2017–18 Top 14 season
The 2017–18 Top 14 competition is the 119th French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Two new teams from the 2016–17 Pro D2 season were promoted to Top 14 (Oyonnax and Agen) in place of the two relegated teams, Grenoble and Bayonne. It marks the second time in a row that both promoted teams had returned on their first opportunity after relegation (Oyonnax and Agen were both relegated during the 2015–16 Top 14 season).
| 2017–18 Top 14 | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  France |
| Date | 26 August 2017 – 2 June 2018 |
| Champions | Castres (5th title) |
| Runners-up | Montpellier |
| Relegated | Brive, Oyonnax |
| Matches played | 187 |
| Attendance | 2,681,834 (average 14,341 per match) |
| Highest attendance | 78,442 (play-offs) Montpellier v Castres 2 June 2018 42,000 (league) Toulon v Montpellier 14 April 2018 |
| Lowest attendance | 5,678 Stade Français v Agen 24 February 2018 |
| Top point scorer |  Ben Botica (Oyonnax)315 points |
| Top try scorer |  Chris Ashton (Toulon)24 tries |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Teams
Locations of the 2017–18 Top 14 teams
| Club | City (department) | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agen | Agen (Lot-et-Garonne) | Stade Armandie | 14,000 |
| Bordeaux Bègles | Bordeaux (Gironde) | Stade Chaban-Delmas Matmut Atlantique |
34,694 42,115 |
| Brive | Brive-la-Gaillarde (Corrèze) | Stade Amédée-Domenech | 13,979 |
| Castres | Castres (Tarn) | Stade Pierre-Fabre[a 1] | 12,500 |
| Clermont | Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) | Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin | 19,022 |
| La Rochelle | La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) | Stade Marcel-Deflandre | 16,000 |
| Lyon | Lyon (Métropole de Lyon) | Matmut Stadium de Gerland | 25,000 |
| Montpellier | Montpellier (Hérault) | Altrad Stadium | 15,697 |
| Oyonnax | Oyonnax (Ain) | Stade Charles-Mathon | 11,400 |
| Pau | Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) | Stade du Hameau | 18,324 |
| Racing 92 | Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) | Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir U Arena[a 2][a 3] |
14,000 30,681[4] |
| Stade Français | Paris, 16th arrondissement | Stade Jean-Bouin | 20,000 |
| Toulon | Toulon (Var) | Stade Mayol[a 4] | 18,200 |
| Toulouse | Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) | Stade Ernest-Wallon[a 5] | 19,500 |
Number of teams by regions
| Teams | Region or country | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 |  Nouvelle-Aquitaine | Agen, Bordeaux Bègles, Brive, La Rochelle, and Pau |
| 3 |  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | Clermont, Lyon, and Oyonnax |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Occitanie | Castres, Montpellier, and Toulouse | |
| 2 |  Île-de-France | Racing 92 and 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,[5] 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.[6]
France's bonus point system operates as follows:[6]
- 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 fewer). The margin had been 7 points until being changed prior to the 2014–15 season.
Table
| |||||||||||||||||
| Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points For | Points Against | Points Diff. | Tries For | Tries Against | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montpellier (RU) | 26 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 752 | 559 | +193 | 98 | 59 | 11 | 2 | 81 | ||||
| 2 | Racing (SF) | 26 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 622 | 478 | +144 | 73 | 45 | 5 | 3 | 80 | ||||
| 3 | Toulouse (QF) | 26 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 719 | 595 | +124 | 80 | 62 | 4 | 4 | 74 | ||||
| 4 | Toulon (QF) | 26 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 766 | 507 | +259 | 93 | 52 | 9 | 8 | 73 | ||||
| 5 | Lyon (SF) | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 689 | 545 | +148 | 78 | 54 | 7 | 3 | 70 | ||||
| 6 | Castres (CH) | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 638 | 624 | +14 | 69 | 66 | 4 | 5 | 69 | ||||
| 7 | La Rochelle | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 686 | 531 | +155 | 81 | 52 | 6 | 3 | 67 | ||||
| 8 | Pau | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 590 | 584 | +6 | 58 | 66 | 2 | 4 | 66 | ||||
| 9 | Clermont | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 629 | 687 | –58 | 67 | 76 | 4 | 4 | 54 | ||||
| 10 | Bordeaux | 26 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 557 | 623 | –66 | 54 | 74 | 2 | 4 | 48 | ||||
| 11 | Agen | 26 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 537 | 757 | –220 | 59 | 96 | 2 | 4 | 46 | ||||
| 12 | Stade Français | 26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 540 | 740 | –200 | 58 | 87 | 2 | 4 | 42 | ||||
| 13 | Oyonnax (R) | 26 | 7 | 3 | 16 | 566 | 824 | –258 | 55 | 101 | 1 | 4 | 39 | ||||
| 14 | Brive (R) | 26 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 485 | 726 | –241 | 50 | 83 | 1 | 5 | 36 | ||||
|
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
| |||||||||||||||||
| Green background (rows 1 and 2) receive semi-final play-off places and receive berths in the 2018–19 European Rugby Champions Cup. Blue background (rows 3 to 6) receive quarter-final play-off places, and receive berths in the Champions Cup. Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the 2018–19 European Rugby Challenge Cup. Pink background (row 13) will qualify to the Relegation play-offs. Red background (row 14) will automatically be relegated to Rugby Pro D2.
