2009–10 Top 14 season

2009–10 Top 14 season
Countries  France
Champions Clermont
(1st title)
Runners-up Perpignan
Relegated Montauban
Albi
Matches played 187
Attendance 2,610,367 (average 13,959 per match)
Tries scored 597 (average 3.193 per match)
Top point scorer France Romain Teulet (263)
Top try scorer South Africa Sam Gerber (9)

The 2009–10 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). It began on August 14, 2009 with a match between Toulon and Stade Français at Stade Mayol in Toulon, and continued through to the final at the Stade de France on May 29, 2010.

This year's edition of the Top 14 welcomed Racing Métro, winners of the 2009 title in the second-level Pro D2, and Albi, victors in the 2009 promotion playoffs between the second- through fifth-placed teams in Pro D2, thus becoming the first team to achieve promotion to the Top 14 only one year after being relegated. They took the place of the two clubs from Landes, Dax and Mont-de-Marsan, relegated at the end of the 2008–09 Top 14. Mont-de-Marsan, which had been promoted to the Top 14 for 2008–09, finished bottom of the table and went down. The other newly promoted team in 2008–09, Toulon, finished ninth, sending Dax, who had already finished second-to-bottom the previous season before being allowed to stay in the Top 14 due to Albi's financial troubles, to Pro D2.

The two teams promoted for 2009–10 had very different results. Albi finished bottom of the table by a wide margin and went directly back to Pro D2. Racing Métro, on the other hand, finished sixth, giving them a berth in the newly expanded playoffs and a place in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup. Bayonne finished in the other relegation spot of 13th place, but were reprieved due to the financial problems of 12th-place Montauban.

The season ended with Clermont winning their first French national title in their nearly century-long history, defeating defending champions Perpignan 19–6 in a rematch of last season's final. This result ended decades of frustration for Les Jaunards and their supporters, who had previously tasted defeat in all 10 of their previous final-game appearances.[1]

Competition format

Each club played every other club twice. The second half of the season is conducted in the same order as the first, with the club at home in the first half of the season away in the second. This season introduced a new format for the knockout stage: the top two teams qualify directly to the semifinals, while teams ranked from third to sixth qualify for a quarterfinal held at the homeground of the higher-ranked team. The semifinals are then held at neutral sites, with the final being played at the Stade de France. This replaced the classical format consisting of semifinals between the top four teams held at neutral sites.

Going into the season, the top six clubs were guaranteed of berths in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup. The winners of the 2009–10 Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup are assured of berths in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup regardless of their league standing. This means that if a club finishes in the top six and wins one of the European competitions, the seventh-place team will gain a Heineken Cup berth. However, if French clubs win both competitions, only five clubs will qualify for the 2010–11 Heineken Cup via their league position because France is capped at seven Heineken Cup places. France can also secure a seventh berth if clubs from England's Guinness Premiership, also capped at seven Heineken Cup places, win both Cup competitions, and the top club in the European Rugby Club Rankings among those not already qualified for the Heineken Cup is from the Top 14. As it turned out, France earned a seventh berth when Toulouse won the Heineken Cup; because Toulouse had finished fourth on the regular-season table, the extra berth went to seventh-place Biarritz, who were also their opponent in the Heineken Cup final.

The bottom two teams are provisionally relegated to Pro D2, with the possibility of one or both of the bottom teams to be reprieved if a team above them fails a postseason financial audit (mandatory for all clubs in the league).

The LNR used 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,[2] a system that also made it impossible for either team to earn a bonus point in a drawn match. The LNR chose to continue with this system for subsequent seasons.[3]

France's bonus point system operated as follows:[3]

