Pro D2

Pro D2
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2023–24 Rugby Pro D2 season
SportRugby union
Founded2000; 24 years ago (2000)
AdministratorLNR
No. of teams16
Country France
Most recent
champion(s)		Oyonnax (3rd title)
Most titlesLyon (3 titles)
Level on pyramid2
Promotion toTop 14
Relegation toNationale
Official websitelnr.fr/rugby-pro-d2

Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It is the world's best supported second tier rugby union league.

Season structure

There are 30 rounds in the regular season, with each team playing each other home and away.

There is relegation and promotion between both the Top 14 and Nationale, the third-level competition. The top two clubs at the end of the season qualify automatically for home semi-finals, with the clubs placed 3rd through to 6th playing in an elimination round to advance to the semi-finals. The two winners of the semi-final play each other in the final, with the winner gaining promotion to the Top 14, and the losing finalist then going on to play the 13th placed team in the Top 14 in a promotion-relegation match. The bottom placed (16th) team is automatically relegated to the Nationale division, and the 15th placed team plays the losing finalist from the Nationale division in a promotion-relegation match.

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]

Changes for 2017–18 and beyond

In August 2016, LNR released a strategic plan outlining its vision for French rugby through the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The plan includes significant changes to the top levels of the league system, with Pro D2 seeing especially dramatic changes starting with the 2017–18 season.[4]

  • Starting with 2017–18, Pro D2 will adopt a playoff system identical to that of the Top 14, with the top six teams on the league table qualifying. The top two teams receive byes into the semifinals, where they will face the winners of quarterfinal matches involving the remaining four sides.
  • Only the Pro D2 champions will be assured of promotion to the Top 14. The losing finalist will enter a playoff with the second-from-bottom Top 14 side, with the winner taking up the final Top 14 place.

Current teams

2022–23 season

Position Team P W D L GF GA +/- PTS 1 RC VANNES 27 16 2 9 682 441 241 82 2 PROVENCE RUGBY 27 17 2 8 689 588 101 81 3 BÉZIERS 27 16 1 10 734 635 99 76 4 GRENOBLE 27 17 0 10 743 621 122 70 5 DAX 27 15 1 11 555 619 -64 69 6 MONT-DE-MARSAN 27 14 1 12 691 566 125 68 7 USON NEVERS 27 14 0 13 616 551 65 68 8 BRIVE 27 13 1 13 584 539 45 62 9 COLOMIERS RUGBY 27 12 1 14 613 585 28 60 10 VALENCE ROMANS 27 12 0 15 556 542 14 57 11 AURILLAC 27 12 1 14 512 661 -149 56 12 SU AGEN 27 12 1 14 528 650 -122 56 13 SOYAUX-ANGOULÊME XV 27 11 2 14 499 544 -45 54 14 BIARRITZ 27 10 0 17 562 724 -162 49 15 US MONTALBANAISE 27 10 0 17 509 680 -171 45 16 ROUEN NORMANDIE RUGBY 27 8 1 18 518 645 -127 43

Previous seasons

Season Champion Play-off winner Relegated
2000–01 Montauban N/A[a 1] Nîmes
2001–02 Mont-de-Marsan Grenoble Rumilly, Tours
2002–03 Montpellier Brive Aubenas Vals, Marmande
2003–04 Auch Bayonne[a 2] Bordeaux-Bègles
2004–05 Toulon N/A[a 3] Périgueux, Limoges
2005–06 Montauban Albi[a 4] Tyrosse, Aurillac, Aix
2006–07 Auch Dax Gaillac, Colomiers
2007–08 Toulon Mont-de-Marsan Blagnac, Limoges
2008–09 Racing Métro Albi Béziers, Bourg-en-Bresse
2009–10 Agen La Rochelle Lannemezan
2010–11 Lyon Bordeaux Bègles Saint-Étienne, Colomiers
2011–12 Grenoble Mont-de-Marsan Périgueux, Bourgoin
2012–13 Oyonnax Brive Massy, Aix-en-Provence
2013–14 Lyon La Rochelle Bourg-en-Bresse, Auch
2014–15 Pau Agen Massy
2015–16 Lyon Bayonne Provence, Tarbes
2016–17 Oyonnax Agen Bourgoin, Albi
2017–18 Perpignan Grenoble[a 5] Narbonne, Dax
2018–19 Bayonne Brive Massy, Bourg-en-Bresse
2019–20 Cancelled[a 6]
2020–21 Perpignan Biarritz Soyaux Angoulême, Valence Romans
2021–22 Bayonne Mont-de-Marsan Narbonne, Bourg-en-Bresse
2022–23 Oyonnax Grenoble[a 7] Carcassonne, Massy

Number of league titles

Notes

  1. ^ Only one promotion as the top division reduced from 21 to 16 teams.
  2. ^ Lost the play-off final to Auch.
  3. ^ Only one promotion as the Top 16 became Top 14.
  4. ^ Runner up.
  5. ^ Both promotion places are now determined by play-offs from 2017–18 onwards, 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 following season's final Top 14 place.
  6. ^ League suspended after 23 rounds and ultimately cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in France.[5]
  7. ^ Remained in Pro D2 after losing promotion/relegation playoff against Top 14 side Perpignan.

References

  1. ^ Mortimer, Gavin (1 June 2016). "Financial penalties in the ProD2 send shockwaves around French rugby". Rugby World. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ Mortimer, Gavin (18 August 2016). "French rugby enjoys a popularity boom as it looks to the future". Rugby World. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Top 14 - Pro D2 : les présidents d'accord pour ne pas attribuer de titre". L'Equipe. 6 May 2020.

See also

External links

  • (in French) Rugby Pro D2 – Official website
  • (in French) Midi Olympique
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