2021–22 Top 14 season
| 2021–22 Top 14 | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  France |
| Date | 4 September 2021 - 5 June 2022 |
| Champions | Montpellier (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Castres |
| Relegated | Biarritz |
| Official website | |
| www | |
The 2021–22 Top 14 competition was the 123rd French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
Teams
Locations of the 2021–22 Top 14 teams
Number of teams by region
| Teams | Region or country | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 |  Nouvelle-Aquitaine |
Biarritz, Bordeaux Bègles, Brive, La Rochelle, Pau |
| 4 |  Occitanie |
Castres, Montpellier, Perpignan, Toulouse |
| 2 |  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes |
Clermont, Lyon |
 Île-de-France |
Racing, Stade Français | |
| 1 |  Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |
Toulon |
Competition format
The top six teams at the end of the regular season (after all the teams played one another twice, once at home, once away) enter a knockout stage to decide the Champions of France. This consists of three rounds: the teams finishing third to sixth in the table play quarter-finals (hosted by the third and fourth placed teams). The winners then face the top two teams in the semi-finals, with the winners meeting in the final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
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,[1] 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.[2]
France's bonus point system operates as follows:[2]
- 4 points for a win.
- 2 points for a draw.
- 1 bonus point for scoring at least 3 more tries than the opponent. This replaces the standard bonus point for scoring 4 tries regardless of the opponent scoring.
- 1 bonus point for losing by 5 points (or fewer). The margin had been 7 points until being changed prior to the 2014–15 season.
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Castres | 26 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 565 | 529 | +36 | 76 | Champions Cup & Top 14 finals |
| 2 | Montpellier (C) | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 619 | 503 | +116 | 74 | |
| 3 | Bordeaux Bègles | 26 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 610 | 484 | +126 | 72 | |
| 4 | Toulouse | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 638 | 432 | +206 | 71 | |
| 5 | La Rochelle | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 640 | 466 | +174 | 71 | |
| 6 | Racing 92 | 26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 661 | 568 | +93 | 70 | |
| 7 | Clermont | 26 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 10 | 649 | 557 | +92 | 66 | Champions Cup |
| 8 | Toulon | 26 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 572 | 504 | +68 | 65 | Challenge Cup |
| 9 | Lyon | 26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 12 | 637 | 558 | +79 | 64 | Champions Cup[a] |
| 10 | Pau | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 568 | 664 | −96 | 50 | Challenge Cup |
| 11 | Stade Français | 26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 6 | 544 | 651 | −107 | 50 | |
| 12 | Brive | 26 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 8 | 453 | 631 | −178 | 46 | |
| 13 | Perpignan | 26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 7 | 491 | 664 | −173 | 43 | Relegation play-off & Challenge Cup[b] |
| 14 | Biarritz (R) | 26 | 5 | 0 | 21 | 4 | 449 | 885 | −436 | 24 | Relegation to Rugby Pro D2 |
Source: Top 14
Rules for classification: 1) Competition points earned in head-to-head matches; 2) Points difference in head-to-head matches; 3) Try differential in head-to-head matches; 4) Points difference in all matches; 5) Try differential in all matches; 6) Points scored in all matches; 7) Tries scored in all matches; 8) Fewer matches forfeited; 9) Classification in the previous Top 14 season.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) Competition points earned in head-to-head matches; 2) Points difference in head-to-head matches; 3) Try differential in head-to-head matches; 4) Points difference in all matches; 5) Try differential in all matches; 6) Points scored in all matches; 7) Tries scored in all matches; 8) Fewer matches forfeited; 9) Classification in the previous Top 14 season.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated
Notes:
- ^ The eighth Champions Cup berth was reallocated to Lyon as 2021–22 Challenge Cup winners.
- ^ The fifth Challenge Cup berth was allocated to the relegation play-off winner, which was Perpignan.
