US Montauban

US Montauban
Full nameUnion Sportive Montalbanaise
UnionFédération Française de Rugby
Founded1903
LocationMontauban, France
GroundStade Sapiac (Capacity: 9,210)
PresidentRobert Gomes
CoachSébastien Calvet
LeagueTop 14
2024–25Pro D2, 6th (promoted)
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
usmsapiac.fr

US Montauban (Occitan: Union Esportiva Montalban) is a French rugby union club that currently competes in Top 14, the highest level of the country's professional league system. The club is based in Montauban in the département of Tarn-et-Garonne in Occitania.

In April 2010, it was announced the club would be relegated from the Top 14 to the Pro D2 at the end of the 2009/2010 season after breaking budget rules for the league. Although the club appealed the ruling it started to release players to reduce its budget.[1] The club was not in the relegation zone at the time, thereby saving CS Bourgoin-Jallieu, Aviron Bayonnais and Montpellier Hérault RC a nervous run in as they were in the relegation battle with Montauban. On the 26 April 2010, the club filed for bankruptcy at a commercial court following a meeting of the club's board of directors.[2]

On 24 May 2014, it was announced that they had won promotion back to Pro D2 for the 2014–15 season as a result of winning the Fédérale 1 semi-final 35 – 12 against Lille Métropole Rugby.[3] They went on to win the Fédérale 1 title, defeating Massy 18–14 in the final.[4]

History

The club was established in 1903. The club made its first championship appearance in the 1967 season, when it captured its first championship title, defeating CA Bègles 11 points to 3 in Bordeaux. It gained promotion from Pro D2 for the 2006–07 season.

In its first match of the 2006-07 season, Montauban defeated Narbonne 41–20, gaining five points (including a bonus point) to go to second in the table after round one. The team continued in surprisingly strong form for a newly promoted team, notably handing early runaway league leaders Stade Français their first defeat of the season, 15–9, in Round 10 on 6 October. Montauban ended the season in seventh place, a respectable position for a newly promoted team. The 2007-08 season saw it consolidate its Top 14 position, again finishing seventh. Because Toulouse advanced to the final of that year's Heineken Cup, which was farther than any team from England or Italy, Montauban was given a place in the 2008-09 Heineken Cup, pooled with champions Munster.

Honours

Finals results

French championship

Date Winners Score Runners-up Venue Spectators
28 May 1967 US Montauban 11-3 CA Bègles Parc Lescure, Bordeaux 32,115

Trophée Jean-Prat

Date Winner Runner-up Score Venue Attendance
7 June 2014 US Montauban RC Massy 18-14 Stade Jean-Antoine Moueix, Libourne 4,500

Pro D2 (France's professional second-tier rugby division)

Date Winner Score Runner-up Venue Attendance
7 June 2025 US Montauban 24-19 FC Grenoble Rugby Ernest-Wallon stadium, Toulouse 19,000

Current standings

2025–26 Top 14 Table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Toulouse 17 13 0 4 662 352 +310 90 40 10 2 62 Qualification for playoff semi-finals and European Rugby Champions Cup
2 Pau 16 11 0 5 495 420 +75 61 53 5 2 51
3 Bordeaux Bègles 17 10 0 7 574 444 +130 81 56 7 3 50 Qualification for playoff semi-final qualifiers and European Rugby Champions Cup
4 Montpellier 17 9 1 7 520 373 +147 64 42 6 4 48
5 Clermont 17 10 0 7 558 452 +106 72 56 5 1 46
6 Racing 92 17 10 1 6 497 517 −20 58 66 2 1 45
7 Stade Français 17 8 1 8 471 427 +44 58 55 5 5 44 Qualification for European Rugby Champions Cup
8 Toulon 17 9 0 8 452 523 −71 61 63 6 1 43
9 Castres 17 9 0 8 405 470 −65 47 59 1 4 41 Qualification for European Rugby Challenge Cup
10 La Rochelle 17 7 0 10 520 461 +59 68 56 5 4 37
11 Lyon 17 8 0 9 508 489 +19 64 64 3 2 37
12 Bayonne 17 8 0 9 452 557 −105 51 71 2 2 36
13 Perpignan 16 3 0 13 283 445 −162 31 51 1 1 14 Qualification for relegation play-off
14 Montauban 17 1 1 15 325 792 −467 39 113 0 1 7 Relegation to Pro D2
Updated to match(es) played on 15 February 2026. Source: Top 14


Current squad

The Montauban squad for the 2025–26 season is:[5][6]

US Montauban 2025–26 Top 14 squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

  • Jérôme Bosviel
  • Thomas Fortunel

Centres

Wings

  • Stephane Ahmed
  • Romain Fonnicola
  • Paul Vallée
  • Josua Vici

Fullbacks

(c) denotes the team captain.
Bold denotes internationally capped players.
Source: [6]

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
Esteban Faulong Hooker France
Thomas Ourliac Hooker France
Jordan Buret Prop France
Levan Ezieshvili Prop Georgia
Jules Lamond Prop France
Remi Davis Lock France
Quentin Humbert Lock France
Mateo Lorenzo Lock Argentina
Jules Bousquet Back row France
Corentin Coularis Back row France
Charlie Fenton Back row Ireland
Player Position Union
Jean Penetro Scrum-half France
Elliot Vanoudendycke Scrum-half France
Merlin Leflamand Fly-half France
Gabin Letellier Centre France
Jules Francone Wing France
Jean Seux Fullback France

References

  1. ^ "Planet Rugby | Rugby Union Tournaments | Top 14 | Delasau begins likely Montauban exodus". www.planetrugby.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-13.
  2. ^ "Yahoo UK & Ireland - Sports News - Live Scores - Results". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  3. ^ "Demi-finale Fédérale 1 - Massy et Montauban retrouvent la Pro D2". Midi Olympique (in French). 24 May 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Rugby: Montauban champion de France de Fédérale 1". L'Équipe (in French). 7 June 2014. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
  5. ^ "USM Sapiac - Les Joueurs". US Montauban (in French). Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Montauban squad for season 2025/2026". all.rugby. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  • USM Rugby - 100 photos pour un centenaire, 2003