The 2008–09 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, in the 2008–09 season. It ran alongside the 2008–09 Top 14 competition; both competitions were operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
Previous season At the end of the previous season, Toulon were champions and thus automatically promoted to Top 14. They were eventually followed by Mont-de-Marsan, who beat Racing Métro in extra time in the final providing the second promotion place. Blagnac, which had been newly promoted to Pro D2 for the 2007–08 season, finished 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. Limoges finished second-from-bottom for the second consecutive year; unlike 2006–07, when Limoges were reprieved when Gaillac were denied a professional license due to financial issues, they received no such break in 2007–08. The other promoted team in 2007–08, Aurillac, stayed up, finishing in 11th.
Colomiers and Bourg-en-Bresse earned promotion from Fédérale 1 for the 2008–09 season, while Albi and Auch were relegated from the 2007–08 Top 14.
2008–09 synopsis Racing Métro, which had barely missed out on promotion the previous season, easily won the title, clinching with three rounds to spare. The three promotion playoff games were decided by a total of 5 points, with the semifinal between Albi and La Rochelle being tied after extra time and decided on the third step of the tiebreaker, penalties scored during the match. Albi ultimately defeated Oyonnax in the final to secure an immediate return to the Top 14.
The two newly promoted teams, Colomiers and Bourg-en-Bresse, were in relegation trouble throughout the season, but Colomiers escaped, finishing in 14th, the last safe spot. Bourg-en-Bresse were provisionally joined in relegation by Béziers.
However, this did not end the relegation saga. In order to keep a professional license and stay in Pro D2, all clubs must pass a postseason audit conducted by DNACG (Direction nationale d'aide et de contrôle de gestion), the LNR's financial arm. On June 12, DNACG announced that Tarbes and Bourg-en-Bresse had failed their audits and would be relegated. Tarbes would be relegated to Fédérale 1, while Bourg-en-Bresse, already consigned to Fédérale 1, would face a further drop to Fédérale 2. Béziers would have been spared the drop if Tarbes had not successfully appealed its relegation. However, Tarbes were able to come up with sufficient financial guarantees to satisfy DNACG, and its relegation to Fédérale 1 was officially rescinded on June 26.
The competition 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, a system that also makes it impossible for either team to earn a bonus point in a drawn match. LNR chose to continue with this system for 2008–09.
France's bonus point system operates as follows:
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
{| class="wikitable" width="450px" style="float:left; font-size:95%; margin-left:15px;" | colspan="2" style="text-align:center; background:#fff;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"|Key to colors |- | style="background: #3fff00;" | |Champions automatically promoted to Top 14 |- | style="background: #fde910;" | |Winner of playoffs between second- through fifth-place teams for the second promotion place |- | style="background:#ccf;"| |Remaining participants in promotion playoffs |- | style="background: #ff79B4;" | |Bottom two teams are relegated to Fédérale 1.
2008–09 Rugby Pro D2 TableClubTotal pointsBonus pointsMatch pointsGamesWonDrawnLostPoints forPoints againstDiff 1 Racing Métro 107 11 96 30 24 0 6 754 469 +285 2 Agen 94 10 84 30 21 0 9 799 543 +256 3 Albi 87 7 80 30 19 2 9 569 493 +76 4 La Rochelle 87 15 72 30 18 0 12 647 499 +148 5 Oyonnax 85 11 74 30 18 1 11 605 438 +167 6 Lyon 84 14 72 30 17 1 12 600 448 +152 7 Tarbes 73 11 62 30 15 1 14 602 534 +68 8 Pau 72 10 62 30 15 1 14 523 507 +16 9 Aurillac 72 6 66 30 16 1 13 615 653 −38 10 Grenoble 60 14 46 30 11 1 18 416 469 −53 11 Bordeaux-Bègles 60 8 52 30 13 0 17 591 639 −48 12 Auch 53 9 44 30 11 0 19 416 533 −117 13 Narbonne 49 7 42 30 9 3 18 494 672 −178 14 Colomiers 47 7 40 30 9 2 19 541 679 −138 15 Bourg-en-Bresse 43 9 34 30 8 1 21 507 813 −306 16 Béziers 41 5 36 30 8 2 20 465 755 −290
Schedule and results Matches are listed in the following order: By date. If matches are held on the same day, by kickoff time. Otherwise, in alphabetic order of home club.
