Rugby Pro D2
Current season, competition or edition: 2016–17 Rugby Pro D2 season | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2000 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Country |
 France |
| Most recent champion(s) | Lyon |
| 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. This was especially an issue in the 2015–16 season, when four clubs faced at least the prospect of relegation for financial reasons. During the season, Tarbes were dropped to Fédérale 1 effective with the 2016–17 season, and Biarritz, Bourgoin and Narbonne were also dropped at the end of the season, pending appeals.[1] Ultimately, Biarritz, Bourgoin, and Narbonne all won their appeals and remained in Pro D2.[2][3]
Current teams
2016–17 season
Changes in the lineup from 2015–16 were:
- Lyon won the 2015–16 Pro D2 title and were thereby automatically promoted to the Top 14. Bayonne won the promotion playoffs to secure the second promotion place.
- The bottom finisher in 2015–16, Provence, was relegated from Pro D2 to Fédérale 1. For the second straight season, Dax was the second-from-bottom team, but was spared relegation due to the financial troubles of another club. This time, Tarbes was administratively relegated from Pro D2 to Fédérale 1.[1]
- The two bottom finishers in the 2015–16 Top 14 season, Agen and Oyonnax, were relegated to Pro D2.
- The two winners of the Fédérale 1 promotion playoffs, Soyaux Angoulême and Vannes, earned promotion.
Table
| |||||||||||||||||
| Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Diff | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | |||||||
| 1 | Oyonnax | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 338 | 241 | +97 | 4 | 3 | 39 | ||||||
| 2 | Agen | 12 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 317 | 280 | +37 | 1 | 1 | 36 | ||||||
| 3 | Colomiers | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 300 | 218 | +82 | 2 | 1 | 35 | ||||||
| 4 | Montauban | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 286 | 210 | +76 | 1 | 1 | 34 | ||||||
| 5 | Aurillac | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 284 | 263 | +21 | 3 | 2 | 33 | ||||||
| 6 | Mont-de-Marsan | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 257 | 244 | +13 | 1 | 5 | 30 | ||||||
| 7 | Perpignan | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 285 | 259 | +26 | 3 | 2 | 28 | ||||||
| 8 | Soyaux Angoulême | 12 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 239 | 228 | +11 | 1 | 1 | 28 | ||||||
| 9 | Carcassonne | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 257 | 254 | +3 | 1 | 0 | 27 | ||||||
| 10 | Narbonne | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 251 | 324 | –73 | 1 | 0 | 25 | ||||||
| 11 | Biarritz | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 274 | 273 | +1 | 1 | 3 | 24 | ||||||
| 12 | Dax | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 283 | 331 | –48 | 1 | 3 | 24 | ||||||
| 13 | Vannes | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 251 | 300 | –49 | 1 | 2 | 23 | ||||||
| 14 | Béziers | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 241 | 258 | –17 | 3 | 2 | 21 | ||||||
| 15 | Albi | 12 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 234 | 312 | –78 | 1 | 1 | 19 | ||||||
| 16 | Bourgoin | 12 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 203 | 305 | –102 | 1 | 2 | 13 | ||||||
| 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 determined by head-to-head results before points difference. | |||||||||||||||||
Previous seasons
| Season | Champion | Play-off winner |
|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Lyon | Bayonne |
| 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 Mortimer, Gavin (1 June 2016). "Financial penalties in the ProD2 send shockwaves around French rugby". Rugby World. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
- ↑ "Biarritz et Narbonne Maintenus en PRO D2" [Biarritz and Narbonne Remain in Pro D2] (Press release) (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ↑ "Bourgoin Reste en PRO D2" [Bourgoin Remains in Pro D2] (Press release) (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
See also
External links
- (French) Rugby Pro D2 – Official website
- (French) Midi Olympique