Countries France Attendance 1,240,501 Tries scored 890 | Champions Lyon Promoted LyonLa Rochelle Country France Matches played 243 | |
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Date 31 August 2013 – 25 May 2014 Similar |
The 2013–14 Rugby Pro D2 is the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2013–14 season. It ran alongside the 2013–14 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
Contents
Teams
Changes in the lineup from 2012–13 were:
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 earns 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, 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.
France's bonus point system operates as follows:
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. In certain circumstances, "financial reasons" may cause a higher placed team to be demoted instead. This last happened at the end of the 2011–12 season when 9th place Bourgoin were relegated thereby reprieving 15th place Béziers.
Fixtures
After the General Assembly of the League National de Rugby, held at Aix-en-Provence on 5 and 6 July 2013, the outline calendar of fixtures for the 2013–14 season were released. Detailed fixtures information evolves as the season progresses (i.e. specific kick off times). Match attendances are from the official web site (Affluences).
Round 21
Round 25
Round 28
Play–offs
The highest ranked team at the end of the regular season – Lyon – won automatic promotion to the Top 14 as champion de France de PRO D2 2014.
Semi–finals
The semi–finals follow a 2 v 5, 3 v 4 system, with the higher ranked team playing at home.
Final
The winners of the semi–finals played off for the second promotion spot to the Top 14.