The most sensitive job in Fabien Galthie’s staff has been filled. Doumayrou moves from the tightest defence in the Top 14 to the France defence, without leaving Montpellier.
The deal is done in principle, L’Equipe reported on 24 September, and the head coach was expected to discuss it on the Canal Rugby Club show on 26 September. Bernard Laporte, Montpellier’s director of rugby, confirmed the club’s agreement on the same day.
The Maxime Petitjean model
Doumayrou will remain Montpellier’s defence coach and be released for national camps, in the same arrangement as kicking specialist Maxime Petitjean, who splits his time between France and Toulon. The agreement runs until the end of the 2028 Six Nations.
The federation and the club had reached terms several days earlier, leaving only the signature. His predecessor, Shaun Edwards, left the France staff in mid-June, two years before his contract expired, and has just joined the England women’s coaching group as a consultant.
Bernard Laporte | RugbyramaPresident Mohed Altrad decided to make Geoffrey available to the France team. It is another generous gesture.
He arrives with the league’s best defence
The record speaks for him. Montpellier conceded 630 points in 28 games last season, 22.5 per game, the best figure in the Top 14, with Toulouse next on 654 from the same number of matches. Doumayrou has run that area since 2024, the year he retired as a player at Montpellier.
As a player he made 89 appearances for the club after spells at Stade Francais and La Rochelle. His 13 France caps span sixteen months, from his first match on 11 November 2017 to his last on 16 March 2019, in the centres.
Chiffres à retenir
630 Points conceded by Montpellier in 28 games in 2025-26, the best defence in the Top 14
22.5 Points conceded per game by Montpellier last season
13 France caps for Geoffrey Doumayrou, between November 2017 and March 2019
89 Appearances for Montpellier as a player
2028 End of his agreement with France, after the Six Nations
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