Montpellier XIII Red Devils (
fr:Montpellier Diables Rouges Rugby a XIII ) are a semi-professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
club based in
Montpellier, in the region of
Herault,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. They currently play in the
National Division 2. Their home ground is the
Stade Sabathé
Stade Sabathé is a multi-use stadium in Montpellier, France. It is currently used mostly for rugby union and rugby league matches and is the home stadium of Montpellier Red Devils
Montpellier XIII Red Devils ( fr:Montpellier Diables Rouges Ru ...
.
History
Founded in 1953 as Montpellier Diables Rouges and named after the first club side to tour France in the 1930s,
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
, who were nicknamed the Diables Rouges in reference to their red playing shirts, Montpellier reached the top tier in 1957 and until the 1990s very little else occurred apart from them moving grounds in 1971 when their original stadium the
Stade du Pont was closed down and demolished. For season 1997/98, heavy recruitment began with the intent of getting the club back to the top tier. Players like Australian
Steven Bye, along with talented local players like Cobos, Simon, Bouteloup, Trinquier and
David Fraysse, were brought to the club. In 1998-99, they won their first trophy, the Federal Championship now called
National Division 2 beating
Ille-sur-Tet XIII 30-15 and that was followed the following season when they won the National 2 now called
National Division 1
The National Division 1 is the third tier of rugby league in France, below the Elite Two Championship and above the National Division 2. The season runs from September to April.
From season 2012–13 the league was split into regions ''East'' a ...
the 3rd tier, they beat
Ille-sur-Tet XIII again and
Cabardes XIII in the play-offs before beating
Homps XIII in the final 40-4 earning promotion to the 2nd tier. They would spend the next ten years in the
Elite Two Championship
Elite 2 (formerly the Elite Two Championship) is the second tier semi-professional rugby league competition in France below Elite 1, but above the National Division 1. The season runs from September to April. The clubs play each other home ...
, they were runner-up in 2008 to
Le Bacares XIII, until season 2009-10. In that season the club finished runner-up behind
Palau XIII Broncos and then lost to them in the play-off final 12-18 but were promoted to the top tier when their victors declined. The following season the club struggled in the
Elite One Championship
Elite 1 is the top level rugby league competition in France, sanctioned by the French Rugby League Federation. The season runs from September to April, which is in contrast to the majority of other major domestic rugby league competitions wor ...
eventually finishing 10th and bottom with just two wins. The following season was the same with just two wins collected and the club was back in the 2nd tier. Worse was to come when the club after a tumultuous season went under. A new club was quickly reformed as Montpellier XIII and started life in the
National Division 1
The National Division 1 is the third tier of rugby league in France, below the Elite Two Championship and above the National Division 2. The season runs from September to April.
From season 2012–13 the league was split into regions ''East'' a ...
, the 3rd tier. At the end of season 2013/14 the club was back in the 2nd tier
The club runs both youth and ladies teams.
Stadium
The
Stade du Pont was the club's first home ground, built in 1923 with a 10,000 capacity, the ground was used until 1971 when it was demolished to make way for housing and a shopping centre. The ground was also used by football club
Stade Olympique Montpellier from 1923. At its peak the stadium had two stands down the length of the pitch with open ended earthen banks behind the sticks giving it an 18,000 capacity. A storm in 1963 caused much damage to the two stands. In 1971 the club moved to their current home the
Stade Sabathe but had to use a secondary stadium, Stade Veyrassi, since the use of Stade Sabathe was granted to the local Rugby Union, the
MRC
MRC may refer to
Government
* Medical Research Council (United Kingdom)
* Medical Reserve Corps, a US network of volunteer organizations
* Municipalité régionale de comté (regional county municipality), Quebec, Canada
* Military Revolutionar ...
. The stadium is a rugby ground with an 8,000 capacity of which 2,800 are seated.
2021-22 squad
[http://www.rugby13montpellier.fr ]
Honours
* Federal Championship (National Div 2) (1): 1998-99
* National 2 (National Div 1) (1): 1999-2000
References
External links
Official WebsiteMatch Highlights- Scroll down to "Rugby XIII"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montpellier Red Devils
French rugby league teams
Sport in Montpellier
1953 establishments in France
Rugby clubs established in 1953