Relegation
From the 2017–18 season, only the 14th placed team is automatically relegated to the Pro D2. The 13th placed team play the runner-up of the Pro D2 play-off, with the winner taking up the final place in the Top 14 for the following season.[3]
Fixtures and results
Round 1
| 4 September 2021 14:00 |
| Biarritz | 27–15 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| Report |
| Parc des Sports Aguiléra Referee: Mathieu Raynal |
| 5 September 2021 21:05 |
| (1 BP) La Rochelle | 16–20 | Toulouse |
| Report |
| Stade Marcel-Deflandre Referee: Jonathan Dufort |
Round 2
| 11 September 2021 15:15 |
| (1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles | 37–10 | Stade Français |
| Report |
| Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Maxime Chalon |
Round 3
| 18 September 2021 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Lyon | 47–3 | Perpignan |
| Report |
| Matmut Stadium de Gerland Referee: Sebastien Minery |
| 18 September 2021 21:05 |
| Clermont | 23–22 | La Rochelle (1 BP) |
| Report |
| Stade Marcel-Michelin Referee: Pierre Brousset |
Round 4
| 25 September 2021 15:00 |
| (1 BP) La Rochelle | 59–17 | Biarritz |
| Report |
| Stade Marcel-Deflandre Referee: Vincent Blasco Basque |
Round 5
| 2 October 2021 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Lyon | 15–20 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| Report |
| Matmut Stadium de Gerland Referee: Vivien Praderie |
| 2 October 2021 17:00 |
| Biarritz | 11–17 | Toulouse |
| Report |
| Parc des Sports Aguiléra Referee: Pierre Baptiste Nuchy |
Round 6
| 9 October 2021 15:00 |
| Bordeaux Bègles | 27–23 | Montpellier (1 BP) |
| Report |
| Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Pierre Brousset |
| 9 October 2021 15:00 |
| Racing | 17–14 | Perpignan (1 BP) |
| Report |
| Paris La Défense Arena Referee: Pierre Baptiste Nuchy |
Round 7
| 16 October 2021 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Perpignan | 22–23 | Stade Français |
| Report |
| Stade Aimé Giral Referee: Laurent Cordona |
Round 8
| 23 October 2021 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles | 39–13 | Perpignan |
| Report |
| Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Benoit Rousselet |
| 24 October 2021 21:05 |
| (1 BP) La Rochelle | 39–6 | Toulon |
| Report |
| Stade Marcel-Deflandre Referee: Pierre Brousset |
Round 9
| 30 October 2021 21:00 |
| (1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles | 25–9 | Clermont |
| Report |
| Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Jonathan Dufort |
Round 10
| 5 November 2021 21:00 |
| La Rochelle | 26–3 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| Report |
| Stade Marcel-Deflandre Referee: Adrien Descottes |
| 6 November 2021 14:45 |
| (1 BP) Stade Français | 27–31 | Montpellier |
| Report |
| Stade Jean-Bouin Referee: Pierre Baptiste Nuchy |
Relegation playoff
The team finishing in 13th place faces the runner-up of the Pro D2, with the winner of this match playing in the 2022–23 Top 14 and the loser in the 2022–23 Pro D2.
