2009–10 Rugby Pro D2 season

The 2009–10 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2009–10 season. It ran alongside the 2009–10 Top 14 competition; both competitions were operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).

2009–10 Rugby Pro D2 season
CountriesFrance
ChampionsAgen
PromotedAgen
La Rochelle
RelegatedLannemezan
Matches played243
Attendance1,063,059
(average 4,375 per match)
Tries scored715
(average 2.9 per match)
Top point scorerIvory Coast Silvère Tian (259)
Top try scorerFiji Rupeni Caucaunibuca (13)

Dax and Mont-de-Marsan, the two major clubs from the Landes département, got relegated at the end of the previous Top 14 season and replaced Racing Métro and Albi, who gained promotion to the Top 14. This season also welcomed Lannemezan and Aix-en-Provence, respectively Fédérale 1 champions and runners-up, who took the place of Bourg-en-Bresse and Béziers, the previous year's two bottom finishers.

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 kept until the end. Lannemezan in particular finished with three wins out of thirty games (one of which was 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.[1] 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.[2][3]

Previous season
Location of teams in Rugby Pro D2 2009–10

At the end of the previous season, Racing Métro were champions and thus automatically promoted to Top 14. They were eventually followed by Albi, who defeated Oyonnax in the final of the promotion playoffs to secure a spot in the 2009–10 Top 14. Bourg-en-Bresse, which had been newly promoted to Pro D2 for the 2008–09 season, finished second-to-bottom of the table and were initially relegated to Fédérale 1, but were further relegated by French sporting authorities to Fédérale 2 due to financial problems. Béziers finished bottom of the league; they would have however stayed in Pro D2 for the next season, had Tarbes not successfully appealed the decision of the DNACG (Direction nationale d'aide et de contrôle de gestion), the LNR's financial arm, to relegate them to Fédérale 1. The other promoted team in 2008–09, Colomiers, stayed up, finishing in 14th, the first safe spot.

Lannemezan and Aix-en-Provence earned promotion from Fédérale 1 for the 2009–10 season, while Dax and Mont-de-Marsan were relegated from the 2008–09 Top 14.

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]

  • 4 points for a win.
  • 2 points for a draw.
  • 1 "bonus" point for winning while scoring at least 3 more tries than the opponent. This replaces the standard bonus point for scoring 4 tries regardless of the match result.
  • 1 "bonus" point for losing by 7 points (or less).

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 are relegated to Fédérale 1
(Aix were reprieved when Top 14's Montauban were relegated directly to Fédérale 1)[2][3]
2009–10 Rugby Pro D2 Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Diff Bonus points Points Head-to-head
1Agen302127724378+34617105
2Lyon301866644431+2131094Lyon 8–2
3La Rochelle301929607396+2111494
4Oyonnax3020010579452+127989
5Pau301659545425+1201084Pau 5–4
6Grenoble301659547438+1091084
7Aurillac3017013575518+57876
8Narbonne3016014581585−4973
9Bordeaux-Bègles3015114507501+61072
10Tarbes3014016576574+21470
11Dax3013215542594−52864
12Mont-de-Marsan3014214528554−269641
13Auch309120472635−631452
14Colomiers307419438623−185945
15Aix-en-Provence306222426737−311735
16Lannemezan303027347897−550719
  • ^1 : Mont-de-Marsan were docked five points by the DNACG due to their failure to act upon their financial difficulties.[6][7] This penalty also causes them to finish behind Dax in the table despite a better head-to-head record (5–4).

Results

Key

The score of the game is given by the middle (third and fourth) columns. The first and last column 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

Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August

5Grenoble3910Lannemezan1
1Lyon1713Bordeaux-Bègles1
3Narbonne2812Pau0
3Auch3122Colomiers1
1Aurillac2516Oyonnax1
1Mont-de-marsan2221La Rochelle0
1Tarbes2215Aix-en-Provence0
1Dax1613Agen1
Round 2

Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September

0Mont-de-marsan912Grenoble0
2Bordeaux-Bègles2321Auch2
0Aurillac1216Pau1
2Colomiers1913Dax1
3Agen2621La Rochelle2
3Oyonnax2812Tarbes0
3Lyon3614Aix-en-Provence1
1Lannemezan1316Narbonne2
Round 3

Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September

3Auch283Lannemezan0
3Narbonne3312Bordeaux-Bègles0
0Pau913Lyon2
1Grenoble2212Colomiers0
3Tarbes3612Mont-de-marsan0
1Aix-en-Provence1622La Rochelle1
3Dax276Oyonnax0
3Agen216Aurillac0
Round 4

Friday 18, Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September

1Grenoble1615Pau0
1Bordeaux-Bègles229Aurillac0
0Colomiers1212Lyon0
1Oyonnax136Narbonne0
0Mont-de-marsan2418Aix-en-Provence0
1La Rochelle166Tarbes0
2Lannemezan1123Dax3
0Auch319Agen1
Round 5

Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September

1La Rochelle226Lannemezan0
0Tarbes1512Bordeaux-Bègles0
1Pau1614Dax1
1Aurillac2212Colomiers0
0Lyon1822Oyonnax1
0Mont-de-marsan616Auch1
0Aix-en-Provence2419Narbonne1
1Agen2216Grenoble1
Round 6

Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October

0Narbonne1512Mont-de-marsan0
0Pau66La Rochelle0
1Colomiers1313Aix-en-Provence1
1Auch1419Tarbes1
0Dax99Lyon0
0Grenoble126Aurillac0
0Bordeaux-Bègles1529Agen3
3Lannemezan2435Oyonnax4
Round 7

Friday 16, Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 October

3Lyon266Auch0
0Aix-en-Provence128Lannemezan1
1Mont-de-marsan1612Bordeaux-Bègles0
1Tarbes2223Pau1
1Aurillac236Dax0
0Oyonnax1210Agen1
3Colomiers1913La Rochelle1
4Narbonne320Grenoble0
Round 8

Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October

3Bordeaux-Bègles2110Aix-en-Provence1
2Agen2014Pau1
3Oyonnax3115Colomiers2
1Tarbes2818Grenoble2
3Dax2214Auch1
2Aurillac153Narbonne0
0La Rochelle1819Lyon1
1Lannemezan1618Mont-de-marsan2
Round 9

31 October and 1 November
Lyon – Tarbes was postponed to 15 November after
an H1N1 flu outbreak amongst Tarbes players[8] Saturday 31 October, Sunday 1 and Sunday 15 November

2Colomiers1713Lannemezan1
2Pau1711Bordeaux-Bègles1
0Aix-en-Provence316Oyonnax1
5Agen378Mont-de-marsan1
0Grenoble99La Rochelle0
3Auch3423Aurillac1
0Dax317Narbonne2
5Lyon4314Tarbes1
Round 10

Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November

1Oyonnax169Pau0
0Mont-de-marsan1515Lyon0
3Aurillac3819Aix-en-Provence1
3La Rochelle2910Dax1
0Auch1517Grenoble1
1Lannemezan1141Agen5
3Bordeaux-Bègles319Colomiers0
4Narbonne2720Tarbes3
Round 11

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November

3Pau2512Lannemezan0
1Aix-en-Provence1315Grenoble2
3La Rochelle206Auch0
3Lyon208Narbonne1
1Bordeaux-Bègles1710Oyonnax1
1Colomiers1621Agen2
1Mont-de-marsan165Dax1
1Tarbes1113Aurillac1
Round 12

Saturday 28, Sunday 29 November and Wednesday 23 December

5Agen293Aix-en-Provence0
1Aurillac2522La Rochelle3
1Dax1916Tarbes1
0Grenoble99Lyon0
0Auch2732Narbonne2
0Lannemezan916Bordeaux-Bègles1
5Oyonnax3610Mont-de-marsan1
4Pau385Colomiers1
Round 13

Friday 4, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December

1Lyon2210Aurillac1
0Tarbes1213Lannemezan1
4La Rochelle2713Bordeaux-Bègles1
2Aix-en-Provence2116Pau1
1Colomiers1015Mont-de-marsan2
1Oyonnax2518Auch2
0Dax158Grenoble1
1Narbonne2216Agen2
Round 14

Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December

0Mont-de-marsan1814Pau1
1Tarbes2821Colomiers0
0Lyon910Agen1
4Auch3514Aix-en-Provence1
1Narbonne1613La Rochelle1
0Lannemezan916Aurillac1
2Bordeaux-Bègles1716Dax1
2Grenoble2113Oyonnax1
Round 15

