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2025–26 Top 14 Season
The 2025–26 Top 14 competition will be the 127th French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). 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, 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Top 14
The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism of LNR. There is promotion and relegation between the Top 14 and the next level down, the Pro D2. The fourteen best rugby teams in France participate in the competition, hence the name Top 14. The competition was previously known as the Top 16. The league is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe (along with the English Premiership Rugby, Premiership and the United Rugby Championship, which brings together top clubs from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and South Africa), from which the most successful teams go forward to compete in the European Rugby Champions Cup, the championship which replaced the Heineken Cup after the 2013–14 Pro12, 2013–14 season. The first ever final took place in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montpellier Hérault Rugby
Montpellier Hérault Rugby (MHR) (; ) is a French professional rugby union club, based in Montpellier, Occitanie and named after the Hérault department. The club competes in the top level of the French league system, the Top 14. They originally played at Stade Sabathé (capacity 5,000) but moved in 2007 to the Stade Yves-du-Manoir, later known as Altrad Stadium, and since renamed the GGL Stadium. They wear white and blue. History The club was established in 1986 through the merger of two other rugby union clubs, the Stade Montpelliérain and MUC Rugby. In 1993 the club won the Challenge de l'Espérance. In 2003 the club became the champion of France's second division national rugby league, the Pro D2. After finishing second in the league table at the end of the 2002–03 season, Montpellier advanced to the playoffs. They defeated Auch in the semi-finals and Tarbes in the finals to win promotion to the Top 14. The following season the club played for the European Shield, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stade Chaban-Delmas
Stade Chaban-Delmas is a sporting stadium located in the city of Bordeaux, France. It was the home ground of FC Girondins de Bordeaux. Since 2011, it has also hosted matches of Top 14 rugby team Union Bordeaux Bègles. Until 2001, the stadium's name was the Stade du Parc Lescure, so called after the fallow lands on which it was built (Lescure is from earlier d'Escure, a transformation of "des Cures," part of the name of the chapelle Saint-Laurent-des-Cures-lès-Bourdeaus, formerly a prominent feature of the area).Guy Dupuis, ''Lescure: Stade Municipal de Bordeaux, Aujourd'hui stade Chaban-Delmas'' (Les Dossiers d'Aquitaine, 2008; ), p. 13. That year it was renamed after Resistance fighter and politician Jacques Chaban-Delmas, who was the mayor of Bordeaux from 1947 to 1995. First built in 1924 as a cycle-racing track, in 1935 it was reconfigured to accommodate the upcoming 1938 FIFA World Cup. Rebuilt by the architects Jacques d'Welles and Raoul Jourde in an Art déco style, it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called "''Bordelais'' (masculine) or "''Bordelaises'' (feminine). The term "Bordelais" may also refer to the city and its surrounding region. The city of Bordeaux proper had a population of 259,809 in 2020 within its small municipal territory of , but together with its suburbs and exurbs the Bordeaux Functional area (France), metropolitan area had a population of 1,376,375 that same year (Jan. 2020 census), the sixth-most populated in France after Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lille, and Toulouse. Bordeaux and 27 suburban municipalities form the Bordeaux Métropole, Bordeaux Metropolis, an Indirect election, indirectly elected Métropole, metropolitan authority now in charge of wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stade Jean Dauger
Stade Jean-Dauger () is a multi-purpose stadium in Bayonne, France. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of Aviron Bayonnais. After a renovation project completed in 2009, the stadium can hold 14,370 spectators. The stadium is named after the late Jean Dauger, former rugby union and league player who played for Aviron Bayonnais. It hosted the match between Canada and Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ... during the 1991 Rugby World Cup. Canada won the match 13–3. In July 2011 the stadium hosted all four matches of the Kopa Baiona. It was a friendly football tournament involving Olympique de Marseille, FC Girondins de Bordeaux, Udinese Calcio and Real Betis. It was won by Udinese Calcio. References Multi-purpose s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bayonne
Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine regions of France, region. Bayonne is located at the confluence of the Nive and Adour Rivers, in the northern part of the cultural region of the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country. It is the seat of the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque which roughly encompasses the western half of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, including the coastal city of Biarritz. The area also constitutes the southern part of Gascony, where the Aquitaine Basin joins the beginning of the Pre-Pyrenees. Together with nearby Anglet, Biarritz, Saint-Jean-de-Luz and several smaller communes, Bayonne forms an urban area with 273,137 inhabitants in the 2018 census, 51,411 of whom lived in the commune of Bayonne proper. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FC Grenoble
