The 2021/2022 Top 14 season was a memorable one for Montpellier, with them putting together a strong regular season campaign and then seeing off Castres in the play-off final, avenging their defeat by the same opponents in the 2017/2018 final and getting their hands on top tier silverware for the first time in their history.
However, just two years on from that triumph, the same team are staring at the prospect of relegation from the same division, with them picking up just eight wins in their 24 matches to date and guaranteed now to finish in 13th place in the table. As a result, they will be forced to face the runners-up of the Pro D2 play-offs (one of Provence, Grenoble, Vannes or Béziers) in order to secure their place in the top flight for the coming campaign.
It has been a sad decline for the former champions and one that has been entirely of their own making, with off-field disruption in the shape of coaching changes and an inability to gain consistent results. There have also been issues on the field, with their performances often being a mixed bag, and this tactical analysis will break down their displays over the course of the season to show where their errors have cost them and why they have a lot to address over the summer break.
Tactical limitations
The first reason that Montpellier have struggled this season is some of the questionable tactics that they have been deploying, particularly in defence, where a lot of what they have been doing has led to opponents finding it far too easy to break them down.
One aspect of their play that has led to them lacking security is their desire to play with a narrow structure whenever they haven’t had the ball, with it clear to see here how winger Gabriel N’Gandebe and full-back Julien Tisseron have both cut inside the pitch and have left the nearside channel unprotected. As a result, it is easy for Bordeaux to take the ball around them and to score the try here, with inside centre Ben Tapuai spotting the positioning of winger Pablo Uberti and allowing him to ground the ball over the line.
It should be mentioned that N’Gandebe did make a concerted effort to get back across the pitch here once the ball had been sent towards Uberti, but the damage had already been done by that stage and he was always going to be at a disadvantage. That is the key point to make here as it shows that Montpellier do have the ability to prevent themselves from conceding tries like this and yet don’t, with this not the only time when they have tried to overcrowd the central areas and have then been punished for leaving the outside channels too exposed.
The other thing that has been prominent in Montpellier’s play is their tendency to defend with a high line in a bid to give their opponents as little time as possible to make decisions when moving the ball around the field.
This in itself is not an issue, with their bravery and desire to increase the chance of their opponents making errors highly commendable. However, the problem is that this seems to be Montpellier’s only way of defending, regardless of what their opponents’ own tactics are based around, and that has often left them short and has seen them once again become easy to break down.
In this match, Oyonnax (who were the only team to finish below Montpellier and who are guaranteed to be playing in the second tier next season) realised early on that their opponents were leaving vast swathes of territory unoccupied behind them and so constantly targeted it with box kicks, just as Argentinian fly-half Domingo Miotti is doing here when he sets up winger Maxime Salles to score a try.
It should be mentioned that Montpellier in this game did have players operating in unfamiliar roles due to a shortage of squad options, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that they failed to adapt and kept doing what was clearly not working against Oyonnax. Therefore, an inability to play with a secondary plan has been just as critical in their struggles.
Individual errors
However, tactical deficiencies are not the only thing that have led to Montpellier enduring a disappointing campaign, with individual mistakes also playing a key role and being just as much to blame for their current predicament.
These have also been seen mostly when the team has been on the defensive, with this situation showing Stade Français attacking down the nearside of the field and it initially seeming as though Montpellier have covered off the threat that Fijian winger Peniasi Dakuwaqa is posing with his run.
However, a series of errors leads to Montpellier conceding points here, with the first coming through Canadian lock Tyler Duguid allowing Dakuwaqa through too easily and the second coming through scrum-half Léo Coly momentarily slowing down and seeming to hesitate, which then put him at a disadvantage and allowed Dakuwaqa to get beyond him and to reach the ball first.
What made this even worse was that, in an effort to recover from the mistakes that they had made here, Montpellier ended up conceding a penalty try, and it could have been so easily avoided if they had defended with a little more surety in these moments, and it would have been so frustrating for those watching on the sidelines and in the stands as they would have known that they only had themselves to blame for it coming about.
That theme of players hesitating at key moments has continued throughout the season for Montpellier and has been seen when they are attacking too, with them largely looking stronger in this part of the game but having moments when they have appeared to doubt themselves and so have allowed the ball to be won back by their opponents too easily.
