The 2019–20 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2019–20 season. It ran alongside the 2019–20 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
Playing was suspended after the 23rd Matchday due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The season was officially cancelled without any promotion or relegation on 6 May.
Teams
Club City Stadium Capacity Previous season Aurillac (Cantal) Stade Jean Alric 9,000 14th Béziers Béziers (Hérault) Stade de la Méditerranée 18,555 7th Biarritz Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) Parc des Sports Aguiléra 15,000 8th Carcassonne Carcassonne (Aude) Stade Albert Domec 10,000 11th Colomiers Colomiers (Haute-Garonne) Stade Michel Bendichou 11,430 13th Grenoble Grenoble (Isère) Stade des Alpes 20,068 Relegated from Top 14 (lost play-off) Mont-de-Marsan Mont-de-Marsan (Landes) Stade Guy Boniface 16,800 Semi-final qualifiers (5th in league) Montauban Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) Stade Sapiac 12,600 12th Nevers Nevers (Nièvre) Stade du Pré Fleuri 7,500 Semi-final qualifiers (6th in league) Oyonnax Oyonnax (Ain) Stade Charles-Mathon 11,500 Semi-finals (2nd in league) Perpignan Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) Stade Aimé Giral 14,593 Relegated from Top 14 (14th) Provence Stade Maurice David 6,000 10th Rouen Rouen (Seine-Maritime) Stade Jean-MermozStade Robert Diochon 3,00012,018 Promoted from Fédérale 1 (champions) Soyaux Angoulême Angoulême (Charente) Stade Chanzy 8,000 9th Valence Romans Valence (Drôme) Stade Georges Pompidou 15,128 Promoted from Fédérale 1 (runners up) Vannes Vannes (Morbihan) Stade de la Rabine 9,500 Semi-finals (4th in league)
Changes in the lineup from 2018–19 were: Bayonne won the 2018–19 Pro D2 title and were thereby automatically promoted to the Top 14. Brive won the Top 14/Pro D2 playoff to secure the second promotion place. The two bottom finishers in 2018–19, Massy and Bourg-en-Bresse, were relegated from Pro D2 to Fédérale 1. The bottom finisher in the 2018–19 Top 14 season, Perpignan was relegated to Pro D2. Grenoble lost the Top 14/Pro D2 playoff and were therefore relegated. Rouen won the 2018–19 Fédérale 1 title and were thereby automatically promoted. Valence Romans, who finished 2nd, was also promoted
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, 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.
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 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.
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.
Fédérale 1 to Pro D2 At the same time, LNR and the French Rugby Federation (FFR) changed the promotion process from Fédérale 1 to Pro D2. For three seasons (2017–18 to 2019–20), only one team will be promoted to Pro D2 through the Fédérale 1 competition. The second promotion place will be a "wild card" granted by LNR to a club that meets the following criteria: must be located in northern France (with the dividing line running approximately from La Rochelle to Lyon) have a long-term development plan location in an area that can demographically and economically support a fully professional club Starting with the 2020–21 season, LNR will create a third professional league, slotting between Pro D2 and Fédérale 1 in the league system.
Relegation Normally, the teams that finish in 15th and 16th places in the table are relegated to Fédérale 1 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
Fixtures & Results Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Postponed due to staph infection outbreak. Rescheduled to 29 November 2019.
Postponed due to staph infection outbreak. Rescheduled to 29 November 2019.
Round 6
Postponed due to staph infection outbreak. Rescheduled for 14 March 2020.
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 5 (rescheduled games)
Rescheduled from 27 September 2019.
Rescheduled from 27 September 2019.
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Postponed due to heavy flooding. Game to be rescheduled for 14 March 2020.
Round 19
Round 20
Round 21
Round 22
Postponed due to heavy winds. Game to be rescheduled for 21 March 2020.
Round 23
Rounds 6 & 18 (rescheduled games)
Originally rescheduled from 24 January 2020 but postponed again as French pro rugby was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Originally rescheduled from 4 October 2019 bot postponed again as French pro rugby was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Round 22 (rescheduled game)
Originally rescheduled from 1 March 2020 but postponed again as French rugby was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Round 24
All games cancelled as French rugby was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Round 25
All games cancelled as French rugby was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Round 26
All games cancelled as French rugby was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Round 27
All games cancelled as French rugby was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Round 28
All games cancelled as French rugby was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Round 29
All games cancelled as French rugby was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Round 30
All games cancelled as French rugby was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Attendances
Attendances do not include the final as this is held at a neutral venue. Also does not include the relegation playoff game.
ClubHomeGamesTotalAverageHighestLowest% Capacity Aurillac 11 28,147 2,559 3,500 1,500 28% Béziers 12 55,122 4,594 5,537 3,765 25% Biarritz 12 39,000 3,250 5,000 2,000 22% Carcassonne 11 31,500 2,864 4,000 2,500 29% Colomiers 12 47,926 3,994 5,000 2,900 35% Grenoble 11 100,971 9,179 12,205 7,000 46% Mont-de-Marsan 11 48,923 4,448 5,900 2,500 26% Montauban 11 51,027 4,639 5,500 4,000 37% Nevers 11 70,564 6,415 7,373 5,886 86% Oyonnax 12 65,465 5,455 6,909 4,500 47% Perpignan 11 98,299 8,936 13,000 7,374 61% Provence 11 45,967 4,179 5,950 3,000 70% Rouen 11 32,795 2,981 6,437 1,452 66% Soyaux Angoulême 11 49,500 4,500 6,500 3,000 56% Valence Romans 12 42,500 3,542 5,500 2,000 23% Vannes 11 82,655 7,514 8,641 7,000 79%
Leading scorers Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.
Top points scorers
Rank Player ClubGamesPoints 1 Yohan Le Bourhis Oyonnax 21 255 2 Jérôme Bosviel Montauban 19 211 3 Gilles Bosch Carcassonne 15 192 4 Zack Henry Nevers 17 181 5 Jordan Michallet Rouen 16 180 6 Thomas Girard Colomiers 13 166 7 Maxime Javaux Valence Romans 17 164 8 Christopher Hilsenbeck Vannes 19 156 9 Thomas Salles Aurillac 16 154 10 Pierre Bernard Biarritz 12 140
Top try scorers
Rank Player ClubGamesTries 1 Jean-Bernard Pujol Perpignan 17 9 Wame Naituvi Mont-de-Marsan 18 9 2 Shaun Adendorff Aurillac 15 8 Tibaut Zambelli Provence 17 8 3 Andrzej Charlat Provence 4 6 Lucas Blanc Nevers 9 6 Adrea Cocagi Perpignan 12 6 Aviata Silago Montauban 17 6 Shahn Eru Perpignan 18 6 Pierre Lafitte Soyaux Angoulême 18 6 Quentin MacDonald Oyonnax 19 6 Lucas Peyresblanques Biarritz 19 6 Kelly Meafua Béziers 21 6 Afusipa Taumoepeau Perpignan 22 6
See also 2019–20 Top 14 season
Notes
References
External links Ligue Nationale de Rugby – Official website Midi Olympique