The 2018–2019 Élite 1 season was the 48th edition of the competition and featured 16 teams.
Montpellier HR defeated Stade Toulousain in the final and were crowned champions. SO Villelonguet and Stado Tarbes Pyrénées were relegated to Élite 2 at the end of the season.
Participants For the 2018–2019 season, Elite 1 was structured as follows:
The 8 clubs of the Elite 1 Top 8 championship 2017–2018. The top 8 clubs of Elite 2 2017–2018.
Club 2017–18Ranking Coach StadiumAS Bayonne6th Jean-Matthieu Alcalde Samuel Dylbaitys Vincent CorretStade Pierre-CacareigtBlagnac SCR4th Nicolas Tranier Jean Lassere Laurent TranierStade Ernest-ArgelèsAC Bobigny7th Alexandre GauStade Henri-WallonStade Bordelais2nd (Elite 2, Group 2) Clément Millet Florent TorregarayStade Chaban-DelmasOvalie Caennaise3rd (Elite 2, Group 2) Gilles Rabier Jean-François MoutonStade HélitasFC Grenoble Amazones 1st (Elite 2, Group 1, Champion) Emmanuel Pellorce Cristian SpachukStade Jean-JulienStade Villeneuvois LM2nd Frédéric Cocqu Cyril FoudaTerrain Emmanuel ThéryStadium Lille MétropoleLons Section Paloise1st (Elite 2, Group 2) Christophe Barraqué Laurent VitallaStade du Bourg (Complexe Georges Martin)Montpellier HR1st (Champion) Patrick Raffy Olivier ClessienneStade SabathéStade Français2nd (Elite 2, Group 1) Olivier Carreiras Anaïs LagougineStade René-LeducStade Rennais5th Vincent Brehonnet Anne BervilleStade du Commandant BougouinASM Rugby8th Fabrice Ribeyrolles Vincent FargeasStade Michel-BrunASRUC Rugby4th (Elite 2, Group 1) Cyrille LlozaStade de l'ASRUCStado Tarbes Pyrénées4th (Elite 2, Group 2) Thierry Escoubas Laurent Abadie Philippe MalletStade Toulousain3rd Anthony Granja Pascal BelaubreStade Ernest-WallonSO Villelonguet3rd (Elite 2, Group 2) Pierre Vergés Jean-Marie FaveauxStade Joseph-Raynal
Regular season
Format The competition consists of two groups of eight teams, established based on their rankings in the 2017–2018 seasons of the Elite 1 Top 8 and Elite 2 Armelle Auclair competitions, with matches played home and away. The championship was interrupted by a long winter break, which lasted from 17 December 2018 to 23 March 2019, apart from a few postponed matches played in mid-January. During this period, the international players participated in the 2019 Women's Six Nations Tournament while the clubs competed in the French Women's Rugby 10s Cup.
Regular season standings
Pool 1 Rank Club P W D L PF PA PD Pts1Montpellier HR14140075494 +660692Blagnac SCR141202488174 +314563ASM Rugby14815293177 +116414Stade Rennais14806386281 +105395Stade Français14716217294 -77346Lons Section Paloise143110195343 -148187ASRUC Rugby141112126649 -52368SO Villelonguet14101391563 -4722
Pool 2 Rank Club P W D L PF PA PD Pts1Stade Toulousain14130160265 +537642AS Bayonne141202518200 +318563AC Bobigny141004415198 +217474FC Grenoble Amazones14707221290 -69325Stade Villeneuvois LM14608195271 -76296Stade Bordelais14509182312 -130267Ovalie Caennaise142012105509 -404108Stado Tarbes Pyrénées14101387480 -3935
Final phase
The top 4 ranked teams in each group qualify for the quarter-finals. Each quarter-final will take place on the home ground of the team with the highest ranking at the end of the qualifying phase. The semi-finals and the final will be played on neutral ground, with the winner of the final being crowned French Champion. Bracket
Semi-finals
Final
Relegation phase
The bottom four teams in each group compete in the relegation phase. The relegation/play-off matches first and second are played at the home ground of the higher-ranked team from the qualifying phase. The four losing teams from the first round of relegation/play-offs compete in a second round to try and avoid relegation from Elite 1 Féminine. The two losing teams are relegated to Elite 2 Féminine.
Round 1 Following SO Villelonguet's withdrawal from the remainder of the season, only half of the relegation playoff matches were played. The teams from Lille, Lons, and Caen automatically secured their place in Elite 1.
Round 2
References