All times CET.
Rounds 1 to 5 Round 1 6 September, 18:30 — Aurillac 11 - 6 (1 BP) Albi 6 September, 18:30 — Béziers 15 - 15 Pau 6 September, 18:30 — Grenoble (1 BP) 31 - 6 Colomiers 6 September, 18:30 — La Rochelle 30 - 12 Oyonnax 6 September, 18:30 — Lyon 18 - 9 Racing Métro 6 September, 18:30 — Narbonne 6 - 6 Tarbes 7 September, 15:00 — Bourg-en-Bresse (1 BP) 18 - 25 Bordeaux-Bègles 7 September, 15:15 — Agen 30 - 16 Auch
Round 2 13 September, 18:30 — Albi 26 - 19 (1 BP) Grenoble 13 September, 18:30 — Auch 21 - 16 (1 BP) Narbonne 13 September, 18:30 — Bordeaux-Bègles 24 - 12 Béziers 13 September, 18:30 — Colomiers 20 - 6 Lyon 13 September, 18:30 — Pau 27 - 15 Agen 13 September, 18:30 — Tarbes (1 BP) 15 - 16 Aurillac 14 September, 15:00 — Racing Métro 12 - 9 (1 BP) La Rochelle 14 September, 16:00 — Oyonnax (1 BP) 38 - 8 Bourg-en-Bresse
Round 3 20 September, 18:30 — Agen 26 - 19 (1 BP) Oyonnax 20 September, 18:30 — Aurillac (1 BP) 49 - 19 Bordeaux-Bègles 20 September, 18:30 — La Rochelle 15 - 12 (1 BP) Auch 20 September, 18:30 — Lyon (1 BP) 56 - 3 Tarbes 20 September, 18:30 — Narbonne 16 - 25 Racing Métro 21 September, 15:00 — Bourg-en-Bresse (1 BP) 12 - 18 Albi 21 September, 15:00 — Grenoble 22 - 9 Pau 21 September, 15:15 — Colomiers (1 BP) 38 - 17 Béziers
Round 4 27 September, 18:30 — Albi 28 - 22 (1 BP) Narbonne 27 September, 18:30 — Auch 24 - 6 Bourg-en-Bresse 27 September, 18:30 — Bordeaux-Bègles (1 BP) 22 - 23 La Rochelle 27 September, 18:30 — Oyonnax 22 - 15 (1 BP) Lyon 27 September, 18:30 — Pau 30 - 23 (1 BP) Colomiers 27 September, 18:30 — Racing Métro (1 BP) 35 - 16 Aurillac 27 September, 18:30 — Tarbes 34 - 24 Agen 28 September, 15:15 — Béziers 16 - 25 Grenoble
Round 5 4 October, 18:30 — Agen (1 BP) 14 - 17 Bordeaux-Bègles 4 October, 18:30 — Aurillac 30 - 26 (1 BP) Oyonnax 4 October, 18:30 — Béziers 22 - 19 (1 BP) Auch 4 October, 18:30 — Colomiers 15 - 15 Narbonne 4 October, 18:30 — Grenoble (1 BP)10 - 16 Racing Métro 4 October, 18:30 — Lyon (1 BP) 15 - 22 (1 BP) Albi 5 October, 15:00 — Bourg-en-Bresse 22 - 16 (1 BP) Tarbes 5 October, 15:15 — La Rochelle 18 - 14 (1 BP) Pau