18, 19 and 20 December
Aurillac – Mont-de-Marsan was postponed to 14 February
due to poor climatic conditions in Aurillac[9]
Lannemezan – Lyon was postponed to 24 April due to
heavy snowfalls in the Hautes-Pyrénées département[10] Friday 18, Saturday 19, Sunday 20 December, Sunday 14 February and Sunday 24 April

0Pau33Auch0
1Bordeaux-Bègles1414Grenoble1
4Colomiers3513Narbonne1
4Agen3214Tarbes1
0Aix-en-Provence615Dax2
3La Rochelle2126Oyonnax2
5Aurillac3612Mont-de-marsan0
1Lannemezan1730Lyon2
Round 16

9 and 10 January
Aix-en-Provence – Tarbes was postponed to 13 February
due to poor climatic conditions in Aix[11]
Colomiers – Auch and Agen – Dax were postponed to
14 February due to a frozen pitch and heavy snowfalls,
respectively[12][13] Saturday 9, Sunday 10 January, Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 February

5Pau467Narbonne1
2Oyonnax1310Aurillac1
3La Rochelle2520Mont-de-marsan2
1Lannemezan1043Grenoble6
3Bordeaux-Bègles279Lyon0
1Aix-en-Provence1921Tarbes3
0Colomiers69Auch0
2Agen236Dax0
Round 17

Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 January

8Narbonne5610Lannemezan1
1Auch176Bordeaux-Bègles0
2Pau2114Aurillac1
1Dax100Colomiers0
1Tarbes139Oyonnax0
0Aix-en-Provence1212Lyon0
1La Rochelle2010Agen1
1Grenoble149Mont-de-marsan0
Round 18

Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 January

2Bordeaux-Bègles2112Narbonne0
1Colomiers1010Grenoble1
2Oyonnax2910Dax1
0Mont-de-marsan1812Tarbes0
4La Rochelle373Aix-en-Provence0
1Aurillac1917Agen2
1Lannemezan1017Auch1
1Lyon2222Pau1
Round 19

Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 January

4Dax348Lannemezan1
0Aurillac127Bordeaux-Bègles1
0Narbonne613Oyonnax1
2Agen216Auch0
2Aix-en-Provence2018Mont-de-marsan2
1Tarbes712La Rochelle0
2Pau263Grenoble0
7Lyon5010Colomiers1
Round 20

Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 February

0Grenoble1212Agen0
1Bordeaux-Bègles169Tarbes0
0Dax33Pau0
1Colomiers139Aurillac0
0Auch319Mont-de-marsan1
7Narbonne4310Aix-en-Provence1
3Oyonnax216Lyon0
1Lannemezan531La Rochelle3
Round 21

Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 February

1Mont-de-marsan176Narbonne0
2Agen2116Bordeaux-Bègles1
4Oyonnax290Lannemezan0
0Aix-en-Provence1225Colomiers1
1Tarbes1913Auch1
2Lyon266Dax0
0Aurillac2421Grenoble2
4La Rochelle320Pau0
Round 22

Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 February

2Bordeaux-Bègles2421Mont-de-marsan2
1Pau1615Tarbes0
1La Rochelle116Colomiers0
1Dax2213Aurillac1
2Auch1825Lyon1
2Grenoble2714Narbonne2
3Lannemezan3228Aix-en-Provence3
2Agen2311Oyonnax1
Round 23

Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 March

2Lyon2014La Rochelle1
6Mont-de-marsan466Lannemezan0
1Aix-en-Provence1310Bordeaux-Bègles1
1Grenoble2220Tarbes1
2Auch1521Dax0
1Narbonne259Aurillac0
1Pau1616Agen1
0Colomiers1213Oyonnax1
Round 24

Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 March

3Lannemezan2422Colomiers1
4Bordeaux-Bègles3113Pau2
5Oyonnax3618Aix-en-Provence2
3Tarbes2216Lyon1
3Narbonne2418Dax2
2Aurillac2415Auch0
2La Rochelle2521Grenoble2
2Mont-de-marsan1812Agen0
Round 25

Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 March

3Lyon266Mont-de-marsan0
6Agen433Lannemezan0
1Colomiers2022Bordeaux-Bègles1
0Aix-en-Provence1823Aurillac2
2Tarbes2311Narbonne1
1Dax1317La Rochelle1
1Grenoble190Auch0
1Pau176Oyonnax0
Round 26

Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 April

1Oyonnax166Bordeaux-Bègles0
3Agen313Colomiers0
1Dax1915Mont-de-marsan0
4Grenoble285Aix-en-Provence1
3Aurillac3618Tarbes2
0Auch39La Rochelle0
0Lannemezan1521Pau2
0Narbonne327Lyon4
Round 27

Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 April

1Aix-en-Provence1031Agen4
6Bordeaux-Bègles4617Lannemezan2
0Colomiers1229Pau2
2La Rochelle2122Aurillac1
6Tarbes4021Dax3
3Narbonne2019Auch3
2Mont-de-marsan3126Oyonnax2
2Lyon2719Grenoble2
Round 28

Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 April

1Lannemezan1639Tarbes5
1Bordeaux-Bègles1428La Rochelle4
6Pau4510Aix-en-Provence1
2Mont-de-marsan2929Colomiers3
5Auch3620Oyonnax2
4Grenoble285Dax1
0Aurillac1825Lyon3
8Agen5712Narbonne2
Round 29

Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 May

6Aurillac453Lannemezan0
1Dax89Bordeaux-Bègles0
0Pau186Mont-de-marsan0
2Aix-en-Provence2314Auch2
4La Rochelle3621Narbonne2
4Agen3411Lyon1
1Colomiers1614Tarbes1
2Oyonnax2619Grenoble1
Round 30

Sunday 9 May

6Lyon4413Lannemezan1
5Grenoble333Bordeaux-Bègles0
2Auch1619Pau1
5Narbonne3417Colomiers2
0Oyonnax69La Rochelle0
2Tarbes2927Agen4
5Mont-de-marsan4215Aurillac2
5Dax3324Aix-en-Provence4

Promotion playoffs

All times CEST.

Semi-finals
15 May 2010
19:00
La Rochelle6 – 3Oyonnax
Pen: Dambielle (2/4) 47', 67'ReportDrop: Guilloux (1/2) 37'
Stade Marcel-Deflandre, La Rochelle
Attendance: 12,000[14]
Referee: Franck Maciello
16 May 2010
15:00
Lyon29 – 13Pau
Try: Sadourny 29' m
Nicoud 33' c
Sève 63' m
Con: Montagnat (1/3)
Pen: Montagnat (4/5) 3', 6', 12', 16'		ReportTry: Puyo 51' c
Con: Hough (1/1)
Pen: Darbo (2/3) 8', 57'
Stade Vuillermet, Lyon
Attendance: 4,190[15]
Referee: Mathieu Raynal

Final
23 May 2010
16:30
Lyon26 – 32La Rochelle
Try: Bailey (2) 3' c, 25' m
Leite 20' m
Con: Montagnat (1/3)
Pen: Montagnat (3/4) 14', 55', 63'		ReportTry: Ferrou 52' c
Ninard 69' c
Con: Dambielle (2/2)
Pen: Dambielle (6/7) 7', 12', 23', 31', 35', 59'
Stade Amédée-Domenech, Brive
Attendance: 15,000[16]
Referee: Patrick Péchambert

See also

Notes and references
  1. "Le MTG XV relégué en Fédérale" (in French). 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  2. "Pays d'Aix: Le maintien et Laïrle dans le staff" (in French). 2010-06-12. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  3. "Mort-auban!". Archived from the original on 2011-10-05. 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. "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. "Mont-de-Marsan perd 5 points". Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  7. "Official 2009–10 Rugby Pro D2 Table". Ligue Nationale de Rugby. Archived from the original on 2009-08-30. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  8. "Lyon-Tarbes reporté". Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  9. "Report à Aurillac". Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  10. "Lannemezan-Lyon reporté". Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  11. "Aix-Tarbes reporté". Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  12. "Colomiers-Auch reporté". Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  13. "Agen-Dax ajourné". Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  14. "La Rochelle – Oyonnax, Pro D2 (samedi 15 mai 2010), Fiche Match" (in French). L'Équipe. 2010-05-15. Archived from the original on 19 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  15. "Lyon – Pau, Pro D2 (dimanche 16 mai 2010), Fiche Match" (in French). L'Équipe. 2010-05-16. Archived from the original on 19 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
  16. "Lyon – La Rochelle, Pro D2 (dimanche 23 mai 2010), Fiche Match" (in French). L'Équipe. 2010-05-23. Archived from the original on 26 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
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