2010–11 Rugby Pro D2 season

2010–11 Pro D2
Countries  France
Date 27 August 2010 – 22 May 2011
Champions Lyon
Promoted Lyon
Bordeaux-Bègles
Relegated Colomiers
Saint-Étienne
Matches played 243
Attendance 907,560 (average 3,735 per match)
Tries scored 744 (average 3.062 per match)
Top point scorer New Zealand Gerard Fraser (392)
Top try scorer Fiji Timoci Matanavu (19)

The 2010–11 Rugby Pro D2 was the season of the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2010–11 season. It runs alongside the 2010–11 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).

Albi, who had become the first team to gain promotion back to the Top 14 only one year after being relegated in 2008, got immediately relegated again at the end of the previous Top 14 season. Bayonne finished second-to-bottom and were set to accompany Albi in Pro D2, but Montauban were revealed to have serious financial troubles and were relegated instead. A month later, the LNR's financial arm, DNACG, announced that Montauban would be further dropped to Fédérale 1, allowing Aix-en-Provence, who finished second-to-bottom in Pro D2, to stay.[1][2] This meant that only the bottom finisher, Lannemezan, would be relegated to Fédérale 1 that year. Carcassonne and Saint-Étienne, last year's Fédérale 1 two finalists, gained promotion to Pro D2 for the first time in their history, whilst Agen and La Rochelle, respectively champions and promotion play-offs winners, were promoted to the Top 14.

Lyon, who lost the promotion final the previous year, established themselves as a candidate for the title from early on in the season along with recently relegated Albi. But whilst Albi struggled to keep their momentum after the Christmas break, Lyon managed to maintain their winning ways and held on to their top spot until the end of the season despite a remarkable finish by Grenoble, who had missed on a semi-final spot because of an unfavourable head-to-head against Pau the previous year, and who came back from a poor start to finish within two points of Lyon, the smallest margin between the top two teams since the establishment of the Pro D2, and seven points clear of Albi. In the promotion semi-finals, Albi saw off Mont-de-Marsan after extra time, while Grenoble couldn't capitalise on their home ground advantage and fell to fifth-placed Bordeaux-Bègles. In the final, Bordeaux-Bègles defeated Albi 21–14 to reach the Top 14 for the first time since Bordeaux and Bègles merged to form a new club in 2006.

The previous year's two losing semi-finalists, Oyonnax and Pau, both had disappointing seasons, finishing eighth and ninth, respectively. The two newly promoted teams, Carcassonne and Saint-Étienne, fared very differently. While Carcassone enjoyed a very successful season, to the point that they looked like a credible candidate for the promotion playoffs for the first half of the season, ultimately finishing in tenth, Saint-Étienne had a nightmarish season, with a single win, one draw and twenty-eight losses, amounting to 17 points, the poorest-ever record in the Pro D2 (Lannemezan had finished with 19 points the previous year). Aix-en-Provence, who had been reprieved the previous year, looked like they were going to be part of a three-way battle with Dax and Colomiers to avoid the second relegation spot, but a string of victories in the second half of the season ensured that they would stay in Pro D2 for at least a third consecutive year. Dax and Colomiers fought until the very last day, both finishing with 55 points, but a better head-to-head allowed Dax to clinch the coveted 14th spot, and sent Colomiers to Fédérale 1.

Previous season

Agen, who had been a favorite for promotion ever since they were relegated at the end of the 2006–07 season, finally lived up to the expectations and dominated the championship from the start, finishing with an 11-point margin over second-placed Lyon and thus earning promotion to the 2010–11 Top 14 season. Lyon and La Rochelle made the most of the home ground advantage to qualify for the promotion final with victories over Pau and Oyonnax, respectively, and faced each other in the final. La Rochelle, despite having lost both confrontations against Lyon during the regular season, triumphed 32–26 and earned the right to accompany Agen in the Top 14 after eight years spent in Pro D2.

