FOR MONTPELLIER, FRIDAY’S Friday’s Challenge Cup final date with Ulster is another important step on what has been a strong season.
As well as going to the final weekend in Europe, the French side are currently second in the Top 14 table, with ambitions of landing the Brennus for the first time since 2022.
This is what Billy Vunipola signed up for when he made the move from Saracens in 2024.
Since arriving in the South of France, the number eight has been part of a resurgent Montpellier team, reinvigorated by a young coaching team. From finishing 13th in 2024 they jumped to ninth last season, just five points short of a place in the Champions Cup. This season they’ve kicked on to another level, backboned by a robust defence – conceding the fewest points in the league to date – to trail leaders Toulouse by eight points.
Montpellier are getting back to where they feel they belong, but already, the focus is on ensuring this becomes a consistently competitive squad.
“Winning this weekend would validate a lot of the decisions that they made last year to employ a more localised or younger group of coaches, especially coaches that came through the system, or had recently just retired from playing with Montpelier,” Vunipola explains.
“Also, they’ve won this competition before, in 2016 and 2021 and after both times, I don’t think they did very well. After the second time they won the Brennus and then after that they kind of fell off a cliff, for lack of a better phrase.
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“We want to win this weekend, but also we want to be more consistent moving forward, to be more consistently in the top six [of the Top 14], and that’s the only way we’re going to grow this team.”
The former England international is in his second season with Montpellier. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
For Ulster, Friday is the last stop on a campaign that promised so much, but threatens to end in heartbreak. Lose in Bilbao and the province will also miss out on playing in the Champions Cup next season, having slipped outside the play-off spots on the final weekend of the regular URC season.
“It’s just another layer for them. They thought they were unlucky last week against Glasgow, they played really well against a very good team who are top of the URC. They probably should have won that game, and when we look at Ulster, we see a team that’s very well-organised, but also they can play in the chaos.
“So we’re very aware of the weapons that they have, and to layer on top of that, the fact it’s their last game, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“They’re fighting for a place in the Champions Cup next year, which they narrowly missed out (by finishing ninth in URC), and so we know what they’re going to bring in terms of their rugby, but we also know that they’re willing to go deep in terms of physically and mentally.”
The 33-year-old has been keeping an eye on Ulster’s progress this season, name-checking some of their standout threats in the pack.
“Definitely (Juarno) Augustus. I remember my last game in England was against Northampton and he was very good in that game.
But he gives them something different, he’s not your typical big South African Number 8, he’s more agile, he’s good with his feet.
“And then you’ve got (Nick) Timoney who is just a seasoned pro, obviously he’s an international now, he’s a constant threat in and around the rucks.
“One thing they’re very good at is playing in together, especially in those little pods of threes. Izuchukwu, he’s a big threat, he reminds me of Theo McFarland, he’s very athletic, but he’s also very smart the way he positions himself just outside the 10, or he’ll go and hide on the wing and then you don’t think he’s a threat and then Doak gives him the ball and he makes a 20-metre break.
“So they complement each other very well, but they’ve also got their own superpowers that they bring to the team. Like I said, Augustus with his feet, speed and power, Timoney with his constant work rate, he’s fast too, and yeah, we’ve watched a lot of clips and hopefully we’re ready, but you’re never ready until you’re in the game.”
Vunipola goes up against Juarno Augustus in 2024. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
The former England international is now in his second year as a Montpellier player, where he’s grown accustomed to the demands of French rugby, starting 21 games so far this season.
The demands of that league never cease. A week after taking on Ulster, Montpellier face third-place Pau in the Top 14, with just a point separating the sides in the race to finish in the top two.
“The big difference between here and the Premiership is just the constant playing against big teams week in, week out, big players, big bodies, teams that need to win or have to win to maintain themselves in the Top 14.
“You see every single team will have a big number five, your Meafous, your Skeltons of the worlds, and then you’ve got your tall players around them who compliment them, like your Camaras, Francois Cros, Jack Willis, Adam Coleman, everyone’s loaded with big players.”
Vunipola has something of an Ulster connection going back to his Saracens days, where he was coached by former Ulster player and coach Mark McCall.
McCall is stepping away from Saracens at the end of the season, and Vunipola paid tribute to a man with whom he won Premiership titles and three Champions Cups.
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“I actually sent him a message when the news came out. I won’t say what I said to him, but for a young player to have been recruited by Smally, he had a massive influence on me as a person, and he changed my mindset because I thought that I was good.
Vunipola and McCall enjoyed huge success together at Saracens. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
“He just challenged me every day to be better, and that helped me to be more driven in searching for ways to be better, and to essentially grow into the player that I could have been, whereas if I stayed in my comfort zone at Wasps I don’t think I would have ever asked those questions that he asked me.
“‘Do you think you can be fitter”’ Or ‘do you think you can be stronger, do you think you can be a leader through your actions?’. He was always very upfront with me, and I was very lucky to be recruited by Smally and his coaches.
“Everything that happened with Saracens I don’t think would have happened if it wasn’t for him and his influence on the team and the amount of knowledge that he has for rugby. So yeah, very grateful to be recruited by Smally.”
