugby league and rugby union player. He has played at the club level for USA Perpignan. Career Frédéric Cermeno began playing Rugby union with USA Perpignan, where he was a fi ...

* Olivier Chaplain * Arnaud Costes * Pierre Danos * Paul Dedieu *

Cédric Desbrosse Cédric Desbrosse (born 9 November 1971) is a retired French rugby player. His usual positions was centre. He played for Stade Toulousain where he won top 14 and the Heineken Cup. He was selected for the 1999 Rugby World Cup and he made his ...

* Benjamin Desroches * Michel Dieudé * Richard Dourthe * Jean-Frédéric Dubois * Nicolas Durand * Philippe Escande * Alain Estève *

Michel Fabre Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

* Patrick Fort * Philippe Gallart * Camille Gérondeau * Kevin Gimeno * Jean-Philippe Grandclaude * Steven Hall *

Jean-Pierre Hortoland Jean-Pierre Hortoland (born in Marseillan, Hérault, on 28 May 1947) is a French rugby union player. At 1m 80 and 102 kg (5'11" and 224 lbs), he played left prop for AS Béziers and RC Narbonne Armand Vaquerin replaced him at Béziers fr ...

* Alain Hyardet *

Pierre Lacans Pierre Lacans (23 April 1957 – 30 September 1985) was a French rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played club level rugby league (RL) for Lézignan Sangliers, and representative level rugby union (RU) ...

Thibault Lacroix Thibault Lacroix (born 14 May 1985) is a French rugby union player. Lacroix, who is a centre, plays his club rugby for Bayonne. He made his debut for France against Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sover ...

Julien Laharrague Julien Laharrague (born 29 July 1978 in Tarbes, France) is a French rugby union footballer, usually playing on the wing or at fullback. He currently plays for Aironi in the Pro14, Pro12 . Laharrague has also played for France national rugby uni ...

Félix Lambey Félix Lambey (born 15 March 1994) is a French rugby union lock who currently plays for Lyon and France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas r ...

Brice Mach Brice Mach (born 2 April 1986) is a French rugby union player who normally plays as a hooker, for French club Castres Olympique in the Top 14 and Heineken Cup. He made his debut for the national side on 21 February 2014, coming off the bench again ...

Rémy Martin Rémy Martin () is a French firm that primarily produces and sells cognac. Founded in 1724 and based in the commune of Cognac, it is among the oldest cognac producers still in existence. and one of the "big four" cognac houses (along with Hennes ...

* Jean-Paul Medina * Alexandre Menini *

Ludovic Mercier Ludovic Mercier (born 1 November 1976) is a French rugby union player, currently playing for the Top12 team Petrarca Rugby. He is a fly half. He was one of the quickest players in history to reach 500 Premiership points; his goal-kicking and place ...

Pierre Mignoni Pierre Mignoni (born 28 February 1977) is a retired French rugby union footballer who is currently the Director of Rugby for Toulon. He has also played for the France national team. Mignoni's first club was Toulon, playing with them from 1996� ...

* Brice Miguel * Hakim Miloudi *

Yannick Nyanga Yannick Nyanga (born 19 December 1983 in Kinshasa, Zaire) is a former professional rugby union player who played as a flanker for Racing 92 and France, and is also known for his long tenure at Toulouse. He was a part of the victorious French t ...

Alain Paco Alain Paco (born 1 March 1952) is a former French rugby union player and a current coach. He played as a hooker. He played for AS Béziers. He went to win six titles of French Champion, for 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1978. Paco earned his ...

* Michel Palmié * Jean-Pierre Pesteil * Jean-Baptiste Peyras-Loustalet * Jérôme Porical *

Thibaut Privat Thibaut Privat (born 4 February 1979) is a former French international rugby union player. He played as a Lock for AS Béziers, Montferrand and Montpellier. He was called up as an injury replacement for Olivier Brouzet at the 2003 Rugby World ...

* Jean-Luc Rivallo * Olivier Saïsset *

Claude Saurel Claude Saurel (born 17 April 1948) is a former French people, French rugby union footballer and current coach. He is a former head coach of the Russia national rugby union team, Russia national rugby team. Saurel played his rugby for Béziers, his ...