The two newly promoted teams, Aix-en-Provence and Lannemezan, were not able to rival the other teams and from early on in the season occupied the bottom two places that they were to keep until the end. Lannemezan in particular finished with only three wins out of thirty games (one of which against arch-rivals Tarbes), amounting to 19 points, the poorest record in the Pro D2 since the introduction of the bonus points.

However, in a new twist of events, Montauban, who were already relegated to Pro D2 for financial reasons (thus saving Bayonne's spot in the Top 14), failed their audit on June 10, and were further relegated to Fédérale 1.[3] Their decision not to appeal the DNACG's ruling also meant that Aix would be reprieved and compete again in Pro D2 for the next year.[1][2]

Competition format

The top team at the end of the regular season (after all the teams played one another twice, once at home, once away), is declared champion and earns a spot in the next Top 14 season. Teams ranked second to fifth compete in promotion playoffs, with the semifinals being played at the home ground of the higher-ranked team. The final is then played on neutral ground, and the winner earned the second ticket to the next Top 14.

The LNR uses a slightly different bonus points system from that used in most other rugby competitions. It trialled a new system in 2007–08 explicitly designed to prevent a losing team from earning more than one bonus point in a match,[4] a system that also made it impossible for either team to earn a bonus point in a drawn match. LNR chose to continue with this system for subsequent seasons.[5]

France's bonus point system operates as follows:[5]

Season table

Key to colors
     Champions automatically promoted to Top 14
     Winner of playoffs between second- through fifth-place teams for the second promotion place
     Remaining participants in promotion playoffs
     Bottom two teams relegated to Fédérale 1
2010–11 Rugby Pro D2 Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Diff Bonus points Points Head-to-head
1 Lyon 30 21 2 7 705 448 +257 13 101
2 Grenoble 30 19 4 7 767 505 +262 15 99
3 Albi 30 19 3 8 674 524 +150 10 92
4 Mont-de-Marsan 30 18 0 12 667 467 +200 14 86
5 Bordeaux-Bègles 30 18 1 11 727 578 +149 10 84
6 Auch 30 16 2 12 566 559 +7 11 79
7 Aurillac 30 15 1 14 603 585 +18 8 70
8 Oyonnax 30 13 3 14 579 539 +40 11 69 Oyonnax–Pau 5–5
Oyonnax 36–33
9 Pau 30 15 0 15 630 628 +2 9 69
10 Carcassonne 30 12 2 16 612 608 +4 14 66
11 Aix-en-Provence 30 14 1 15 586 650 −64 5 63
12 Tarbes 30 13 1 16 579 674 −95 8 62
13 Narbonne 30 13 0 17 576 767 −191 8 60
14 Dax 30 10 1 19 591 652 −61 13 55 Dax 6–4
15 Colomiers 30 10 4 16 488 678 −190 7 55
16 Saint-Étienne 30 1 1 28 434 922 −488 11 17

Results

Key

The score of the game is given by the middle (third and fourth) columns. The first and last columns indicate the number of tries scored by the home and the away team, respectively. A blue border indicates that the team has earned an attacking bonus point (i.e. has scored at least three more tries than its opponent), a yellow one that the team has earned a defensive bonus point (defeat by 7 points or less). If a team earns both bonus points, this will be indicated by a green border.

Round 1

27–29 August

0Bordeaux-Bègles1520Colomiers1
0Grenoble912Mont-de-Marsan0
1Auch2526Carcassonne1
2Aurillac3613Dax1
1Lyon229Aix-en-Provence0
3Narbonne3429Tarbes2
6Albi4519Saint-Étienne1
1Pau2019Oyonnax1
Round 2

4 and 5 September

1Saint-Étienne 7 47Oyonnax 6
1 Colomiers 16 12 Mont-de-Marsan 0
2 Pau 22 16 Auch 1
1 Bordeaux-Bègles 22 15 Aurillac 0
1 Tarbes 25 19 Grenoble 1
1 Carcassonne 19 21 Lyon 0
0 Aix-en-Provence 18 11 Narbonne 1
1 Dax 13 28 Albi 3
Round 3