The teams

Team Captain Head coach Stadium Capacity
Albi France Vincent Clément France Jean Christophe Bacca
France Philippe Laurent 		Stadium Municipal d'Albi 13,058
Bayonne France Rémy Martin France Christian Gajan Stade Jean-Dauger 16,934
Biarritz France Jérôme Thion Australia Jack Isaac and
France Jean-Michel Gonzalez 		Parc des Sports Aguiléra 15,000
Bourgoin France Julien Frier France Éric Catinot and
France Xavier Péméja 		Stade Pierre-Rajon 9,441
Brive France Fabrice Estebanez France Ugo Mola
France Christophe Laussucq 		Stade Amédée-Domenech 15,000
Castres France Alexandre Albouy
France Sébastien Tillous-Borde 		France Laurent Labit and
France Laurent Travers 		Stade Pierre-Antoine 11,500
Clermont France Aurélien Rougerie New Zealand Vern Cotter Parc des Sports Marcel-Michelin 16,334
Montauban England Matthew Clarkin France Sébastien Calvet and
France Marc Raynaud 		Stade Sapiac 11,500
Montpellier France Fulgence Ouedraogo South Africa Warren Britz Stade Yves-du-Manoir 15,000
Perpignan France Nicolas Mas France Jacques Brunel Stade Aimé-Giral 16,593
Racing Métro France Lionel Nallet France Pierre Berbizier Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir 14,000
Stade Français Argentina Rodrigo Roncero France Jacques Delmas and
France Didier Faugeron 		Stade Jean-Bouin 12,000
Stade de France 80,000
Toulon South Africa Joe van Niekerk France Philippe Saint-André Stade Mayol 13,700
Toulouse France Thierry Dusautoir France Guy Novès Stade Ernest-Wallon 19,500
Stadium Municipal 35,472

Stade de France was listed as an alternate home for Stade Français because the club hosted five of their 13 home matches this season at the national stadium. Similarly, Stadium Municipal was listed as an alternate home for Toulouse, who normally play two Top 14 matches a year at that facility. In addition, four other clubs hosted home matches at larger stadiums, and Stade Français took a home match to yet another ground:

Managerial changes

Table

Key to colors
     League champions; receive a place in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup.
     Top two teams qualify directly to semifinals and receive places in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup.
     Third and fourth placed teams play their quarterfinal at home and also receive automatic Heineken Cup berths.
     Fifth and sixth placed teams play their quarterfinal away and also receive automatic Heineken Cup berths (but see note 1 below).
     Seventh-place Biarritz receive a Heineken Cup berth. See note 2 below the table for the reason.
     Two teams relegated to Rugby Pro D2 — Montauban due to financial issues, and Albi as bottom finisher.
2009–10 Top 14 Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Bonus points Points Head-to-head
1 Perpignan 26 17 0 9 582 412 12 80 Perpignan 5–4
2 Toulon 26 18 1 7 541 456 6 80
3 Clermont 26 15 3 8 644 414 12 78
4 Toulouse 26 15 1 10 524 359 12 74
5 Castres 26 14 3 9 542 398 11 73
6 Racing Métro 26 14 1 11 518 530 6 64
7 Biarritz 26 12 0 14 471 442 11 59
8 Stade Français 26 10 4 12 600 572 10 58 Stade Français 5–4
9 Brive 26 11 2 13 459 513 10 58
10 Montpellier 26 13 0 13 453 574 3 55
11 Bourgoin 26 11 1 14 407 591 4 50
12 Montauban 26 10 2 14 422 525 5 49
13 Bayonne 26 9 0 17 492 490 11 47
14 Albi 26 4 0 22 349 728 8 24
Notes
  1. It was possible that the sixth-place team on the table would not qualify for the Heineken Cup. However, it would occur only if French teams won both the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup, and both of these teams finished outside the top six on the league table. This did not happen in 2009–10 because only one of the European cups was won by a French team (the Heineken Cup by Toulouse).
  2. Conversely, if the only French team to win a European trophy finished in the top six, or if both European trophy winners finished in the top six, the seventh-place finisher would receive a Heineken Cup berth. Since Toulouse finished fourth, Biarritz claimed the extra French berth.

