André and Guy Boniface, Christian Darrouy, Benoît Dauga… Those names breathe rugby. You have no doubt heard of them. These men were glories of French rugby, of the Landes and above all of the Mont-de-Marsan club.

The 1963 French champions have regularly, over the course of their history, produced great players and seen a few greats of the game pass through. We obviously come to Thomas Castaignède. Unlike their neighbours from Dax, Stade Montois had negotiated the shift to professionalism well, earning several promotions to the Top 14 (2007/2008 and 2011/2012 seasons).

A coaching staff under no threat

But here we are. With the economic catchment of the Landes relatively weak, Mont-de-Marsan were never able to settle in the top flight. Time and again, though, the Landes capital, led by Julien Cabannes, Julien Tastet and Yann Brethous, had managed to reach the second division play-offs. The most recent example was the promotion play-off lost to Perpignan in 2022 (41-16).

Since last season, Mont-de-Marsan have been sinking towards the bottom of the Pro D2 table, sitting second from last and just one point clear of bottom side Carcassonne. Humiliated at Dax in the Landes derby last Friday (68-14), the Montois are no longer reacting.

Psychologically, we are fragile

“We knew where we stood, but we didn’t think we were that low. We are the laughing stock of the town of Mont-de-Marsan“, conceded one of the squad’s senior men, Christophe Loustalot, to Canal + after the match. A lack of leaders, of desire (?), of character… A disastrous set piece and a game at half-mast despite obvious qualities, notably in the three-quarter line. Everything has broken down.

Earlier in the season, though, the Montois had beaten Vannes and Grenoble and had put 71 points on Nevers. The Yellow and Blacks were then spanked at Brive (68-10), beaten at home by Angoulême after a total non-performance (6-16) and then trampled at Dax.

“We don’t understand. That is all the work that will have to be done. It isn’t the first hammering of the season, which means that psychologically, we are fragile“, reacted club president Jean-Robert Cazeaux in the columns of Midi Olympique. Yet, despite the emergency and the poor performances, the coaches do not appear to be in danger. “Today, we have confidence in the staff. They work very hard“.

The squad still bears the scars of last season, a gruelling one and hardly a success, in which internal problems came to light. Remember that the coaches at the time, Stéphane Prosper and Patrick Milhet, were sacked following the poor results. Nothing seems to have shifted since…

Another truth is that the club has suffered some very significant departures over recent seasons. Its best players, the likes of Naituvi (Racing 92), Latterrade (UBB then Provence), Coly (Montpellier), Macharashvili (Montpellier then Agen), Banos (Toulouse) and Ramototabua (Oyonnax then Castres), not to mention the retirements of Cabannes, Brethous and Laousse-Azpiazu, have hurt the “Abeilles” badly.

Once again it is with sadness that we watch, powerless, the fall of a bastion of French rugby. But in sport, things can move very quickly. A response on Friday at home to Oyonnax could set off a new dynamic. The weight of history must be etched into every Mont-de-Marsan head. A club like this one cannot sink any further.