2021–22 Rugby Pro D2 season

The 2021–22 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, below the Top 14, for the 2021–22 season. It will run alongside the 2021–22 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).

2021–22 Pro D2
Countries France
Date28 August 2021 – 26 June 2022
ChampionsBayonne (2nd title)
Runners-upMont-de-Marsan
PromotedBayonne
RelegatedNarbonne, Bourg-en-Bresse
Official website
www.lnr.fr

Teams

Number of teams by regions
Teams Region or country Team(s)
5  OccitanieBéziers, Carcassonne, Colomiers, Montauban, Narbonne
4  Auvergne-Rhône-AlpesAurillac, Bourg-en-Bresse, Grenoble, Oyonnax
3  Nouvelle-AquitaineAgen, Bayonne, Mont-de-Marsan
1  Bourgogne-Franche-ComtéNevers
 BrittanyVannes
 NormandyRouen
 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'AzurProvence

Competition format

The regular season uses a double round-robin format, in which each team plays the others home and away.

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,[1] 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.[2]

France's bonus point system operates as follows:[3]

  • 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 5 points (or less). The required margin had been 7 points or less until being changed in advance of the 2014–15 season.

Starting with the 2017–18 season, Pro D2 conducts a play-off system identical to the one currently used in Top 14, with the top six teams qualifying for the play-offs and the top two teams receiving byes into the semi-finals. The winner of the play-offs earns the league championship and automatic promotion to the next season's Top 14; the runner-up enters a play-off with the second-from-bottom Top 14 team, with the winner of that play-off taking up the final place in Top 14.[4]

This replaced the previous system in which the top team at the end of the regular season was declared champion, also earning a Top 14 place, while the second- through fifth-place teams competed in promotion play-offs. The play-off semi-finals were played at the home ground of the higher-ranked team. The final was then played on neutral ground, and the winner earned the second ticket to the next Top 14.

Promotion

Pro D2 to Top 14

As noted above, both promotion places will be determined by play-offs from 2017–18 forward, with the winner of the Pro D2 play-offs earning promotion and the runner-up playing the second-from-bottom Top 14 team for the next season's final Top 14 place.

Nationale to Pro D2

Starting with the 2021–22 season, the FFR created a third professional league, slotting between Pro D2 and Fédérale 1 in the league system called Nationale.[4]

Relegation

Normally, the teams that finish in 15th and 16th places in the table are relegated to Nationale at the end of the season. In certain circumstances, "financial reasons" may cause a higher-placed team to be demoted instead, or bar a Fédérale 1 team from promotion.

Table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD B Pts Qualification
1 Mont-de-Marsan 30 23 0 7 860 524 +336 14 106 Top 14 promotion play-offs
2 Bayonne (C, P) 30 20 2 8 890 607 +283 16 100
3 Oyonnax 30 20 1 9 910 534 +376 14 96
4 Nevers 30 16 2 12 759 611 +148 14 82
5 Carcassonne 30 17 1 12 694 621 +73 10 80
6 Colomiers 30 18 0 12 639 595 +44 6 78
7 Provence 30 17 1 12 670 684 −14 6 76
8 Montauban 30 14 2 14 671 758 −87 8 68
9 Béziers 30 13 1 16 619 634 −15 10 64
10 Aurillac 30 14 0 16 550 720 −170 6 62
11 Vannes 30 12 2 16 655 623 +32 9 61
12 Grenoble 30 11 3 16 619 653 −34 10 60
13 Agen 30 10 1 19 604 725 −121 14 56
14 Rouen 30 10 1 19 606 823 −217 7 49
15 Bourg-en-Bresse (R) 30 9 3 18 607 844 −237 4 46 Relegation to Nationale
16 Narbonne (R) 30 5 2 23 544 941 −397 8 32
Source: Pro D2
Rules for classification: When two teams have the same points total, position is determined by head-to-head results before points difference.
(C) Champion; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Promotion Playoffs
Semi-final Qualifiers Semi-finals Final
1 Mont-de-Marsan 26
4 Nevers 24 4 Nevers 15
5 Carcassonne 12 1 Mont-de-Marsan 20
2 Bayonne 49
2 Bayonne 32
3 Oyonnax 19 3 Oyonnax 20
6 Colomiers 15

See also

Notes
  1. In recent years, Rouen has taken occasional home matches to Stade Robert Diochon.

References
  1. "French try out new bonus point system". Planet-Rugby.com. 27 June 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
  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). LNR. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  3. "Article 330, Section 3.2. Points "terrain" et points de bonus" (PDF). Statuts et Reglements de la Ligue Nationale de Rugby 2014/2015, Chapitre 2 : Règlement sportif des championnats profesionnels (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. p. 166. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  4. Mortimer, Gavin (18 August 2016). "French rugby enjoys a popularity boom as it looks to the future". Rugby World. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
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