2021–22 Top 14 Season
The 2021–22 Top 14 competition was the 123rd French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
| 2021–22 Top 14 | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  France |
| Date | 4 September 2021 - 5 June 2022 |
| Champions | Montpellier (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Castres |
| Relegated | Biarritz |
| Official website | |
| www | |
Teams
Number of teams by region
| Teams | Region or country | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 |  Nouvelle-Aquitaine | Biarritz, Bordeaux Bègles, Brive, La Rochelle, Pau |
| 4 |  Occitanie | Castres, Montpellier, Perpignan, Toulouse |
| 2 |  Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | Clermont, Lyon |
 Île-de-France | Racing, 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, 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:
- 4 points for a win.
- 2 points for a draw.
- 1 bonus point for scoring at least 3 more tries than the opponent. This replaces the standard bonus point for scoring 4 tries regardless of the opponent scoring.
- 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. | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Castres (RU) | 26 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 565 | 529 | +36 | 5 | 1 | 76 | |||||
| 2 | Montpellier (CH) | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 619 | 503 | +116 | 4 | 6 | 74 | |||||
| 3 | Bordeaux Bègles (SF) | 26 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 610 | 484 | +126 | 5 | 5 | 72 | |||||
| 4 | Toulouse (SF) | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 638 | 432 | +206 | 6 | 5 | 71 | |||||
| 5 | La Rochelle (QF) | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 640 | 466 | +174 | 6 | 5 | 71 | |||||
| 6 | Racing (QF) | 26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 661 | 568 | +93 | 4 | 2 | 70 | |||||
| 7 | Clermont | 26 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 649 | 557 | +92 | 6 | 4 | 66 | |||||
| 8 | Toulon | 26 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 572 | 504 | +68 | 4 | 5 | 65 | |||||
| 9 | Lyon | 26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 637 | 558 | +79 | 6 | 6 | 64 | |||||
| 10 | Pau | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 568 | 664 | –96 | 1 | 3 | 50 | |||||
| 11 | Stade Français | 26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 544 | 651 | –107 | 2 | 4 | 50 | |||||
| 12 | Brive | 26 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 453 | 631 | –178 | 4 | 4 | 46 | |||||
| 13 | Perpignan | 26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 491 | 664 | –173 | 2 | 5 | 43 | |||||
| 14 | Biarritz (R) | 26 | 5 | 0 | 21 | 449 | 885 | –436 | 1 | 3 | 24 | |||||
| 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 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup. Blue background (rows 3 to 6) receive quarter-final play-off places, and receive berths in the Champions Cup. Yellow background (row 7 and Lyon) receive berths in the Champions Cup. Lyon received a berth for winning the 2021–22 European Rugby Challenge Cup. Plain background indicates teams that earn a place in the 2022–23 European Rugby Challenge Cup. Pink background (row 13) will be contest a play-off with the runners-up of the 2020–21 Rugby Pro D2 season for a place in the 2022–23 Top 14 season. Red background (row 14) will be relegated to Rugby Pro D2. Final table | ||||||||||||||||
Relegation
From the 2017–18 season, only the 14th placed team is automatically relegated to the Pro D2. The 13th placed team play the runner-up of the Pro D2 play-off, with the winner taking up the final place in the Top 14 for the following season.
Fixtures and results
Round 1
| 4 September 2021 14:00 |
| Biarritz | 27–15 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| Report |
| Parc des Sports Aguiléra Referee: Mathieu Raynal |
| 5 September 2021 21:05 |
| (1 BP) La Rochelle | 16–20 | Toulouse |
| Report |
| Stade Marcel-Deflandre Referee: Jonathan Dufort |
Round 2
| 11 September 2021 15:15 |
| (1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles | 37–10 | Stade Français |
| Report |
| Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Maxime Chalon |
Round 3
| 18 September 2021 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Lyon | 47–3 | Perpignan |
| Report |
| Matmut Stadium de Gerland Referee: Sebastien Minery |
| 18 September 2021 21:05 |
| Clermont | 23–22 | La Rochelle (1 BP) |
| Report |
| Stade Marcel-Michelin Referee: Pierre Brousset |
Round 4
| 25 September 2021 15:00 |
| (1 BP) La Rochelle | 59–17 | Biarritz |
| Report |
| Stade Marcel-Deflandre Referee: Vincent Blasco Basque |
Round 5
| 2 October 2021 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Lyon | 15–20 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| Report |
| Matmut Stadium de Gerland Referee: Vivien Praderie |
| 2 October 2021 17:00 |
| Biarritz | 11–17 | Toulouse |
| Report |
| Parc des Sports Aguiléra Referee: Pierre Baptiste Nuchy |
Round 6
| 9 October 2021 15:00 |
| Bordeaux Bègles | 27–23 | Montpellier (1 BP) |
| Report |
| Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Pierre Brousset |
| 9 October 2021 15:00 |
| Racing | 17–14 | Perpignan (1 BP) |
| Report |
| Paris La Défense Arena Referee: Pierre Baptiste Nuchy |
Round 7
| 16 October 2021 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Perpignan | 22–23 | Stade Français |
| Report |
| Stade Aimé Giral Referee: Laurent Cordona |
Round 8
| 23 October 2021 15:00 |
| (1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles | 39–13 | Perpignan |
| Report |
| Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Benoit Rousselet |
| 24 October 2021 21:05 |
| (1 BP) La Rochelle | 39–6 | Toulon |
| Report |
| Stade Marcel-Deflandre Referee: Pierre Brousset |
Round 9
| 30 October 2021 21:00 |
| (1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles | 25–9 | Clermont |
| Report |
| Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Jonathan Dufort |
Round 10
| 5 November 2021 21:00 |
| La Rochelle | 26–3 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| Report |
| Stade Marcel-Deflandre Referee: Adrien Descottes |
| 6 November 2021 14:45 |
| (1 BP) Stade Français | 27–31 | Montpellier |
| Report |
| Stade Jean-Bouin Referee: Pierre Baptiste Nuchy |
Relegation playoff
The team finishing in 13th place faces the runner-up of the Pro D2, with the winner of this match playing in the 2022–23 Top 14 and the loser in the 2022–23 Pro D2.