11 and 12 September

4Mont-de-Marsan 35 11 Auch 1
2 Oyonnax 26 9 Bordeaux-Bègles 0
3 Grenoble 31 18 Carcassonne 0
3 Lyon 28 13 Dax 1
3 Aurillac 36 9 Aix-en-Provence 0
0 Tarbes 24 30 Albi 2
3 Colomiers 33 19 Pau 1
2 Narbonne 15 24 Saint-Étienne 0
Round 4

18 and 19 September

1 Aurillac 28 16Pau 1
1 Grenoble 16 16 Bordeaux-Bègles 1
3 Oyonnax 33 9 Carcassonne 0
4 Dax 31 16 Colomiers 1
2 Auch 29 12 Aix-en-Provence 0
4 Albi 34 8 Narbonne 1
4 Saint-Étienne 38 43 Tarbes 3
0 Mont-de-Marsan 15 22 Lyon 1
Round 5

25 and 26 September

2 Narbonne 24 13 Mont-de-Marsan 2
4 Carcassonne 30 6 Aurillac 0
1 Dax 26 14 Oyonnax 2
3 Aix-en-Provence 21 36 Grenoble 5
0 Tarbes 18 14 Auch 1
2 Colomiers 23 23 Saint-Étienne 2
2 Pau 18 22 Albi 1
0 Bordeaux-Bègles 18 12 Lyon 0
Round 6

9 and 10 October

1 Albi 22 17Mont-de-Marsan 1
1 Pau 17 12 Narbonne 0
1 Saint-Étienne 16 48 Bordeaux-Bègles 6
1 Auch 19 17 Dax 1
2 Aix-en-Provence 29 3 Colomiers 0
3 Oyonnax 20 25 Aurillac 1
1 Carcassonne 13 12 Tarbes 0
5 Lyon 39 20 Grenoble 2
Round 7

16 and 17 October

8 Mont-de-Marsan 60 10 Saint-Étienne 1
0 Tarbes 21 22 Pau 1
2 Narbonne 36 29 Carcassonne 2
1 Dax 14 30 Aix-en-Provence 3
1 Aurillac 22 9 Lyon 0
0 Auch 18 15 Oyonnax 0
5 Grenoble 36 6 Colomiers 0
5 Bordeaux-Bègles 47 9 Albi 0
Round 8

23 and 24 October

2 Mont-de-Marsan 17 26 Tarbes 2
1 Aix-en-Provence 17 19 Bordeaux-Bègles 1
3 Oyonnax 28 10 Narbonne 1
3 Lyon 27 8 Auch 1
0 Colomiers 6 19 Aurillac 1
1 Saint-Étienne 19 26 Pau 2
2 Carcassonne 23 19 Dax 2
0 Grenoble 18 12 Albi 0
Round 9

30 and 31 October

1 Carcassonne 16 12 Mont-de-Marsan 0
1 Pau 25 15 Bordeaux-Bègles 0
5 Dax 37 11 Saint-Étienne 1
2 Albi 21 10 Oyonnax 1
1 Narbonne 25 19 Grenoble 1
3 Lyon 25 18 Colomiers 0
0 Aurillac 15 6 Auch 0
1 Tarbes 20 9 Aix-en-Provence 0
Round 10

6 and 7 November

1 Mont-de-Marsan 22 6 Aix-en-Provence 0
3 Pau 19 32 Carcassonne 4
1 Oyonnax 14 0 Tarbes 0
2 Narbonne 32 27 Lyon 3
1 Auch 22 19 Grenoble 1
1 Colomiers 19 20 Albi 1
4 Bordeaux-Bègles 36 17 Dax 2
0 Saint-Étienne 15 19 Aurillac 1
Round 11

20 and 21 November

3 Mont-de-Marsan 28 0 Pau 0
1 Carcassonne 19 14 Bordeaux-Bègles 1
2 Tarbes 26 6 Dax 0
0 Aix-en-Provence 9 3 Saint-Étienne 0
0 Aurillac 18 23 Narbonne 2
1 Grenoble 19 16 Oyonnax 1
0 Colomiers 12 6 Auch 0
1 Albi 20 15 Lyon 0
Round 12

