Montpellier XIII Red Devils ( fr:Montpellier Diables Rouges Rugby a XIII ) are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Montpellier, in the region of Herault, France. They currently play in the National Division 2. Their home ground is the Stade Sabathé.
Founded in 1953 as Montpellier Diables Rouges in English meaning Red Devils, named after the first club side to tour France back in the 1930s namely Salford RLFC 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 was closed down and demolished. For season 97/98 a reign of heavy recruitment began with the intent of getting the club back to the top tier. Players like Australian [1] along with talented local players like Cobos, Simon, Bouteloup, Trinquier and were brought to the club. In 98-99 they won their first trophy when they won 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 3rd tier, they beat Ille-sur-Tet XIII again and in the play-offs before beating in the final 40-4 earning promotion to the 2nd tier. They would spend the next ten years in the Elite Two Championship, they were runner-up in 2008 to , 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 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 3rd tier. At the end of season 2013/14 the club was back in the 2nd tier[2]
The club runs both youth and ladies teams
Stadium[]
The 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 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. The stadium is a rugby ground with an 8,000 capacity of which 2,800 are seated.
Rugby league in France