| 12 June 2022 17:45 |
| Mont-de-Marsan | 16–41 | Perpignan |
| Try: Laousse Azpiazu 4' c Con: Coly (1/1) 4' Pen: Coly (3/3) 11', 31', 40+2' | Report | Try: Jaminet 18' c de la Fuente 56' c Dubois 68' c Tedder 75' m Con: Jaminet (3/4) 18', 56', 68' Pen: Jaminet (5/5) 8', 22', 36', 51', 54' |
| Stade Guy Boniface, Mont-de-Marsan Referee: Thomas Charabas |
Playoffs
| Semi-final Qualifiers | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Castres | 24 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Toulouse | 33 | 4 | Toulouse | 18 | |||||||||
| 5 | La Rochelle | 28 | 1 | Castres | 10 | |||||||||
| 2 | Montpellier | 29 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Montpellier | 19 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Bordeaux Bègles | 36 | 3 | Bordeaux Bègles | 10 | |||||||||
| 6 | Racing 92 | 16 | ||||||||||||
Semi-final Qualifiers
| 11 June 2022 21:05 |
| Toulouse (4) | 33–28 | La Rochelle (5) |
| Try: Fouyssac 9' c Dupont 13' m Mallía 62' m Ntamack 69' c Con: Ramos (2/4) 8', 70' Pen: Ramos (3/3) 18', 29', 36' | Report | Try: Liebenberg 25' c Alldritt 56' c Bourgarit 79' c Favre 80' c Con: West (4/4) 26', 57', 80', 80+1' |
| Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse Attendance: 18,784 Referee: Romain Poite |
| 12 June 2022 21:05 |
| Bordeaux Bègles (3) | 36–16 | Racing 92 (6) |
| Try: Cordero (2) 20' m, 54' c Seuteni 47' c Woki 58' c Lam 80' c Con: Lucu (3/4) 48', 55', 60' Trinh-Duc (1/1) 80+1' Pen: Lucu (1/2) 5' | Report | Try: Spring 39' c Con: Le Garrec (1/1) 40' Pen: Le Garrec (2/3) 7', 43' Machenaud (1/1) 57' |
| Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux Attendance: 27,279 Referee: Mathieu Raynal |
Semi-finals
| 17 June 2022 21:05 |
| Castres (1) | 24–18 | Toulouse (4) |
| Try: Arata 43' c Dumora 77' m Con: Urdapilleta (1/2) 44' Pen: Urdapilleta (4/4) 21', 27', 40+1', 70' | Report | Try: Lebel 2' c Ntamack 47' m Con: Ramos (1/2) 3' Pen: Ramos (2/4) 17', 60' |
| Allianz Riviera, Nice Attendance: 35,114 Referee: Ludovic Cayre |
| 18 June 2022 21:05 |
| Montpellier (2) | 19–10 | Bordeaux Bègles (3) |
| Try: Rattez 6' c Con: Paillaugue (1/1) 7' Pen: Aprasidze (2/2) 70', 79' Drop: Garbisi (1/1) 13' Bouthier (1/1) 40' | Report | Try: Jalibert 16' c Con: Lucu (1/1) 17' Pen: Lucu (1/1) 6' |
| Allianz Riviera, Nice Attendance: 34,844 Referee: Pierre Brousset |
Final
| 24 June 2022 20:45 |
| Castres (1) | 10–29 | Montpellier (2) |
| Try: Botitu 75' c Con: Dumora (1/1) 75' Pen: Dumora (1/2) 34' | Report | Try: Vincent 6' m Verhaeghe 10' c Bouthier 12' m Con: Paillaugue (1/3) 10' Pen: Paillaugue (2/2) 21', 39' Garbisi (1/1) 68' Pollard (1/1) 77' |
| Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 78,245 Referee: Tual Trainini |
See also
Notes
References
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