AS Béziers Hérault rugby club plays at the Stade Raoul-Barrière, a stadium named after the coach who led the club through its golden era. Between 1961 and 1984, AS Béziers was the dominant force in French rugby, winning the national championship fourteen times. For a mid-sized provincial city, this is an extraordinary record, and the club's identity is wrapped into the city's sense of itself in ways that go well beyond sport.
The stadium holds around 18,000 spectators and match days in the Pro D2 (the second division of French rugby, where the club has played in recent years after a long decline from the top flight) are a good way to experience Béziers on its own terms. Local fans are vocal, the rugby is often physical and entertaining, and the post-match atmosphere in the bars around the allées is worth extending the evening for. Check the Pro D2 fixture schedule before you go — home games are not every weekend.