VIDEO. The MHR remains in the Top 14: a sigh of relief for the club despite external pressures

Jan Serfontein et les Montpelliérains terminent la rencontre les bras en l’air, soulagés. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

Au bout du suspense, le MHR a vaincu Grenoble ce dimanche 16 juin et a assuré sa place en Top 14 l’an prochain.

The nightmare is over. Montpellier finally woke up. He can pinch himself, check his phone, make sure that Louis Carbonel passed the penalty to win in the 77th minute… hellip; Don't panic, he's still in the Top 14 this morning. The nightmare was long. It lasted ten months. The Montpellier observers, perhaps even the players, thought they would never open their eyes. That's it, the time of the MHR in the elite had stopped. That the players' fear of seeing their name linked to that of the descent to Pro D2, spoiling the work of the former Bès, Valls, Bert, Arlettaz and others twenty-one years ago, was very real. But no, all these fears disappeared at 8:46 p.m. Sunday evening.

The Stade des Alpes will therefore not be the scene of the MHR's little death. By the way, by the way, are you heart patients feeling better?? You are still among us?? Patrice Collazo's men did not spare you. Until the end, until three minutes from the end of a breathtaking access match (in terms of suspense, not play) against Grenoble players with hearts bigger than the Chartreuse valley, they made you believe it was a bad joke. In the end, all's well that ends well.

Side finger

And this success, we have the impression, resonated like a side finger to the whole microcosm of French rugby. “We piss off a lot of people with this victory”, launched a Collazo which left this feeling of wanting to settle scores. A statement reminiscent of that of Didier Bès, one afternoon in June in 2003. "We feel that it bothers people to see Montpellier in Top 16", launched the hooker of the time.

Yesterday, when the MHR seemed to falter in the face of the Grenoblois supported by a melting public, a lot of followers began to have a smirk, not unhappy to see this same MHR royally fail to disappear from the Top 14 map.

Because it’s a sad reality. Montpellier is not loved. Even if it’s anecdotal, take a look on social networks and you will see it for yourself… "Everything came together for Montpellier to fall", summed up Collazo. But the Hérault foundations, despite the mountain that stood in front of them, despite all the internal controversies, held.

Also read: Reactions after the Grenoble-MHR access match: "We pissed off a lot of people with this victory", "an indescribable relief", "we avoided the damage& quot;

Certainly, they have been shaken up since the title in June 2022. However, at the time, we thought that Montpellier's identity could finally be based on something solid, based on Brennusian gold.

But it's perhaps in the trouble he's been through this season that he'll really build something. In any case, we wish them. Even if the potential movements to come do not invite the establishment of assured stability, all in all crucial in the sustainability of an entity.

In the meantime, a new stone has been laid. "After this match, this group will become a team", whispered Collazo, not yet 200 % certain of being one at its head next summer (see elsewhere).

This team will have to feed on this traumatic experience to "never relive it again", promised the’ back Julien Tisseron. And the match, by the way ? The manner doesn't really matter. We can just remember that the Montpellier residents shone in money time, their old demons since the start of the season. That’s what was needed at that moment, to stay in the Top 14. The future? For the moment, everyone is focused on the liters of beer that are being sold. rsquo;he will ingest over the next few hours.