| |||||||||||||||||
Relegation
Starting from the 2017–18 season forward, only the 14th placed team will be automatically relegated to Pro D2. The 13th placed team will face the runner-up of the Pro D2 play-off, with the winner of that play-off taking up the final place in Top 14 for the following season.[7]
Fixtures & Results
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
18 February 2018 16:50 |
| Racing | 19–13 | La Rochelle |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
U Arena Attendance: 21,136 Referee: Pierre Brousset |
Round 18
Round 19
3 March 2018 18:00 |
| Racing | 17–13 | Brive (1 BP) |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
U Arena Attendance: 13,135 Referee: Jonathan Dufort |
Round 20
Round 21
Round 22
Round 23
Round 24
Round 25
Round 26
Relegation playoff
The team finishing in 13th place faces the runner-up of the Pro D2, with the winner of this match playing in Top 14 in 2018–19 and the loser in Pro D2.
Playoffs
| Semi-final Qualifiers | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| 1 | Montpellier | 40 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Toulon | 19 | 5 | Lyon | 14 | ||||||||
| 5 | Lyon (a.e.t.) | 19 | 1 | Montpellier | 13 | ||||||||
| 6 | Castres | 29 | |||||||||||
| 2 | Racing 92 | 14 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Toulouse | 11 | 6 | Castres | 19 | ||||||||
| 6 | Castres | 23 | |||||||||||
Semi-final Qualifiers
18 May 2018 21:00 |
| Toulon | 19–19 (a.e.t.) | Lyon |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Ashton 56' c Con: Belleau (1/1) 56' Pen: Belleau (2/3) 37', 50' Trinh-Duc (2/2) 69', 82' |
Report | Try: Arnold 64' m Cretin 69' m Pen: Harris (3/3) 24', 32', 93' |
- Under LNR rules, when a playoff game ends level after extra time, the first tiebreaker is tries scored. Lyon advanced with 2 tries to Toulon's 1.
19 May 2018 16:15 |
| Toulouse | 11–23 | Castres |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Ghiraldini 60' m Pen: Ramos (2/4) 16', 20' |
Report | Try: Batlle (2) 12' c, 44' c Con: Urdapilleta (2/2) 13', 45' Pen: Kockott (2/3) 25', 48' Urdapilleta (1/1) 35' |
Semi-finals
25 May 2018 21:00 |
| Montpellier | 40–14 | Lyon |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Nadolo 24' c Dumoulin 38' c Picamoles 48' c Willemse 72' c Con: Pienaar (4/4) 25', 39', 49', 73' Pen: Pienaar (3/3) 4', 18', 43' Steyn (1/1) 14' |
Report | Try: Harris 78' m Pen: Harris (3/3) 10', 23', 29' |
26 May 2018 16:45 |
| Racing 92 | 14–19 | Castres |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Imhoff 19' c Dupichot 25' c Con: Iribaren (2/2) 20', 26' |
Report | Try: Vaipulu 8' c Con: Urdapilleta (1/1) 9' Pen: Urdapilleta (4/5) 11', 33', 40+1', 64' |
Final
2 June 2018 20:45 |
| Montpellier | 13–29 | Castres |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Penalty try 55' Pen: Steyn (1/2) 12' Pienaar (1/3) 34' |
Report | Try: Dumora 39' c Mafi 76' c Con: Urdapilleta (2/2) 40', 77' Pen: Urdapilleta (5/5) 8', 15', 19', 30', 62' |
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
|
Top try scorers
|
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
Attendances
- Attendances do not include the semi-finals or final as these are at neutral venues.