Rounds 6 to 10 Round 6 18 October, 18:30 — Agen (1 BP) 62 - 9 Bourg-en-Bresse 18 October, 18:30 — Albi 29 - 22 (1 BP) La Rochelle 18 October, 18:30 — Auch 15 - 9 (1 BP) Grenoble 18 October, 18:30 — Narbonne 26 - 17 Bordeaux-Bègles 18 October, 18:30 — Oyonnax 16 - 3 Pau 18 October, 18:30 — Racing Métro (1 BP) 37 - 9 Béziers 18 October, 18:30 — Tarbes 25 - 10 Colomiers 19 October, 14:00 — Lyon 19 - 13 (1 BP) Aurillac
Round 7 25 October, 18:30 — Béziers 9 - 30 (1 BP) Oyonnax 25 October, 18:30 — Grenoble 23 - 19 (1 BP) Tarbes 25 October, 18:30 — La Rochelle (1 BP) 23 - 18 (1 BP) Lyon 25 October, 18:30 — Narbonne 25 - 22 (1 BP) Agen 25 October, 18:30 — Pau 16 - 15 (1 BP) Racing Métro 26 October, 15:00 — Bourg-en-Bresse 11 - 20 Aurillac 26 October, 15:00 — Colomiers 24 - 15 Auch 26 October, 15:15 — Bordeaux-Bègles 19 - 6 Albi
Round 8 1 November, 18:30 — Agen 18 - 12 (1 BP) Grenoble 1 November, 18:30 — Auch 17 - 12 (1 BP) Pau 1 November, 18:30 — Aurillac (1 BP) 31 - 9 Narbonne 1 November, 18:30 — La Rochelle (1 BP) 56 - 18 Bourg-en-Bresse 1 November, 18:30 — Lyon 12 - 10 (1 BP) Béziers 1 November, 18:30 — Oyonnax 16 - 16 Albi 1 November, 18:30 — Tarbes 31 - 15 Bordeaux 2 November, 16:45 — Racing Métro 9 - 8 (1 BP) Colomiers
Round 9 8 November, 18:30 — Albi 30 - 20 Colomiers 8 November, 18:30 — Aurillac 25 - 19 (1 BP) La Rochelle 8 November, 18:30 — Bordeaux-Bègles (1 BP) 14 - 18 Pau 8 November, 18:30 — Grenoble 21 - 20 (1 BP) Lyon 8 November, 18:30 — Narbonne 22 - 21 (1 BP) Bourg-en-Bresse 8 November, 18:30 — Oyonnax 25 - 9 Auch 8 November, 18:30 — Tarbes (1 BP) 16 - 23 Racing Métro 9 November, 15:15 — Béziers 21 - 16 (1 BP) Agen
Round 10 15 November, 18:30 — Agen 19 - 16 (1 BP) La Rochelle 15 November, 18:30 — Albi 18 - 12 (1 BP) Tarbes 15 November, 18:30 — Auch 15 - 5 Bordeaux-Bègles 15 November, 18:30 — Colomiers 15 - 30 (1 BP) Aurillac 15 November, 18:30 — Pau 21 - 16 (1 BP) Lyon 15 November, 18:30 — Racing Métro 31 - 20 Oyonnax 16 November, 15:00 — Bourg-en-Bresse 9 - 3 (1 BP) Béziers 16 November, 15:15 — Narbonne 6 - 3 (1 BP) Grenoble
Rounds 11 to 15 Round 11 29 November, 18:30 — Agen 36 - 17 Colomiers 29 November, 18:30 — Aurillac 29 - 22 (1 BP) Grenoble 29 November, 18:30 — Bordeaux-Bègles 15 - 9 (1 BP) Oyonnax 29 November, 18:30 — La Rochelle (1 BP) 33 - 9 Béziers 29 November, 18:30 — Lyon 14 - 13 (1 BP) Narbonne 29 November, 18:30 — Pau 22 - 9 Bourg-en-Bresse 30 November, 15:15 — Tarbes 26 - 12 Auch 30 November, 16:30 — Racing Métro (1 BP) 36 - 17 Albi