Normally, the bottom two teams are relegated. However, on 1 April, the LNR's financial watchdog, DNACG, called Bourgoin, Montauban, and Stade Français for a financial review. No action was taken against Bourgoin or Stade Français, but DNACG announced that Montauban would be relegated because the club could not assure that they could clear their €1.7 million financial shortfall,[10] which reportedly stemmed from a loan the club took out to improve their ground, Stade Sapiac.[11] Montauban could have appealed at the next DNACG meeting on 4 May,[10] but the club wound up filing for bankruptcy on 26 April.[11] The bankruptcy filing confirmed their relegation from the Top 14. They could potentially have been relegated to Fédérale 3, the fifth level of the French rugby pyramid,[10] but ultimately were relegated to the third-level Fédérale 1. These developments meant that Bayonne, who finished second from bottom, escaped the drop.

If clubs were level on competition points, tiebreakers were applied in the following order:

  1. Head-to-head competition points earned.
  2. Points differential in head-to-head matches.
  3. Difference between tries scored and tries conceded in head-to-head matches.
  4. Points differential in all matches.
  5. Difference between tries scored and tries conceded in all matches.
  6. Number of points scored in all matches.
  7. Number of tries scored in all matches.
  8. Number of forfeited matches (fewer forfeits wins).
  9. Final classification in the last Top 14 regular season.
  10. Fewer red cards issued during the season.

Schedule and results

From the official Top 14 site.[12] Within each weekend, matches are to be listed in the following order:

  1. By date.
  2. If matches are held on the same day, by kickoff time.
  3. Otherwise, in alphabetic order of home club.

All times CET or CEST, depending on the time of year.

Rounds 1 to 5

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Match attendance source=Ligue Nationale de Rugby - kovana

Rounds 6 to 10

Round 6

Makeup match, Round 3

Round 7

Round 8

Makeup match, Round 4

Round 9

Round 10

Rounds 11 to 15

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Makeup match, Round 12

Round 15

Rounds 16 to 20

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Round 19

Makeup match, Round 14

Round 20

Makeup match, Round 18

Rounds 21 to 26

Round 21

Round 22

Round 23

Round 24

Round 25

Round 26

Playoffs

  Quarterfinals     Semifinals     Final
                           
      1  Perpignan 21  
  4  Toulouse 35     4  Toulouse 13    
  5  Castres 12         1  Perpignan 6
      3  Clermont 19
      2  Toulon 29    
  3  Clermont 21     3  Clermont (a.e.t.) 35  
  6  Racing Métro 17  

All times are in Central European Summer Time (UTC+2).

Quarter-finals

7 May 2010
21:00
Clermont 21 – 17 Racing Métro
Pen: James (2/4) 3', 21'
Parra (5/5) 48', 60', 64', 70', 75'
 Report Try: Cronjé 38' m
Pen: Wisniewski (1/2) 41'
Steyn (1/1) 46'
Drop: Wisniewski 53'
Steyn 62'
Stade Marcel-Michelin, Clermont-Ferrand
Attendance: 15,811[19]
Referee: Pascal Gauzere
8 May 2010
16:30
Toulouse 35 – 12 Castres
Try: Médard 2' c
Clerc (2) 15' c, 64' m
David 69' c
Con: Élissalde (2/2)
Fritz (1/2)
Pen: Élissalde (3/4) 26', 52', 59'
 Report Pen: Teulet (4/4) 20', 31', 41', 55'
Stadium Municipal, Toulouse
Attendance: 34,594[20]
Referee: Jean-Pierre Matheu

Semi-finals

14 May 2010
21:00
Perpignan 21 – 13 Toulouse
Pen: Porical (7/8) 9', 17', 22', 42', 51', 62', 78'
 Report Try: Bézy 7' c
Con: Skrela (1/1)
Pen: Skrela (2/2) 18', 26'
15 May 2010
16:30
Toulon 29 – 35 (a.e.t.) Clermont
Try: Williams 73' c
Cibray 96' c
Con: Wilkinson (2/2)
Pen: Wilkinson (4/6) 3', 32', 63', 77'
Drop: Wilkinson (1/1) 14'
 Report Try: Zirakashvili 69' c
Malzieu 93' c
Con: Parra (1/1)
James (1/1)
Pen: Parra (4/5) 27', 47', 49', 58'
James (1/1) 89'
Drop: Floch (1/1) 6'
James (1/2) 91'
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne
Attendance: 33,609[22]
Referee: Jérôme Garces