| 12 June 2022 17:45 |
| Mont-de-Marsan | 16–41 | Perpignan |
| Try: Laousse Azpiazu 4' c Con: Coly (1/1) 4' Pen: Coly (3/3) 11', 31', 40+2' | Report | Try: Jaminet 18' c de la Fuente 56' c Dubois 68' c Tedder 75' m Con: Jaminet (3/4) 18', 56', 68' Pen: Jaminet (5/5) 8', 22', 36', 51', 54' |
| Stade Guy Boniface, Mont-de-Marsan Referee: Thomas Charabas |
Playoffs
| Semi-final Qualifiers | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Castres | 24 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Toulouse | 33 | 4 | Toulouse | 18 | |||||||||
| 5 | La Rochelle | 28 | 1 | Castres | 10 | |||||||||
| 2 | Montpellier | 29 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Montpellier | 19 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Bordeaux Bègles | 36 | 3 | Bordeaux Bègles | 10 | |||||||||
| 6 | Racing 92 | 16 | ||||||||||||
Semi-final Qualifiers
| 11 June 2022 21:05 |
| Toulouse (4) | 33–28 | La Rochelle (5) |
| Try: Fouyssac 9' c Dupont 13' m Mallía 62' m Ntamack 69' c Con: Ramos (2/4) 8', 70' Pen: Ramos (3/3) 18', 29', 36' | Report | Try: Liebenberg 25' c Alldritt 56' c Bourgarit 79' c Favre 80' c Con: West (4/4) 26', 57', 80', 80+1' |
| Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse Attendance: 18,784 Referee: Romain Poite |
| 12 June 2022 21:05 |
| Bordeaux Bègles (3) | 36–16 | Racing 92 (6) |
| Try: Cordero (2) 20' m, 54' c Seuteni 47' c Woki 58' c Lam 80' c Con: Lucu (3/4) 48', 55', 60' Trinh-Duc (1/1) 80+1' Pen: Lucu (1/2) 5' | Report | Try: Spring 39' c Con: Le Garrec (1/1) 40' Pen: Le Garrec (2/3) 7', 43' Machenaud (1/1) 57' |
| Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux Attendance: 27,279[4] Referee: Mathieu Raynal |
Semi-finals
| 17 June 2022 21:05 |
| Castres (1) | 24–18 | Toulouse (4) |
| Try: Arata 43' c Dumora 77' m Con: Urdapilleta (1/2) 44' Pen: Urdapilleta (4/4) 21', 27', 40+1', 70' | Report | Try: Lebel 2' c Ntamack 47' m Con: Ramos (1/2) 3' Pen: Ramos (2/4) 17', 60' |
| Allianz Riviera, Nice Attendance: 35,114[5] Referee: Ludovic Cayre |
| 18 June 2022 21:05 |
| Montpellier (2) | 19–10 | Bordeaux Bègles (3) |
| Try: Rattez 6' c Con: Paillaugue (1/1) 7' Pen: Aprasidze (2/2) 70', 79' Drop: Garbisi (1/1) 13' Bouthier (1/1) 40' | Report | Try: Jalibert 16' c Con: Lucu (1/1) 17' Pen: Lucu (1/1) 6' |
| Allianz Riviera, Nice Attendance: 34,844[6] Referee: Pierre Brousset |
Final
| 24 June 2022 20:45 |
| Castres (1) | 10–29 | Montpellier (2) |
| Try: Botitu 75' c Con: Dumora (1/1) 75' Pen: Dumora (1/2) 34' | Report | Try: Vincent 6' m Verhaeghe 10' c Bouthier 12' m Con: Paillaugue (1/3) 10' Pen: Paillaugue (2/2) 21', 39' Garbisi (1/1) 68' Pollard (1/1) 77' |
| Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 78,245 Referee: Tual Trainini |
See also
Notes
- ^ In recent years, Bordeaux Bègles has taken occasional home matches to Matmut Atlantique.
- ^ In recent years, Toulon has taken occasional home matches to Stade Vélodrome in Marseille and Allianz Riviera in Nice.
- ^ Toulouse often takes high-demand home matches to the city's largest sporting venue, Stadium de Toulouse.
References
- ^ "French try out new bonus point system". Planet-rugby.com. 27 June 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2007.
- ^ a b "Article 330, Section 3.2. Points "terrain"" (PDF). Règlements de la Ligue Nationale de Rugby 2008/2009, Chapitre 2 : Règlement sportif du Championnat de France Professionnel (in French). LNR. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
- ^ Mortimer, Gavin (18 August 2016). "French rugby enjoys a popularity boom as it looks to the future". Rugby World. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
- ^ "Résultat et résumé Bordeaux-Bègles - Racing 92, match en direct - Top 14 2021-2022, Barrages, dimanche 12 juin 2022".
- ^ "Résultat et résumé Castres - Toulouse, match en direct - Top 14 2021-2022, Demi-finales, vendredi 17 juin 2022".
- ^ "Résultat et résumé Montpellier - Bordeaux-Bègles, match en direct - Top 14 2021-2022, Demi-finales, samedi 18 juin 2022".