Montpellier v Toulon moves to La Mosson

Montpellier have acted first. The league has not declared the pitch unplayable, but the club no longer wants its players on it.

A pitch described as catastrophic

The Septeo Stadium pitch deteriorated badly over the summer, hit by heat and drought. After the round-one defeat to Pau, director of rugby Joan Caudullo called it “catastrophic”. The surface took another beating on Saturday in the 50-13 win over Perpignan.

The Ligue Nationale de Rugby has not declared the pitch unplayable. It is the club that decided not to host Toulon there on Sunday 4 October at 9.05pm, in round five.

Off to La Mosson

The match will be played at the Stade de la Mosson, home of Montpellier’s football club, which is free thanks to the Ligue 2 international break. According to RMC Sport, it will be only the second time the rugby club has played there, after a European match against Leinster in 2011.

Caudullo was keen to stay in the city and had ruled out other options, naming Béziers, Nîmes and Perpignan.

What I really want, to be very clear, is for us to play in Montpellier.

Joan Caudullo | Midi Libre

The same fixture, moved before in 2025

It is not the first time Montpellier’s pitch has caused problems, nor the first time against Toulon. In February 2025 the fixture had to be moved to the Stade Raoul-Barrière in Béziers, and Toulon won 38-30.

The metropolitan authority, which owns the stadium, replaced the pitch the following summer. According to RMC Sport, it is now considering quickly laying a hybrid surface so that Montpellier can return to the Septeo Stadium against Castres.