27 and 28 November

2 Aix-en-Provence 24 17 Carcassonne 1
5 Lyon 39 13 Tarbes 1
6 Grenoble 43 6 Saint-Étienne 0
0 Auch 12 6 Narbonne 0
0 Oyonnax 12 12 Colomiers 0
2 Albi 26 16 Aurillac 1
1 Bordeaux-Bègles 20 13 Mont-de-Marsan 1
0 Dax 9 12 Pau 0
Round 13

4 and 5 December

1 Colomiers 13 12 Tarbes 0
3 Narbonne 27 28 Bordeaux-Bègles 1
3 Pau 28 26 Aix-en-Provence 1
8 Carcassonne 50 14 Saint-Étienne 2
2 Auch 32 32 Albi 2
0 Aurillac 15 16 Grenoble 1
0 Mont-de-Marsan 24 13 Dax 1
0 Oyonnax 9 9 Lyon 0
Round 14

11 and 12 December

0 Pau 3 15 Lyon 0
2 Tarbes 27 16 Bordeaux-Bègles 1
1 Aix-en-Provence 20 6 Oyonnax 0
0 Carcassonne 15 22 Albi 1
1 Mont-de-Marsan 17 6 Aurillac 0
1 Dax 13 23 Grenoble 2
0 Saint-Étienne 9 10 Auch 1
1 Colomiers 19 24 Narbonne 2
Round 15

18 and 19 December

0 Oyonnax 15 9 Mont-de-Marsan 0
3 Bordeaux-Bègles 28 23 Auch 2
4 Carcassonne 32 9 Colomiers 0
0 Narbonne 12 18 Dax 0
2 Albi 23 6 Aix-en-Provence 0
3 Tarbes 28 21 Aurillac 2
5 Lyon 37 0 Saint-Étienne 0
3 Grenoble 21 13 Pau 1
Round 16

8 and 9 January

1 Oyonnax 17 13 Pau 1
2 Colomiers 15 19 Bordeaux-Bègles 1
1 Aix-en-Provence 16 34 Lyon 4
1 Carcassonne 10 16 Auch 1
3 Tarbes 27 8 Narbonne 1
0 Dax 24 15 Aurillac 0
1 Saint-Étienne 13 16 Albi 1
3 Mont-de-Marsan 30 19 Grenoble 3
Round 17

15 and 16 January

0 Lyon 15 12 Carcassonne 0
0 Albi 21 24 Dax 3
3 Oyonnax 30 10 Saint-Étienne 1
4 Narbonne 50 22 Aix-en-Provence 1
3 Auch 27 18 Pau 0
1 Mont-de-Marsan 19 6 Colomiers 0
3 Aurillac 25 16 Bordeaux-Bègles 1
5 Grenoble 37 10 Tarbes 1
Round 18

22 and 23 January; 20 March

2 Auch 24 15 Mont-de-Marsan 0
8 Pau 60 12 Colomiers 0
0 Carcassonne 18 22 Grenoble 3
1 Aix-en-Provence 31 12 Aurillac 0
6 Albi 45 18 Tarbes 2
3 Dax 29 36 Lyon 3
4 Bordeaux-Bègles 35 7 Oyonnax 1
0 Saint-Étienne 12 14 Narbonne
Round 19

29 and 30 January

3 Lyon 25 18 Mont-de-Marsan 0
3 Pau 28 13 Aurillac 1
0 Carcassonne 12 12 Oyonnax 0
0 Aix-en-Provence 9 9 Auch 0
2 Tarbes 32 24 Saint-Étienne 3
0 Narbonne 6 3 Albi 0
1 Bordeaux-Bègles 25 22 Grenoble 1
0 Colomiers 12 9 Dax 0
Round 20

5 and 6 February

3 Mont-de-Marsan 34 6 Narbonne 0
2 Saint-Étienne 18 24 Colomiers 2
2 Albi 26 29 Pau 2
5 Aurillac 41 21 Carcassonne 2
2 Oyonnax 18 12 Dax 0
10 Grenoble 67 18 Aix-en-Provence 2
0 Auch 15 12 Tarbes 0
0 Lyon 21 13 Bordeaux-Bègles 1
Round 21