That was shown clearly in this situation, with centre Auguste Cadot in possession and shaping to pass the ball down the line but seeming to second guess himself at the last minute and holding onto the ball. At that stage, his other option was to kick it over the top of the Racing 92 line but he opted not to do that either, despite having a look at the space ahead of him, and that then gave Racing the opportunity to close him down through retiring former France flanker Wenceslas Lauret and to regain the ball in a dangerous area of the field.
Whilst the try that Racing scored here through Fijian wide player Wame Naituvi on the nearside wing (who was once again in open space, linking back to the issues highlighted earlier in the scout report) didn’t matter too much in the context of the scoreline, with Montpellier ending up with a 44-20 win, it did show how this is something else that has hurt them at times and that has contributed to their season of woe.
Reasons to be positive
The analysis has so far focused on the negative aspects of Montpellier’s play, but what is just as important to highlight is that there has been a lot that they have actually done well, and so it is not all doom and gloom for them and there are a number of reasons that they can be optimistic about this simply being a one-off campaign.
Their aforementioned pressing tactics when out of possession, for example, are not a bad way to approach their games and there have been a number of times when they have worked out and have led to them winning the ball in favourable positions.
The match against Toulon was one of those and it was a match when everything seemed to fall into place for Montpellier, with their opponents struggling to contain them at times. In this moment, Toulon have looked to pass the ball down the line through Georgia prop Beka Gigashvili but have seen it be intercepted by inside centre Jan Serfontein (who has had a strong individual campaign) before it can reach Samoa centre Duncan Paia’aua.
Whilst Serfontein was unable to make any ground on his own here, his offload to Arthur Vincent allowed lock Nico Janse van Rensburg to ground the ball over the line in the corner, and that highlights how dangerous Montpellier can be when they do play well.
In attack, what has helped Montpellier to keep racking up the points has been their strong carrying ability, with so much of what they do well coming through their desire to apply pressure on the front foot and to constantly look for ways to get over the gain line whenever the ball has been in their grasp.
One player who has really epitomised this has been former Exeter Chiefs back rower Sam Simmonds, who joined last summer and who has fitted really well into his new surroundings. His game has always been based on identifying gaps and on testing those around him, and the success that he has gained from that has led to him becoming an important cog in the Montpellier machine. In this case, he has looked to drive between Oyonnax back rower Rory Grice and former Ireland centre Chris Farrell, having realised that there is enough of a gap available there for him to penetrate, and the fact that he managed to get up to the 5m line before being finally halted shows his individual strength and power.
The importance that this has had in Montpellier’s attacking play is shown by the fact that Simmonds’ push forward here instigated a multiphase attack that ended in a try just two passes later, with lock Bastien Charlureau the one to ground the ball over the line, and that highlights how this has been a major positive in their play as the season has gone on.
The other positive aspect of Montpellier’s performances has been the confidence that they have shown when kicking from the tee, with both fly-half Louis Carbonel and Italy standoff Paolo Garbisi (before the latter’s mi-season move to Toulon) demonstrating a constant composure when sending the ball towards the posts and ensuring that their side have always been able to keep the scoreboard ticking over, even when other things have conspired against them.
That confidence is shown clearly here by Carbonel kicking at goal from the halfway line, and the fact that the ball found its way between the posts showed how this has been one of Montpellier’s main and most reliable weapons this season. It has also led to opposing sides playing with additional pressure whenever the ball is in range of their own posts, with them knowing that any mistakes could lead to them conceding yet more points through a well-aimed kick at goal.
Carbonel is departing the club in the summer to move to Stade Français, with the aforementioned Miotti confirmed to be replacing him in the Montpellier ranks, and there will certainly be a need for him to be just as consistent and confident when kicking both in open play and from the tee next season if Montpellier are to ask the same questions of their opponents, regardless of what league they end up in after their relegation play-off has taken place.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this tactical analysis has looked at Montpellier’s struggles this season in the Top 14 and has shown why they have been languishing nearer the foot of the table, with it clear that there has been a lot that has not gone their way and that they have a lot to address if they are to make this a one-season blip on their record.
As mentioned though, not all of the blame should be apportioned to what has happened on the field, with the disruption caused by the mid-season coaching changes also responsible for the way that their campaign has gone. The hope now is that they have a structure that works for them and that will lead to more positivity on the field, because the scout report has highlighted that there has been plenty for them to be pleased about in-game and that has helped them to get points in each match, and it is now a case of eradicating the errors to ensure that they can start to gain better results on a more consistent basis.