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.
Current season, competition or edition: 2023–24 Rugby Pro D2 season | |
Sport | Rugby union |
---|---|
Founded | 2000 |
Administrator | LNR |
No. of teams | 16 |
Country | France |
Most recent champion(s) | Oyonnax (3rd title) |
Most titles | Lyon (3 titles) |
Level on pyramid | 2 |
Promotion to | Top 14 |
Relegation to | Nationale |
Official website | lnr.fr/rugby-pro-d2 |
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]
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]
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
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 |