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Montpellier's Vunipola wary of an Ulster side 'with nothing to lose and everything to gain'
FOR MONTPELLIER, FRIDAY’S Friday’s Challenge Cup final date with Ulster is another important step on what has been a strong season.
As well as going to the final weekend in Europe, the French side are currently second in the Top 14 table, with ambitions of landing the Brennus for the first time since 2022.
This is what Billy Vunipola signed up for when he made the move from Saracens in 2024.
Since arriving in the South of France, the number eight has been part of a resurgent Montpellier team, reinvigorated by a young coaching team. From finishing 13th in 2024 they jumped to ninth last season, just five points short of a place in the Champions Cup. This season they’ve kicked on to another level, backboned by a robust defence – conceding the fewest points in the league to date – to trail leaders Toulouse by eight points.
Montpellier are getting back to where they feel they belong, but already, the focus is on ensuring this becomes a consistently competitive squad.
“Winning this weekend would validate a lot of the decisions that they made last year to employ a more localised or younger group of coaches, especially coaches that came through the system, or had recently just retired from playing with Montpelier,” Vunipola explains.
“Also, they’ve won this competition before, in 2016 and 2021 and after both times, I don’t think they did very well. After the second time they won the Brennus and then after that they kind of fell off a cliff, for lack of a better phrase.
“We want to win this weekend, but also we want to be more consistent moving forward, to be more consistently in the top six [of the Top 14], and that’s the only way we’re going to grow this team.”
For Ulster, Friday is the last stop on a campaign that promised so much, but threatens to end in heartbreak. Lose in Bilbao and the province will also miss out on playing in the Champions Cup next season, having slipped outside the play-off spots on the final weekend of the regular URC season.
“It’s just another layer for them. They thought they were unlucky last week against Glasgow, they played really well against a very good team who are top of the URC. They probably should have won that game, and when we look at Ulster, we see a team that’s very well-organised, but also they can play in the chaos.
“So we’re very aware of the weapons that they have, and to layer on top of that, the fact it’s their last game, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
“They’re fighting for a place in the Champions Cup next year, which they narrowly missed out (by finishing ninth in URC), and so we know what they’re going to bring in terms of their rugby, but we also know that they’re willing to go deep in terms of physically and mentally.”
The 33-year-old has been keeping an eye on Ulster’s progress this season, name-checking some of their standout threats in the pack.
“Definitely (Juarno) Augustus. I remember my last game in England was against Northampton and he was very good in that game.
“And then you’ve got (Nick) Timoney who is just a seasoned pro, obviously he’s an international now, he’s a constant threat in and around the rucks.
“One thing they’re very good at is playing in together, especially in those little pods of threes. Izuchukwu, he’s a big threat, he reminds me of Theo McFarland, he’s very athletic, but he’s also very smart the way he positions himself just outside the 10, or he’ll go and hide on the wing and then you don’t think he’s a threat and then Doak gives him the ball and he makes a 20-metre break.
“So they complement each other very well, but they’ve also got their own superpowers that they bring to the team. Like I said, Augustus with his feet, speed and power, Timoney with his constant work rate, he’s fast too, and yeah, we’ve watched a lot of clips and hopefully we’re ready, but you’re never ready until you’re in the game.”
The former England international is now in his second year as a Montpellier player, where he’s grown accustomed to the demands of French rugby, starting 21 games so far this season.
The demands of that league never cease. A week after taking on Ulster, Montpellier face third-place Pau in the Top 14, with just a point separating the sides in the race to finish in the top two.
“The big difference between here and the Premiership is just the constant playing against big teams week in, week out, big players, big bodies, teams that need to win or have to win to maintain themselves in the Top 14.
“You see every single team will have a big number five, your Meafous, your Skeltons of the worlds, and then you’ve got your tall players around them who compliment them, like your Camaras, Francois Cros, Jack Willis, Adam Coleman, everyone’s loaded with big players.”
Vunipola has something of an Ulster connection going back to his Saracens days, where he was coached by former Ulster player and coach Mark McCall.
McCall is stepping away from Saracens at the end of the season, and Vunipola paid tribute to a man with whom he won Premiership titles and three Champions Cups.
“I actually sent him a message when the news came out. I won’t say what I said to him, but for a young player to have been recruited by Smally, he had a massive influence on me as a person, and he changed my mindset because I thought that I was good.
“He just challenged me every day to be better, and that helped me to be more driven in searching for ways to be better, and to essentially grow into the player that I could have been, whereas if I stayed in my comfort zone at Wasps I don’t think I would have ever asked those questions that he asked me.
“‘Do you think you can be fitter”’ Or ‘do you think you can be stronger, do you think you can be a leader through your actions?’. He was always very upfront with me, and I was very lucky to be recruited by Smally and his coaches.
“Everything that happened with Saracens I don’t think would have happened if it wasn’t for him and his influence on the team and the amount of knowledge that he has for rugby. So yeah, very grateful to be recruited by Smally.”
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