19 and 20 February

1 Narbonne 22 24 Pau 2
4 Bordeaux-Bègles 27 3 Saint-Étienne 0
0 Tarbes 15 10 Carcassonne 1
0 Dax 18 13 Auch 1
2 Aurillac 30 25 Oyonnax 1
0 Colomiers 12 18 Aix-en-Provence 0
0 Grenoble 12 12 Lyon 0
1 Mont-de-Marsan 22 10 Albi 1
Round 22

26 and 27 February

3 Pau 24 27 Tarbes 2
4 Carcassonne 39 5 Narbonne 1
3 Lyon 33 8 Aurillac 1
2 Albi 27 8 Bordeaux-Bègles 1
1 Saint-Étienne 10 31 Mont-de-Marsan 4
3 Aix-en-Provence 28 13 Dax 1
0 Oyonnax 15 12 Auch 0
1 Colomiers 22 22 Grenoble 1
Round 23

5 and 6 March

1 Tarbes 22 18 Mont-de-Marsan 0
5 Pau 48 25 Saint-Étienne 1
0 Bordeaux-Bègles 18 23 Aix-en-Provence 1
0 Dax 21 21 Carcassonne 0
1 Narbonne 25 24 Oyonnax 2
1 Auch 25 18 Lyon 0
5 Aurillac 37 24 Colomiers 4
1 Albi 16 16 Grenoble 1
Round 24

11 and 12 March

3 Aix-en-Provence 23 0 Tarbes 0
1 Oyonnax 14 15 Albi 2
5 Grenoble 34 15 Narbonne 2
0 Auch 18 6 Aurillac 0
2 Bordeaux-Bègles 18 14 Pau 1
1 Mont-de-Marsan 17 13 Carcassonne 1
1 Saint-Étienne 10 16 Dax 1
1 Colomiers 22 19 Lyon 1
Round 25

25 and 26 March

0 Aix-en-Provence 30 15 Mont-de-Marsan 0
1 Carcassonne 16 22 Pau 1
2 Dax 24 26 Bordeaux-Bègles 2
0 Tarbes 15 19 Oyonnax 1
2 Aurillac 21 18 Saint-Étienne 2
5 Albi 34 15 Colomiers 0
7 Lyon 45 12 Narbonne 2
3 Grenoble 37 6 Auch 0
Round 26

2 and 3 April

1 Pau 16 22 Mont-de-Marsan 3
4 Bordeaux-Bègles 40 23 Carcassonne 2
2 Dax 26 7 Tarbes 1
2 Narbonne 23 26 Aurillac 1
1 Oyonnax 19 26 Grenoble 2
4 Auch 37 7 Colomiers 1
1 Saint-Étienne 22 29 Aix-en-Provence 2
1 Lyon 25 12 Albi 0
Round 27

9 and 10 April

5 Pau 40 20 Dax 2
2 Carcassonne 26 12 Aix-en-Provence 2
1 Tarbes 8 15 Lyon 0
1 Narbonne 34 28 Auch 1
2 Colomiers 20 13 Oyonnax 1
0 Aurillac 6 6 Albi 0
1 Mont-de-Marsan 23 13 Bordeaux-Bègles 1
2 Saint-Étienne 15 42 Grenoble 6
Round 28

15 and 16 April

2 Tarbes 20 20 Colomiers 1
5 Bordeaux-Bègles 41 17 Narbonne 2
0 Dax 12 19 Mont-de-Marsan 1
0 Albi 21 22 Auch 1
1 Grenoble 13 10 Aurillac 1
2 Aix-en-Provence 26 19 Pau 2
1 Saint-Étienne 7 23 Carcassonne 2
0 Lyon 18 19 Oyonnax 1
Round 29