The Football Club de Grenoble Rugby (FCG) is a French rugby union club based in Grenoble and founded in 1892. FCG was champion of France in 1953–54 French Rugby Union Championship, 1954 and runner-up in 1992–93 French Rugby Union Championship, 1993 during a controversial final, being deprived of the title of champion of France following a refereeing error. The club also won the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1987 and was finalist in 1969, 1986 and 1990. FC Grenoble played in the Top 14, the top level of the National Rugby League (France), French league system, for the 2019–2020 season, but were relegated to Pro D2 at the season end. Grenoble have played home matches at the Stade des Alpes (capacity 20,068) since 2014–2015. The club's colors are red and blue. The FCG is currently chaired by Patrick Goffi. The first team is supervised by several specialists: Aubin Hueber as head coach, Nicolas Nadau senior coach, Patrick Pézery forwards coach and Tom Palmer (rugby union), To ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pro D2
The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It is the world's best supported second tier rugby union league. Season structure There are 30 rounds in the regular season, with each team playing each other home and away. There is relegation and promotion between both the Top 14 and Nationale, the third-level competition. The top two clubs at the end of the season qualify automatically for home semi-finals, with the clubs placed 3rd through to 6th playing in an elimination round to advance to the semi-finals. The two winners of the semi-final play each other in the final, with the winner gaining promotion to the Top 14, and the losing finalist then going on to play the 13th placed team in the Top 14 in a promotion-relegation match. The bottom placed (16th) team is automatically relegate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rugby Club Vannes
RC Vannes (; , ) is a French rugby union club based in Vannes, currently competing in . Founded in , they play in the Stade de la Rabine and traditionally wear blue and white jerseys. The team usually competed in the third tier of French rugby, Fédérale 1. During the 2015–16 season, they beat RC Massy during the Fédérale 1 promotion semi-finals automatically accessing to the 2016–17 Pro D2, an historical reach for a Breton rugby team. Vannes beat FC Grenoble Rugby in the 2024 Pro D2 playoffs to win promotion to the Top 14 for the first time. Honours * Pro D2 ** Champions (1): 2024 Current standings Current squad The Vannes squad for the 2024–25 season is: Espoirs squad Notable former players See also * List of rugby union clubs in France References External links Official website Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stade Toulousain
Stade Toulousain () (), also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Toulouse is the most successful club in Europe, having won the Heineken Cup/European Rugby Champions Cup a record six times – in 1995–96 Heineken Cup, 1996, 2002–03 Heineken Cup, 2003, 2004–05 Heineken Cup, 2005, 2009–10 Heineken Cup, 2010, 2020–21 European Rugby Champions Cup, 2021 and 2023–24 European Rugby Champions Cup, 2024. They were also runners-up in 2003–04 Heineken Cup, 2004 and 2007–08 Heineken Cup, 2008 against Wasps RFC, London Wasps and Munster Rugby, Munster, respectively. Stade Toulousain have also won a record 23 Bouclier de Brennus, Boucliers de Brennus, the French domestic league trophy. It is traditionally one of the main providers for the French national rugby union team, French national team and its youth academy is one of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RC Toulon
Rugby Club Toulonnais (), also referred to as Rugby Club Toulon or simply Toulon, is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon and competing in the Top 14. Located on the French Riviera, in the Provence region, the club plays its home games at the 17,500-capacity Stade Mayol. Founded in 1908, Toulon is one of the most important and widely supported rugby clubs in France. Domestically, the club has won a total of four league titles, two Pro D2 titles and two Challenge Yves du Manoir. In international competitions, Toulon is the only one to have won the Heineken Cup/ European Rugby Champions Cup three times in a row, and succeeded in winning the league/European cup double in 2014 too. Toulon has also won the EPCR Challenge Cup in 2023 after reaching the final on four occasions. The club established itself as a major force in domestic and European rugby in the 2010s when Jonny Wilkinson, Mathieu Bastareaud, Bakkies Botha, Matt Giteau and other rugby stars played ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stade Français
Stade Français Paris (known commonly as Stade Français, ) 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 original Stade Français was founded in 1883. In its current form, the club was founded in 1995 with the merger of the rugby sections of the Stade Français and Club Athlétique des Sports Généraux (CASG). Its traditional home is Stade Jean-Bouin (Paris), Stade Jean-Bouin, though the club has recently played some home games at the 80,000-seat Stade de France, taking anywhere from two to five matches to the larger venue each season since 2005–06 Top 14 season, 2005–06. From 2010 to 2013, the team played temporarily at the 20,000-capacity Stade Sébastien Charléty, Stade Charléty in Paris to allow a new stadium to be built at the Jean-Bouin site. The team participated in the first French championship fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
