Montpellier has formalized the extension of the contract of its hooker Lyam Akrab, elected best player of the last 6 Nations U20 Tournament.
He joined the Montpellier training center in 2020, at the age of 15. And Lyam Akrab will stay in Hérault at least until 2028. The MHR in fact formalized on Thursday the extension of the contract of its talented 20-year-old hooker, whose lease expired next summer. Initially trained in Grenoble, the Isérois made his debut in the Top 14 in the Montpellier jersey in May 2024. Last season, he played eight matches with the MHR, including five in the Challenge Cup, scoring three tries.
Akrab is quietly making his place
And this season, within a squad which includes three other hookers (New Zealander Ricky Riccitelli, Frenchman Christopher Tolofua and Australian Jordan Uelese), he started in the defeat at Bayonne then played half an hour in the draw at Montauban. “Lyam, today, counts as a squad player. He competes with other heels. We will see it in the team compositions from the start of the season,” said MHR manager Joan Caudullo at the beginning of September. Lyam Akrab, who started out in football, is considered a great hope in French rugby, and he also received the 2025 Olympic Midi Espoir Oscar.
Seven tries for Akrab during the Tournament
He was also voted best player in the last U20 6 Nations Tournament, a competition in which he was a member of the Bleuets and scored no less than seven tries. Coach Cédric Laborde was full of praise for him: “He was a key element of the group, both on and off the field. Always present in the combat phases, in support, he showed that he was a formidable ball carrier. He fully invested himself, body and soul. I am really happy that he is rewarded in this way. » It is certainly a nugget that Montpellier has just extended.
