What is certain, according to the club manager, is that the challenge is equal to the efforts made in recent seasons:
Montpellier fuels fantasies. There are some great headliners, who sell a lot of paper, who get people talking. Everything comes together to have a great drama.
Patrice Colazzo, manager of the MHR
On the player side, we are not giving up. The Montpellier residents have known since their defeat against Toulouse on May 18 that they would be forced to play the Access match
“We had time to digest it and now we are ready”comments Lenni Nouchi, third row, at the microphone of Hélène Archilla Macurdy. “It’s even more stressful than a Top 14 final” : “It’s the future of a club that is at stake”continues fullback Julien Tisseron.
The MHR is preparing for the access match on June 16, 2024 against Grenoble.
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© Benoit de Tugny – France Télévisions
Because the descent to the second division does not simply mean less spectacle and fewer sporting challenges. It is also a big financial loss. As an indication, during the 2023-2024 season, all Pro D2 clubs shared 8 million euros for television rights, compared to 113 million for those in the Top 14.
Especially since the MHR will face angry Grenoblois, or at least accustomed to this exercise. This is the third time in six years that the FCG has lost the Pro D2 final, and is playing in the play-off match for promotion to the Top 14. A match which they also lost against Perpignan last year.
Vannes won the Pro D2 final against Grenoble, June 8, 2024
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© Jérôme Fouquet – MAXPPP
The Stade des Alpes has been full since Friday. 19,000 supporters, including a majority of Grenoblois committed to the FCG cause, will attend this momentous meeting. A hostile context that the Montpellier residents will have to manage to win.