Round 12 6 December, 18:30 — Albi 16 - 13 (1 BP) Pau 6 December, 18:30 — Béziers 25 - 16 Aurillac 6 December, 18:30 — Bordeaux-Bègles 33 - 12 Colomiers 6 December, 18:30 — Grenoble 12 - 12 Bourg-en-Bresse 6 December, 18:30 — Lyon (1 BP) 12 - 13 Agen 6 December, 18:30 — Narbonne 33 - 16 La Rochelle 6 December, 18:30 — Oyonnax 12 - 6 (1 BP) Tarbes 7 December, 15:15 — Auch 22 - 18 (1 BP) Racing Métro
Round 13 13 December, 18:30 — Albi 20 - 14 (1 BP) Auch 13 December, 18:30 — Aurillac (1 BP) 16 - 20 Agen 13 December, 18:30 — Colomiers 24 - 16 (1 BP) Oyonnax 13 December, 18:30 — Pau (1 BP) 33 - 3 Narbonne 13 December, 18:30 — Racing Métro (1 BP) 22 - 6 Bordeaux-Bègles 13 December, 18:30 — Tarbes 23 - 10 Béziers 14 December, 14:30 — Grenoble 14 - 6 La Rochelle 14 December, 15:00 — Bourg-en-Bresse (1 BP) 18 - 23 Lyon
Round 14 20 December, 18:30 — Auch 11 - 9 (1 BP) Aurillac 20 December, 18:30 — La Rochelle (1 BP) 32 - 9 Colomiers 20 December, 18:30 — Narbonne (1 BP) 34 - 8 Béziers 20 December, 18:30 — Oyonnax 9 - 3 (1 BP) Grenoble 20 December, 18:30 — Pau 12 - 11 (1 BP) Tarbes 21 December, 14:30 — Bourg-en-Bresse (1 BP) 10 - 17 Racing Métro 21 December, 15:00 — Bordeaux-Bègles 28 - 37 (1 BP) Lyon 21 December, 15:15 — Agen 20 - 8 Albi
Round 15
10 January, 18:30 — Béziers 21 - 21 Albi 10 January, 18:30 — Colomiers 13 - 3 Bourg-en-Bresse 10 January, 18:30 — Grenoble 13 - 12 (1 BP) Bordeaux-Bègles 10 January, 18:30 — Tarbes (1 BP) 10 - 12 La Rochelle 11 January, 15:00 — Oyonnax (1 BP) 42 - 17 Narbonne 11 January, 15:15 — Lyon 9 - 3 (1 BP) Auch 14 February, 18:30 — Aurillac 13 - 22 Pau 15 February, 14:00 — Racing Métro 32 - 28 (1 BP) Agen
Rounds 16 to 20 Round 16 17 January, 18:30 — Auch 12 - 20 Agen 17 January, 18:30 — Bordeaux-Bègles (1 BP) 45 - 12 Bourg-en-Bresse 17 January, 18:30 — Oyonnax 18 - 12 (1 BP) La Rochelle 17 January, 18:30 — Pau 27 - 14 Béziers 17 January, 18:30 — Tarbes 27 - 8 Narbonne 18 January, 14:15 — Albi (1 BP) 28 - 12 Aurillac 18 January, 15:00 — Colomiers 12 - 6 (1 BP) Grenoble 18 January, 15:00 — Racing Métro (1 BP) 30 - 6 Lyon
Round 17 24 January, 18:30 — La Rochelle 22 - 11 Racing Métro 24 January, 18:30 — Lyon 9 - 9 Colomiers 25 January, 14:30 — Agen 28 - 14 Pau 25 January, 15:00 — Aurillac 17 - 37 Tarbes