* Jean Sébédio *

Cédric Soulette Cédric Soulette (born 30 May 1972) is a French rugby union footballer. He currently plays for the AS Béziers club. In the past, he also played for Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Ga ...

* Dimitri Szarzewski * Armand Vaquerin *

Vasil Katsadze Vasil Katsadze ( ka, ვასილ კაცაძე; born Potsdam, 16 July 1976) is a Georgian rugby union and rugby league player. He played as a wing and as a flanker in rugby union. Katsadze moved to France, where he played in AS Béziers ( ...

* Davit Khinchagishvili *

Irakli Machkhaneli Irakli Machkhaneli (born 18 June 1981) is a retired Georgian rugby union player who played as a wing. He played in France for AS Béziers (2005/06-2006/07), Stade Montois (2007/08), SU Agen (2008/09), CA Saint-Étienne (2009/10), in the Pro D2 ...

Lasha Malaghuradze Lasha Malaghuradze (born 2 June 1986 in Tbilisi) is a Georgian rugby union player. His usual position is fly-half. He played for Qochebi Tbilisi, where he won 2007 Georgia Championship, before moving to AS Béziers Hérault (2008/09-2010/11). ...

* Lasha Lomidze * Goderdzi Shvelidze * Conrad Marais *

Andrew Mehrtens Andrew Philip Mehrtens (born 28 April 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He was regarded as a top first five-eighth, having played first for Canterbury in 1993, before being selected for the All Blacks (New Zealand's national te ...

Lachie Munro Lachlan Hamish Munro (born 27 November 1986) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player. Munro is a versatile player and he is capable of covering every position in the backline. Munro attended Auckland Grammar School. In 2007 Munro pla ...

* Elijah Niko *

Alin Petrache Adrian Alin Petrache (born October 29, 1976 in Bucharest) is a Romanian rugby union administrator and former player. He is currently the president of CSM București sports club and also president of the Romanian Rugby Federation. He was also the ...

Cristian Petre Cristian Constantin Petre (born 22 March 1979 in Oradea)Cristian Petre player profile
Scrum.com

Augustin Petrechei Augustin Simion Petrechei (born 4 August 1980 in Constanța) is a Romanian rugby union player. He plays as a lock. Petrechei has been playing in France for USA Perpignan (2004/05), AS Béziers Hérault (2005/06-2008/09), US Marmande (2009/10) an ...

* Lucian Sîrbu * Steve Fualau *

Robert Ebersohn Robert Thompson Ebersohn (born 23 February 1989) is a rugby union and Sevens professional player from South Africa. He has played for the Springboks Sevens, South Africa Under 20 and made his Super 14 debut for the Cheetahs in 2010. When par ...

* Álvar Gimeno *

Suka Hufanga Sukanaivalu Ivakuva Hufanga, known as Suka Hufanga (born Vaini, 18 June 1982), is a Tongan rugby union footballer. He plays as a centre. Career He played for CA Brive in the French Top 14, from 2006/07 to 2008/09. He plays for Newcastle Falcons ...

Winston Mafi Winston Churchill Mafi (born 21 March 1980 in Nukualofa, Tonga) is a Tongan rugby union footballer who usually plays an outside centre. He currently plays for the Rugby Club I Cavalieri Prato club in the Italian Top12. He is the older brother of ...

* Samiu Vahafolau *

Salesi Sika Salesi Sika (born 7 July 1980 in Haveluloto, Tonga) is a former Tongan-born American rugby union player and played as a wing or centre. Sika played professional rugby in the French league for Castres Olympique and AS Béziers. He was a member ...

* Seta Tuilevuka *

Albert Tuipulotu Albert Tuipulotu (born February 27, 1979 in San Mateo) is an American rugby union centre. He is a member of the United States national rugby union team and participated with the squad at the 2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was ...

Andy Powell Andrew Powell (born 19 February 1950) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is a founding member of the British band Wishbone Ash, whose use of twin lead guitars was influential. Early life and career Powell was born in the East E ...

References

External links

*
AS Béziers Hérault
Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:As Beziers Herault Beziers Rugby clubs established in 1911 Sport in Béziers AS Béziers 1911 establishments in France