MHR have their new loosehead prop. Reda Wardi, 30, has signed for four seasons with Montpellier, the club that made him. The France international leaves La Rochelle after seven seasons and fills the gap left by Enzo Forletta’s move to USAP.
The local boy comes home
Born in Montpellier and schooled at MHR, which he joined at 12, Wardi had to move away to Béziers to launch his professional career: 59 Pro D2 matches with ASBH between 2015 and 2019. The next chapter was written at La Rochelle, where he established himself as a regular starter for Stade Rochelais: 121 Top 14 matches and 33 in the Champions Cup over seven seasons, including the winning European campaigns of 2022 and 2023.
Last season again, the loosehead played 19 Top 14 games, 14 of them as a starter. That consistency convinced Montpellier to hand him a four-year deal.
The 2027 World Cup in the background
An 18-cap international, Wardi played at the 2023 World Cup (5 matches) and remains in Fabien Galthié’s rotation: he came off the bench twice this summer in the Nations Championship. At 30, and 31 this Sunday, the prop sees this return to his roots as a springboard towards the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
Valuable in the scrum and with a big workload in defence, he brings MHR the experience the position had lacked since Forletta left. And a story that speaks to the GGL Stadium crowd: a local kid coming back to where it all started.
His La Rochelle seasons in numbers
| Season | Top 14 (starts) | Champions Cup (starts) |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-2020 | 13 (5) | 5 (2) |
| 2020-2021 | 25 (21) | 5 (3) |
| 2021-2022 | 16 (10) | 4 (1) |
| 2022-2023 | 17 (12) | 7 (6) |
| 2023-2024 | 11 (9) | 4 (4) |
| 2024-2025 | 20 (17) | 4 (4) |
| 2025-2026 | 19 (14) | 4 (2) |
| Total | 121 (88) | 33 (22) |
That makes 154 matches in a La Rochelle shirt, 110 of them as a starter. Rare consistency in that position, which MHR have secured for the next four seasons.
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