Rugby Pro D2
Current season, competition or edition: 2014–15 Rugby Pro D2 season | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2000 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Country |
 France |
| Most recent champion(s) | Pau |
| Promotion to | Top 14 |
| Relegation to | Fédérale 1 |
Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second division of domestic club rugby union in France. Rugby Pro D2 is directly below the first division, Top 14. Pro D2 was introduced in 2000.
There is relegation and promotion between both the Top 14 and Fédérale 1, the third-level competition. The top club at the end of the season is automatically promoted to the Top 14; the 2nd through 5th place teams play each other for the second promotion place. The bottom two are automatically relegated to Fédérale 1. The bottom two clubs of the Top 14 and the top two of Fédérale 1 then enter the Rugby Pro D2 for the next season.
There are 30 rounds in the regular season, with each team playing each other team home and away. The two halves of the season are played in the same order, with the away team in the first half of the season at home in the second half. The semi-finals and final take place in May, with the second- and third-place teams hosting the semi-finals and the final taking place at a predetermined site. At present, 16 clubs compete in the competition.
All promotions are contingent on passing a postseason financial audit required for all clubs. Also, if a club above the bottom two places fails the audit, it may be relegated in the place of a club that would otherwise have been relegated.
Current teams
2015–16 season
Changes in the lineup from 2014–15 were:
- Pau won the 2014–15 Pro D2 title and were thereby automatically promoted to the Top 14. Agen won the promotion playoffs to secure the second promotion place.
- The bottom finisher in 2014–15, Massy, was relegated from Pro D2 to Fédérale 1. Second-from-bottom Dax was spared relegation when Fédérale 1 runner-up Lille was denied promotion.[1]
- The two bottom finishers in the 2014–15 Top 14 season, Bayonne and Lyon, were relegated to Pro D2.
- The champion of Fédérale 1, Provence (then known as Pays d'Aix), earned promotion. Runner-up Lille was denied promotion by LNR's financial watchdog, DNACG, due to excessive debt.[2] Lille appealed the decision, but was unsuccessful.[1]
Because Lille's appeal ran up against the start of the Pro D2 season on 21 August, LNR postponed the first two matches that would have involved Lille or Dax, while allowing the season to start on schedule for other teams. Dax's first two matches were made up in September.[1]
Table
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| Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Diff | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | |||||||
| 1 | Lyon | 22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 738 | 340 | +398 | 9 | 2 | 91 | ||||||
| 2 | Bayonne | 22 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 496 | 426 | +70 | 3 | 3 | 68 | ||||||
| 3 | Béziers | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 555 | 466 | +89 | 3 | 3 | 60 | ||||||
| 4 | Aurillac | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 524 | 450 | +74 | 4 | 3 | 59 | ||||||
| 5 | Perpignan | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 519 | 458 | +61 | 4 | 5 | 55 | ||||||
| 6 | Colomiers | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 436 | 436 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 52 | ||||||
| 7 | Albi | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 426 | 438 | -12 | 1 | 2 | 51 | ||||||
| 8 | Mont De Marsan | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 418 | 475 | -57 | 2 | 3 | 47 | ||||||
| 9 | Montauban | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 407 | 448 | −41 | 0 | 6 | 46 | ||||||
| 10 | Narbonne | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 438 | 489 | −51 | 1 | 5 | 46 | ||||||
| 11 | Bourgoin | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 414 | 427 | –13 | 3 | 7 | 46 | ||||||
| 12 | Biarritz | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 457 | 430 | +27 | 2 | 3 | 45 | ||||||
| 13 | Carcassonne | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 346 | 530 | −184 | 0 | 4 | 36 | ||||||
| 14 | Dax | 22 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 394 | 527 | –133 | 0 | 4 | 34 | ||||||
| 15 | Tarbes | 22 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 421 | 466 | −45 | 0 | 9 | 33 | ||||||
| 16 | Provence Rugby | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 376 | 559 | −183 | 0 | 3 | 27 | ||||||
| Green background (row 1) Champions automatically promoted to Top 14. Blue background denotes teams that qualify for the promotion play-offs. Red background relegation to Fédérale 1. Note: When two teams have the same points total, position is calculated by results between teams before points difference. | |||||||||||||||||
Previous seasons
| Season | Champion | Play-off winner |
|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Pau | Agen |
| 2013–14 | Lyon | La Rochelle |
| 2012–13 | Oyonnax | Brive |
| 2011–12 | Grenoble | Mont-de-Marsan |
| 2010–11 | Lyon | Bordeaux Bègles |
| 2009–10 | Agen | La Rochelle |
| 2008–09 | Racing Métro | Albi |
| 2007–08 | Toulon | Mont-de-Marsan |
| 2006–07 | Auch | Dax |
| 2005–06 | Montauban | Albi Runner-up |
| 2004–05 | Toulon | Only one promotion as the Top16 became Top14. |
| 2003–04 | Auch | Bayonne Lost the play-off final to Auch |
| 2002–03 | Montpellier | Brive |
| 2001–02 | Mont-de-Marsan | Grenoble |
| 2000–01 | Montauban | Only one promotion as the top division reduced from 21 to 16 teams. |
Notes and references
- 1 2 3 "Décisions du Comité Directeur de la LNR du 21 août 2015" (PDF) (Press release) (in French). LNR. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ↑ "La montée de Lille refusée". L'Équipe (in French). 23 June 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
See also
External links
- (French) Rugby Pro D2 – Official website
- (French) Midi Olympique
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