Béziers, this land of pitfalls. And we are not only talking here about a Raoul-Barrière or Feu Méditerranée stadium in which the SUA has not imposed itself for twenty years [6-16 en 2004, NDLR]. Which corresponds to the last year of one of the legendary players of the blue and white, the third row Philippe Benetton who, at the end of the 2003-2004 season, hung up his crampons to put on the manager’s costume. He found these same Héraultais by becoming the manager of an ASBH which had just moved up to Pro D2 in 2011-2012. Called to maintain and structure the club, the ex-Agenais certainly accomplished his mission, but at what cost. Explanations.
1 A team to rebuild
At the end of the 2011-2012 financial year, Philippe Benetton’s Béziers is 15e and first relegation. The manager recognizes that he only owes the success of the maintenance operation “because Bourgoin is administratively relegated”. The season is complicated, prepared in haste after having gained a rise at the end of the final phases of Fédérale 1 which cut into the preparation.
“I also had to take the club to the next level and place it in the professional world,” recalls Philippe Benetton, who found his biggest challenge there. “The management made me understand that I was too ‘professional’,” he assures. There was a president who still had an amateur spirit, he encouraged his players more to party than to work. »
“A supporter told me: ‘If we don’t keep up, I have my gun in the trunk of my car’”
2 How we meet again
If, since then, “water has flowed under the bridges”, the Agenais version 2024-2025 could very well come across players from the Benetton era who, more than ten seasons later, are still wearing the Béziers jersey. From pillar “Chico” Fernandez (39 years old) to fly-half Charly Malié (33 years old), including current manager Pierre Caillet, they are still loyal to the position.
Just like a certain Andrew Mehrtens. The former New Zealand international was in charge of three-quarters under Philippe Benetton’s mandate. The deputy at the time gained ground and will take on the role of co-president within the new organization after the purchase of ASBH by an Irish investment fund (Strangford Capital), co-founded by the former boss Formula 1 driver Eddie Jordan. “I hope it won’t be the same as when he was my deputy…” comments Philippe Benetton.
Field man
Course. International on 59 occasions (for three V Nations Tournaments, including two Slams in 1997 and 1998), the original Cadurcien will have spent 14 seasons in the Agen jersey (1987-2004) with a Brennus (1988) to boot. Once his playing career ended, he did not abandon the field by taking on the role of coach for the pros (Racing 92, Béziers, Perpignan) or amateurs (Cahors, Limoges and the Lot Valley). At the end of this last experience (2019), he became a club technical manager within the Nouvelle-Aquitaine regional rugby league.
3 A hostile environment
Even if he had put away the blue and white jersey for almost ten years before arriving in Hérault, it is not easy to get rid of fourteen seasons in the SUA. Between two myths of French rugby and nineteen Brennus in total (eight for Agen, eleven for Béziers), the rivalry is well anchored.
What we made him understand from his presentation in the offseason. “The mayor didn’t even greet me or shake my hand. The only thing he told me was that if Béziers had lost when we came with the SUA, it was because of me. I supposedly caused a fight and monopolized two or three of their players, which benefited three-quarters of us…” On the supporter side, the welcome was not warmer. “There is one who comes to see me and says to me: ‘If we don’t keep up, I have my rifle in the trunk of my car’. ” Atmosphere.
“If Béziers had lost when we came with the SUA, it was because of me. I supposedly caused a fight.”
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4 What if it was the right one?
If he therefore does not intend to attend the match from the stands of Raoul-Barrière (“I am not really welcome there”), he still remains an informed observer of the performances of the SUA.
From there to consider a result? “And why not? Agen presents himself without pressure. I was in Armandie for the derby against Montauban, and that’s exactly what the Montalban leaders said. We saw the result [défaite du SUA 18-25, NDLR]. And, with the level displayed by Béziers and the content offered by Sébastien Calvet’s group, it should be an interesting match. »
