The 2005–06 Top 14 competition was the 107th
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
domestic
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
club competition operated by the
Ligue Nationale de Rugby
The French National Rugby League (french: Ligue Nationale de Rugby), known as the LNR, manages the professional rugby sector in France, by delegation of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the French Rugby Federation.
LNR
* organises, manages and ...
(LNR) and the 1st using the name Top 14. Previously the league was known as Top 16 but the restructuring of the league at the end of the
2004–05 season meant that it shrank from 16 to 14 clubs.
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
were the only promoted team having won the
2004–05 Pro D2.
During the season attendance records in the league were broken with 79,502 spectators attending the Round 9 clash between
Stade Français
Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...
and
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...
at the
Stade de France
The Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the sixth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is used by the France national foo ...
, shattering the attendance record for ''any'' regular league season game in France (not just rugby union).
However, that record was short-lived when 79,604 spectators attended the Round 17 match between Stade Français and
Biarritz Olympique
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine which competes in the Pro D2, the second division of French rugby. Biarritz p ...
.
The regular season finished in late May 2006, with
Biarritz
Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spa ...
finishing at the top of the ladder. The semi-finals and final were contested in June, with Biarritz defeating Toulouse to claim back-to-back titles, and their fifth overall. Two teams were relegated with newly promoted Toulon, who had easily the poorest record in top 14 with just 3 wins from 26 games, being the first to go down, followed by
Pau who were much more competitive but not quite good enough to stay up, finishing 3 points from safety. Both clubs would drop to the
2006–07 Pro D2.
Teams
Number of teams by regions
Table
Fixtures & Results
Round 1
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Round 2
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Round 3
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Round 4
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Round 5
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Round 6
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Round 7
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Round 8
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Round 9
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Round 10
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Round 11
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Round 12
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Round 13
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Round 14
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Round 15
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Round 16
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Round 17
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Round 18
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Round 19
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Round 20
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Round 21
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Round 22
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Round 23
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Round 24
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Round 25
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Round 26
Knock-out stages
Semi-finals
Final
Leading scorers
* Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals.
Top points scorers
Top try scorers
Attendances
* Attendances do not include the semi-finals or final as these are at neutral venues.
See also
*
2005–06 Heineken Cup
The 2005–06 Heineken Cup was the eleventh edition of the European Heineken Cup rugby union club tournament. 24 teams from 7 countries took part, with the opening game played on Friday October 21, 2005. Munster won the tournament, beating Biarritz ...
*
2005–06 Rugby Pro D2 season
Notes
References
External links
*
Ligue Nationale de Rugby– Official website
Top 14on Planetrugby.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:2005-06 Top 14 season
Top 14 seasons
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...