Rugby Pro D2

Rugby Pro D2
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2014–15 Rugby Pro D2 season
Sport Rugby union
Founded 2000
No. of teams 16
Country  France
Most recent champion(s) Pau

Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2. is the second level of domestic club rugby union in France, below the first division, Top 14. The competition 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

2013–14 season

ClubCityStadium
SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne Agen (Lot-et-Garonne) Stade Armandie
SC Albi Albi (Tarn) Stadium Municipal d'Albi
FC Auch Gers Auch (Gers) Stade du Moulias
Stade Aurillacois Aurillac (Cantal) Stade Jean Alric
AS Béziers Hérault Béziers (Hérault) Stade de la Méditerranée
CS Bourgoin-Jallieu Bourgoin-Jallieu (Isère) Stade Pierre Rajon
Union Sportive Bressane Bourg-en-Bresse (Ain) Stade Marcel-Verchère
US Carcassonne Carcassonne (Aude) Stade Albert Domec
US Colomiers Colomiers (Haute-Garonne) Stade Michel Bendichou
US Dax Dax (Landes) Stade Maurice Boyau
Atlantique Stade Rochelais La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Lyon OU Lyon (Rhône) Matmut Stadium
Stade Montois Mont-de-Marsan (Landes) Stade Guy Boniface
RC Narbonne Narbonne (Aude) Parc des Sports Et de l'Amitié
Section Paloise Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) Stade du Hameau
Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées) Stade Maurice Trélut

Changes in the lineup from 2012–13 were:

Table

2014–15 Rugby Pro D2 Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Difference Try Bonus Losing Bonus Points
1 Pau 28 20 1 7 704 472 +232 93
2 Agen 28 17 0 11 688 559 +129 79
3 Mont-de-Marsan 28 17 0 11 628 506 +122 77
4 Perpignan 28 16 1 11 697 570 +127 77
5 Albi 28 16 0 12 595 558 +37 72
6 Biarritz 28 16 0 12 593 534 +59 72
7 Aurillac 28 15 2 11 593 531 +62 72
8 Colomiers 28 15 0 13 584 571 +13 65
9 Béziers 28 13 0 15 591 585 +6 59
10 Montauban 28 12 1 15 551 576 –25 59
11 Carcassonne 28 13 0 15 624 658 –34 58
12 Tarbes 28 12 2 14 573 697 −124 57
13 Bourgoin 28 10 3 15 478 591 –113 47
14 Narbonne 28 10 1 17 527 682 −155 45
15 Dax 28 9 1 18 469 612 −143 43
16 Massy 28 7 0 21 584 777 −193 37
Green background (row 1) Champions automatically promoted to Top 14. Blue background denotes teams that qualify for the promotion play-offs. Red background (row 15 and 16) will be relegated to Fédérale 1. Updated: 27 April 2015

Previous seasons

Season Champion Play-off winner
2014–15 Pau TBA
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. Moriarty, Ian (9 August 2012). "Bourgoin wilt under financial pressure". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  2. "PRO D2 : Le CS Bourgoin-Jallieu confirmé" (in French). LNR. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.

See also

External links