30 April and 1 May

1 Lyon 19 9 Pau 0
2 Aurillac 21 28 Mont-de-Marsan 3
7 Bordeaux-Bègles 50 23 Tarbes 2
5 Albi 31 5 Carcassonne 1
6 Oyonnax 39 29 Aix-en-Provence 4
4 Auch 34 19 Saint-Etienne 1
1 Narbonne 23 17 Colomiers 1
4 Grenoble 31 24 Dax 2
Round 30

8 May

7 Mont-de-Marsan 48 24 Oyonnax 3
0 Pau 6 22 Grenoble 3
2 Auch 29 27 Bordeaux-Bègles 3
5 Colomiers 35 15 Carcassonne 2
8 Dax 60 17 Narbonne 2
0 Aix-en-Provence 24 25 Albi 1
4 Aurillac 35 21 Tarbes 3
1 Saint-Etienne 14 23 Lyon 2

Promotion playoffs

All times CEST.

Semi-finals

14 May 2011
14:00
Albi 21 – 16 (a.e.t.) Mont-de-Marsan
Try: Guitoune 5' c
Vainqueur 95' m
Con: Manca (1/2)
Pen: Manca (3/3) 11', 67', 90'
Try: Taulanga 52' c
Con: Vignau-Tuquet (1/1)
Pen: Vignau-Tuquet (2/5) 33', 75'
Drop: Vignau-Tuquet 85'
Stadium Municipal, Albi
Attendance: 9,000[6]
Referee: Mathieu Raynal

15 May 2011
15:10
Grenoble 12 – 19 Bordeaux-Bègles
Pen: Dalla Riva (4/5) 11', 34', 51', 78'
Try: Carballo 16' c
Con: Fraser (1/1)
Pen: Fraser (4/5) 24', 47', 65', 68'

Final

22 May 2011
15:10
Albi 14 – 21 Bordeaux-Bègles
Try: van der Westhuyzen 36' m
Pen: Manca (3/4) 4', 12', 68'
Try: Rey 52' c
Lilo 65' m
Con: Fraser (1/2)
Pen: Fraser (3/5) 7', 18', 24'
Stade Armandie, Agen
Attendance: 13,221[8]
Referee: Christophe Berdos

Individual statistics

Top points scorers

Player Team Points
New Zealand Gerard Fraser Bordeaux 392
France Frédéric Manca Albi 384
France Antoine Lescamel Aix-en-Provence 369
France Pierre-Alexandre Dut Auch 306
France Christopher Ruiz Narbonne 304
France Maxime Petitjean Aurillac 267
France Antoine Vignau-Tuquet Mont-de-Marsan 266
France Fabien Fortassin Tarbes 237

[9]

Top try scorers

Player Team Tries
Fiji Timoci Matanavu Mont-de-Marsan 19
Tonga Vunga Lilo Bordeaux 13
France Dave Vainqueur Albi 13
Fiji Jone Daunivucu Grenoble 12
France Benoit Lazzarotto Carcassonne 10
France Sofiane Guitoune Albi 9
France Bruno Hiriart Pau 9
South Africa Wylie Human Grenoble 9

[9]

See also

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 "Pays d'Aix: Le maintien et Laïrle dans le staff" (in French). 2010-06-12. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  2. 1 2 "Mort-auban!". Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  3. "Le MTG XV relégué en Fédérale" (in French). 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  4. "French try out new bonus point system". Planet-Rugby.com. 2007-06-27. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
  5. 1 2 "Article 330, Section 3.2. Points "terrain"" (PDF). Règlements de la Ligue Nationale de Rugby 2008/2009, Chapitre 2 : Règlement sportif du Championnat de France Professionnel (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  6. "Albi – Mont-de-Marsan, Pro D2 (samedi 14 mai 2011), Fiche Match" (in French). L'Équipe. 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
  7. "Grenoble – Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Pro D2 (dimanche 15 mai 2011), Fiche Match" (in French). L'Équipe. 2011-05-15. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
  8. "Albi – Union Bordeaux-Bègles, Pro D2 (dimanche 22 mai 2011), Fiche Match" (in French). L'Équipe. 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  9. 1 2 "Top scorers". It's Rugby. Retrieved 2011-06-05.

External links

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