Montpellier confirmed on Sunday the arrival at its head of Bernard Laporte, former president of the French Rugby Federation (FFR), in order to “save the club” from Hérault, current red lantern in the Top 14. The former coach of the XV of France, 59, is appointed director of rugby, Montpellier Hérault Rugby (MHR) said in a press release, speaking of a “strategic decision (…) taken in view of the club’s sporting emergency situation”. Laporte succeeds Philippe Saint-André, also former coach of the France team, who will however continue to “advise the general management” of the MHR.
Joint conviction with the club president
“The arrival of Bernard Laporte aims to save the club and restore cohesion to the sporting project,” further underlined the Languedoc club, last in the ranking after its defeat on Saturday in Perpignan (23-16), its sixth setback in seven meetings.
The arrival of Bernard Laporte in the club of President Mohed Altrad will not fail to be commented on, less than a year after the joint conviction of the two men in a case of active corruption, influence peddling and abuse of social goods. In an interview with Sunday newspaperMohed Altrad justified this decision, referring to “one of the best French connoisseurs of world rugby”, “the culture of winning”.
At the head of the FFR until January 2023, Bernard Laporte was forced to resign after his sentence to two years in prison and a fine of 75,000 on December 13, 2022 by the Paris criminal court, for having entered into a “corruption pact” with Mohed Altrad, linked in particular to the sponsorship of the French XV jersey. A decision he appealed. The boss of the MHR received an 18-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 50,000 euros.