| Club | Home Games |
Total | Average | Highest | Lowest | % Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agen | 13 | 102,345 | 7,873 | 12,517 | 6,104 | 56% |
| Bordeaux Bègles | 13 | 285,432 | 21,956 | 36,253 | 18,251 | 60% |
| Brive | 13 | 134,574 | 10,352 | 12,412 | 9,447 | 74% |
| Castres | 13 | 130,036 | 10,003 | 12,258 | 8,691 | 80% |
| Clermont | 13 | 222,101 | 17,085 | 18,801 | 13,950 | 90% |
| La Rochelle | 13 | 206,751 | 15,904 | 16,000 | 15,000 | 99% |
| Lyon | 13 | 184,041 | 14,157 | 19,205 | 10,069 | 57% |
| Montpellier | 13 | 144,589 | 11,122 | 15,034 | 8,928 | 71% |
| Oyonnax | 13 | 114,775 | 8,829 | 11,400 | 7,345 | 77% |
| Pau | 13 | 184,105 | 14,162 | 18,300 | 10,000 | 77% |
| Racing 92 | 13 | 172,581 | 13,275 | 29,347 | 5,830 | 62% |
| Stade Francais | 13 | 139,175 | 10,706 | 15,350 | 5,678 | 54% |
| Toulon[a 6] | 14 | 250,116 | 17,865 | 42,000 | 13,500 | 86% |
| Toulouse[a 7] | 14 | 217,835 | 15,560 | 18,838 | 10,816 | 80% |
See also
Notes
- Castres' stadium was known as Stade Pierre-Antoine at the start of the season. It was renamed after late club owner Pierre Fabre on 9 September 2017.[1]
- Racing opened the 2017–18 season at Yves-du-Manoir in Colombes. Their first match at U Arena was against Toulouse on 22 December 2017.[2]
- Racing were forced to play their Round 26 home fixture against Agen on 5 May 2018 elsewhere because Beyoncé and Jay-Z booked U Arena as a rehearsal space for the European leg of their On the Run II Tour. The club chose Stade de la Rabine in Vannes (capacity 9,500) as the substitute venue.[3]
- 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 Municipal.
- Toulon's attendance figure includes home semi-final qualifier play-off game.
- Toulouse's attendance figure includes home semi-final qualifier play-off game.
References
- "Castres : ce sera le Stade Pierre-Fabre" [Castres: it will be Stade Pierre-Fabre]. La Dépêche. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- "R92 vs ST à la U Arena - La billetterie est ouverte !" [R92 vs. ST at U Arena - The ticket office is open!] (Press release) (in French). Racing 92. 25 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-11-16. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- "ESPN's rugby predictions: Games of the week, potential upsets & more". ESPN (UK). 3 May 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- "Racing Family : U Arena" (in French). Racing 92. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
- "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.
- "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.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 1". Midi Libre. 27 August 2017. Archived from the original on 26 April 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 2". Midi Libre. 3 September 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 3". Midi Libre. 10 September 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 4". Midi Libre. 17 September 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 5". Midi Libre. 24 September 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 6". Midi Libre. 1 October 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 7". Midi Libre. 8 October 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 8". Midi Libre. 29 October 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 9". Midi Libre. 5 November 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 10". Midi Libre. 19 November 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 11". Midi Libre. 26 November 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 12". Midi Libre. 3 December 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 13". Midi Libre. 23 December 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 14". Midi Libre. 31 December 2017. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 15". Midi Libre. 7 January 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 16". Midi Libre. 28 January 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 17". Midi Libre. 18 February 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 18". Midi Libre. 25 February 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "Toulon trop brouillon". Press Reader. 4 March 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 19". Midi Libre. 4 March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 20". Midi Libre. 11 March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 21". Midi Libre. 18 March 2018. Archived from the original on 28 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 22". Midi Libre. 25 March 2018. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 23". Midi Libre. 8 April 2018. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 24". Midi Libre. 15 April 2018. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 25". Midi Libre. 29 April 2018. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- "RÉSULTATS JOURNEE 26". Midi Libre. 6 May 2018. Archived from the original on 10 May 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- "Grenoble 47 22 Oyonnax". Midi Libre. 12 May 2018. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- "Top 14 Top Points Scorers". eurosport. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- "Top 14 Top Try Scorers". lnr.fr. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
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