# Stade Montois Rugby

Stade Montois Rugby is a French rugby union team that currently is playing in Pro D2, the second level of the country's professional league system.
They were founded in 1908 and play in yellow and black. They are based in Mont-de-Marsan, the capital of the Landes département, in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and play at the Stade Guy Boniface.

## History

Stade Montois is a multi-sports club (28 sections) but its rugby team has always been its flagship. After winning a few regional titles between the two world wars, it reached the top of French club rugby four times in 15 years. It lost its first three French championship finals to Castres Olympique in 1949 (3-14, in a replay, after the original final had ended in a 3-3 draw), to FC Lourdes in 1953 (16-21), and to Racing Club de France in 1959 (3-8). Their finest hour came in 1963 in an all Landes-final against US Dax, won by the Yellow and Black 9-6. They had finally won one, whereas their Dax neighbours would lose all five finals they would play in.
It finished in the bottom table in the first-tier Top 14 in the 2008–09 season. They had just been promoted to the Top 14 after winning the Pro D2 promotion playoffs. They remained in Pro D2 for three seasons before successfully navigating the 2012 promotion playoffs.
Stade Montois' players include the Boniface brothers (André and Guy, who died in a car accident on 1 January 1968), Thomas Castaignède, Christian Darrouy, Benoît Dauga, Laurent Rodriguez. Former Leicester Tigers and Fiji scrum-half wizard Waisale Serevi also played for them as well as other notable Fijians such as Viliame Satala and Vilimoni Delasau.

## Honours

* French championship Top 14
** Champions (1): 1963
** Runners-up (3): 1949, 1953, 1959
* Challenge Yves du Manoir
** Champions (3): 1960, 1961, 1962
** Runners-up (2): 1958, 1966
* Pro D2
** Champions: 2002
** Promotion playoff winners: 2008, 2012
* Second Division (Groupe B):
** Champions: 1998

## Finals results
### French championship

| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Venue | Spectators |
| 22 May 1949 | Castres Olympique | 14-3 | Stade Montois | Stade des Ponts Jumeaux, Toulouse | 23,000 |
| 17 May 1953 | FC Lourdes | 21-16 | Stade Montois | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse | 32,500 |
| 24 May 1959 | Racing Club de France | 8-3 | Stade Montois | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 31,098 |
| 2 June 1963 | Stade Montois | 9-6 | US Dax | Parc Lescure, Bordeaux | 39,000 |

### Challenge Yves du Manoir

| Date | Winners | Score | Runners-up |
| 1958 | SC Mazamet | 3-0 | Stade Montois |
| 1960 | Stade Montois | 9-9 | AS Béziers |
| 1961 | Stade Montois | 17-8 | AS Béziers |
| 1962 | Stade Montois | 14-9 | Section Paloise |
| 1966 | FC Lourdes | 16-6 | Stade Montois |

## Current standings

2024–25 Pro D2 Table :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Brive | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 120 | 78 | +42 | 1 | 1 | 14 | Semi-final promotion playoff place |
| 2 | Béziers | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 74 | +26 | 1 | 1 | 14 | Semi-final promotion playoff place |
| 3 | Colomiers | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 88 | 77 | +11 | 0 | 1 | 13 | Quarter-final promotion playoff place |
| 4 | Biarritz | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 91 | 82 | +9 | 0 | 1 | 13 | Quarter-final promotion playoff place |
| 5 | Grenoble | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 79 | 87 | −8 | 0 | 0 | 12 | Quarter-final promotion playoff place |
| 6 | Dax | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 94 | 84 | +10 | 0 | 0 | 12 | Quarter-final promotion playoff place |
| 7 | Agen | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 93 | 77 | +16 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| 8 | Soyaux Angoulême | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 114 | 108 | +6 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 9 | Montauban | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 102 | 99 | +3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | |
| 10 | Oyonnax | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 98 | 59 | +39 | 1 | 0 | 9 | |
| 11 | Provence | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 83 | 98 | −15 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |
| 12 | Mont-de-Marsan | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 90 | 100 | −10 | 0 | 2 | 6 | |
| 13 | Aurillac | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 102 | 120 | −18 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 14 | Nevers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 83 | 111 | −28 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |
| 15 | Nice | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 52 | 116 | −64 | 0 | 1 | 5 | Relegation play-off |
| 16 | Valence Romans | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 89 | 108 | −19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | Relegation to Nationale |

