2012–13 Rugby Pro D2 season

2012–13 Pro D2
Countries France
Date25 August 2012 – 19 May 2013
ChampionsOyonnax
Runners-upBrive
PromotedOyonnax
Brive
RelegatedAix-en-Provence
Massy
Matches played243
Attendance1,119,194
(average 4,606 per match)
Tries scored825
(average 3.4 per match)
Top point scorerFabien Fortassin (Tarbes)
393 points
Top try scorerFlorian Denos (Oyonnax)
17 tries
Official website
www.lnr.fr

The 2012–13 Rugby Pro D2 is the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2012–13 season. It ran alongside the 2012–13 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).

Teams

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Location of teams in Rugby Pro D2 2012–13
Club City Stadium
Pays d'Aix RC Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône) Stade Maurice David
SC Albi Albi (Tarn) Stadium Municipal d'Albi
FC Auch Auch (Gers) Stade du Moulias
Stade Aurillacois Aurillac (Cantal) Stade Jean Alric
Béziers Béziers (Hérault) Stade de la Méditerranée
Brive Brive (Corrèze) Stade Amédée-Domenech
US Carcassonne Carcassonne (Aude) Stade Albert Domec
Colomiers Colomiers (Haute-Garonne) Stade Michel Bendichou
US Dax Dax (Landes) Stade Maurice Boyau
La Rochelle La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Lyon OU Lyon (Rhône) Matmut Stadium
Massy Massy (Essonne) Stade Jules Ladoumègue
RC Narbonne Narbonne (Aude) Parc des Sports Et de l'Amitié
Oyonnax Rugby Oyonnax (Ain) Stade Charles-Mathon
Section Paloise Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) Stade du Hameau
Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées) Stade Maurice Trélut

Changes in the lineup from 2011–12 were:

  • FC Grenoble won the 2011–12 Pro D2 title and were thereby automatically promoted to the Top 14. Mont-de-Marsan won the promotion playoffs to secure the second promotion place.
  • The bottom finisher in 2011–12, Périgueux, was relegated from Pro D2 to Fédérale 1. Second-from-bottom Béziers were spared relegation when ninth-placed Bourgoin were forcibly relegated to Fédérale 1 for financial reasons.
  • The two bottom finishers in the Top 14 in 2011-12, Brive and Lyon, were relegated to Pro D2.
  • The two finalists in Fédérale 1, champion Massy and runner-up Colomiers, earned promotion.

Competition format

The top team at the end of the regular season (after all the teams played one another twice, once at home, once away), is declared champion and earns a spot in the next Top 14 season. Teams ranked second to fifth compete in promotion playoffs, with the semifinals being played at the home ground of the higher-ranked team. The final is then played on neutral ground, and the winner earned the second ticket to the next Top 14.

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 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).

Table

2012–13 Rugby Pro D2 table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Oyonnax 30 24 1 5 877 536 +341 10 3 111 Champions, promoted to Top 14
2 Brive 30 20 2 8 658 532 +126 6 4 94 Won promotion play-offs
3 Pau 30 20 1 9 725 519 +206 5 6 93 Qualified for promotion play-offs
4 La Rochelle 30 19 0 11 718 569 +149 6 5 87
5 Aurillac 30 19 1 10 680 643 +37 0 4 82
6 Tarbes 30 17 1 12 695 625 +70 5 5 80
7 Carcassonne 30 15 1 14 640 595 +45 3 9 74
8 Lyon 30 13 3 14 696 585 +111 6 8 72
9 Narbonne 30 14 2 14 673 670 +3 0 9 69
10 Colomiers 30 13 2 15 568 615 −47 2 8 66
11 Albi 30 12 1 17 580 630 −50 1 8 59
12 Béziers 30 10 1 19 534 742 −208 1 8 51
13 Auch 30 8 3 19 442 612 −170 1 11 50
14 Dax 30 10 1 19 567 708 −141 2 5 49
15 Aix-en-Provence 30 9 0 21 552 774 −222 2 7 45 Relegated to Fédérale 1
16 Massy 30 6 2 22 598 848 −250 0 9 37
Updated to match(es) played on 10 June 2013. Source: Itsrugby.co.uk

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. However, 7th placed Carcassonne were under threat of demotion due to "financial reasons".[3] Carcassonne appealed this decision[4] and their appeal was successful.[5] Consequently, Pays d'Aix were demoted along with Massy.

Play–offs

Semi–finals

The semi–finals follow a 2 v 5, 3 v 4 system - with the higher ranked team playing at home.

11 May 2013
19:00
Pau30 – 16La Rochelle
Try: Ramsey 2' c
Radidi 60' m
Con: Boulogne (1/2)
Pen: Manca (5/6) 32', 40', 46', 60', 79'
Drop: Boulogne (1/1) 19'		Try: Canale 14' c
Con: Fauqué (1/1)
Pen: Fauqué (3/3) 21', 25', 53'
Stade du Hameau
Attendance: 14,000
Referee: Cédric Marchat
12 May 2013
15:10
Brive30 – 14Aurillac
Try: Namy 26' m
Noon 60' c
Con: Caminati (1/2)
Pen: Caminati (5/5) 10', 16', 45', 76', 80'
Drop: Swanepoel (1/1) 71'		Try: Lescure 58' m
Pen: Petitjean (3/3) 4', 24', 48'
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 14,000
Referee: Sébastien Minery

Final

19 May 2013
16:00
Brive30 – 10Pau
Try: Ledevedec 14' c
Caminati 20' c
Luafutu 78' c
Con: Caminati (3/3)
Pen: Caminati (3/3) 4', 48', 56'		ReportTry: Solofuti 53' c
Con: Boulogne (1/1)
Pen: Manca (1/2) 25'
Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
Attendance: 33,175[6]
Referee: Laurent Cardona

See also

References

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ 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). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2008.
  3. ^ "La DNACG rétrograde Carcassonne en Fédérale 1" (in French). Midi Olympique. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  4. ^ "Le Président de l'USC concernant le communiqué de presse LNR-DNACG" (in French). www.uscarcassonne.com. 18 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Carcassonne maintenu en Pro D2 !" (in French). Midi Olympique. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Record de spectateurs battu pour une finale de Pro D2" (in French). 19 May 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.