## Current squad

The squad for the 2023–24 season is:
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
| Player | Position | Union |
| Florian Dufour | Hooker | France |
| Torsten van Jaarsveld | Hooker | Namibia |
| Simon Labouyrie | Hooker | France |
| Samuel Lagrange | Hooker | France |
| Anthony Alvés | Prop | France |
| Thomas Bultel | Prop | France |
| Dino Casadei | Prop | France |
| Gheorghe Gajion | Prop | Romania |
| Jean-Luc Innocente | Prop | France |
| Mattèo Lalanne | Prop | France |
| Cherif Traoré | Prop | Italy |
| Romain Durand | Lock | France |
| Myles Edwards | Lock | England |
| Aston Fortuin | Lock | South Africa |
| Nicolas Garrault | Lock | France |
| Andrei Ostrikov | Lock | Russia |
| Yann Bréthous | Back row | France |
| Michael Faleafa | Back row | Tonga |
| Aurélien Laforgue | Back row | France |
| Veresa Ramototabua | Back row | Fiji |
| Raphaël Robic | Back row | France |
| William Wavrin | Back row | France |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Baptiste Canut | Scrum-half | France |
| Christophe Loustalot | Scrum-half | France |
| Kévin Viallard | Scrum-half | France |
| Joris Pialot | Fly-half | France |
| Willie du Plessis | Fly-half | Netherlands |
| Simon Desaubiés | Centre | France |
| Jules Even | Centre | France |
| Patricio Fernández | Centre | Argentina |
| Nacani Wakaya | Centre | Fiji |
| Simão Bento | Wing | Portugal |
| Gatien Massé | Wing | France |
| Eroni Sau | Wing | Fiji |
| Pierre Sayerse | Wing | France |
| Yoann Laousse-Azpiazu | Fullback | France |

### Espoirs squad

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
| Player | Position | Union |
| Matéo Chérifi | Hooker | France |
| Mathys Bat | Prop | France |
| Giovanni Sefa | Prop | France |
| Jules Duusutour | Lock | France |
| Carl Vangsgaard | Lock | Denmark |
| Léo Banos | Back row | France |
| Jean-Jacques Cassio | Back row | France |
| Raphaël Darquier | Back row | France |
| Enzo Prosper | Back row | France |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Baptiste David | Scrum-half | France |
| Nicolas Darquier | Scrum-half | France |
| Baptiste Grulovic | Centre | France |
| Pierre André | Wing | France |
| Romain Duthoit | Wing | France |
| Harrison Obatoyinbo | Wing | England |
| Semi Lagivala | Wing | Fiji |
| Myrtho Linguet | Wing | France |
| Ian Ratu | Wing | Fiji |
| Théo Cortes | Fullback | France |

## Notable former players

* Carlos Muzzio
* Lucio Sordoni
* Ben Coutts
* Jens Torfs
* Josh Jackson
* Luke Tait
* Martin Jágr
* Laurence Pearce
* James Voss
* Adriu Delai
* Vilimoni Delasau
* Vereniki Goneva
* Wame Lewaravu
* Timoci Matanavou
* William Ryder
* Waisale Serevi
* Viliame Satala
* Cédric Beal
* Alexandre Bécognée
* André Boniface
* Guy Boniface
* Romain Cabannes
* André Carrère
* Stéphane Castaignède
* Thomas Castaignède
* Fernand Cazenave
* Damien Cler
* Pierre Corréia
* Marc Dal Maso
* Jean Darrieussecq
* Christian Darrouy
* Benoît Dauga
* Walter Desmaison
* Fabien Devecchi
* Pierre Lacroix
* Grégory Le Corvec
* Laurent Magnaval
* Rémy Martin
* Florent Massip
* Jean-Marc Mazzonetto
* Eric Melville
* Alexandre Menini
* Arnaud Mignardi
* Adrien Oléon
* Sébastien Ormaechea
* Clément Otazo
* Laurent Rodriguez
* Olivier Sourgens
* Jocelino Suta
* Rémi Talès
* Willy Taofifénua
* Lucas Tauzin
* Mikaele Tuugahala
* Beka Gorgadze
* Tamaz Mchedlidze
* Irakli Machkhaneli
* Gilles Pagnon
* Walter Cristofoletto
* Andrea De Marchi
* Laurent Travini
* Raoul Larson
* António Aguilar
* André da Silva
* Trevor Leota
* Sébastien Loubsens
* Tevita Mailau
* Ephraim Taukafa