Final

29 May 2010
21:00
Perpignan 6 – 19 Clermont
Pen: Porical (2/6) 21', 27'
 Report Try: Nalaga 17' c
Con: Parra (1/1)
Pen: Parra (3/6) 12', 29', 63'
Drop: Floch (1/1) 69'
FB 15France Jérôme Porical
RW 14France Christophe Manas
OC 13France David Marty
IC 12France Maxime Mermoz
LW 11France Adrien Planté
FH 10South Africa Gavin Hume  53'
SH 9 France Nicolas Durand  59'
N8 8 Samoa Henry Tuilagi  45'  52'  56'
OF 7 France Jean-Pierre Pérez  52'
BF 6 Romania Ovidiu Toniţa
RL 5 Cameroon Robins Tchale-Watchou  69'
LL 4 France Olivier Olibeau
TP 3 France Nicolas Mas (c)  73'
HK 2 France Guilhem Guirado  54'
LP 1 England Perry Freshwater  63'
Replacements:
HK 16Romania Marius Tincu  54'
PR 17France Jérôme Schuster  63'
LK 18France Guillaume Vilaceca  56'
FL 19France Grégory Le Corvec  45'
SH 20France David Mélé  59'
CE 21France Jean-Philippe Grandclaude  69'
FH 22France Nicolas Laharrague  53'
PR 23Tonga Kisi Pulu  73'
Coach: France Jacques Brunel
FB 15France Anthony Floch
RW 14Fiji Napolioni Vonowale Nalaga
OC 13France Aurélien Rougerie (c)
IC 12South Africa Marius Joubert
LW 11France Julien Malzieu
FH 10Australia Brock James
SH 9 France Morgan Parra
N8 8 France Elvis Vermeulen
OF 7 France Alexandre Lapandry  59'
BF 6 France Julien Bonnaire
RL 5 France Thibaut Privat  52'
LL 4 Canada Jamie Cudmore
TP 3 Argentina Martín Scelzo  43'  72'
HK 2 Argentina Mario Ledesma  70'
LP 1 France Thomas Domingo
Replacements:
HK 16France Benoît Cabello  70'
PR 17France Vincent Debaty
LK 18France Julien Pierre  52'
FL 19France Alexandre Audebert  59'
SH 20New Zealand Kevin Senio
FH 21Samoa Tasesa Lavea
CE 22Italy Gonzalo Canale
PR 23Georgia (country) Davit Zirakashvili  43'  72'
Coach: New Zealand Vern Cotter

Scorers

Final statistics at the end of the season (including play-offs). Player nationalities are as recognized by the International Rugby Board; players may have one or more non-IRB nationalities.

Top point scorers

# Name Club Points
1 France Romain Teulet Castres 263
2 England Jonny Wilkinson Toulon 230
3 Australia Brock James Clermont 225
4 France Jonathan Wisniewski Racing Métro 185
5 Argentina Federico Todeschini Montpellier 168

Top try scorers

# Name Club Tries
1 South Africa Sam Gerber Bayonne 9
2 Fiji Napolioni Nalaga Clermont 8
3 France Vincent Clerc Toulouse 7
3 France Benjamin Fall Bayonne 7
3 France Anthony Floch Clermont 7
3 Australia Mark Gasnier Stade Français 7
3 New Zealand Chris Masoe Castres 7
3 United States Takudzwa Ngwenya Biarritz 7
3 France François Trinh-Duc Montpellier 7

Awards

Player of the Month

Players were selected by fan vote from a three-player shortlist on the official LNR site, and the results are posted roughly in the middle of the following month.

Month Player of the Month Club
August Joe van Niekerk Toulon
September Jonny Wilkinson Toulon
October Julien Candelon Perpignan
November Not awarded — Test window

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Richards, Huw (2010-05-30). "At Long Last, Clermont Wins the Championship". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
  2. ↑ "French try out new bonus point system". Planet-Rugby.com. 2007-06-27. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
  3. 1 2 "Article 330, Section 3.2. Points "terrain"" (PDF). Reglements de la Ligue Nationale de Rugby 2008/2009, Chapitre 2 : Règlement sportif du Championnat de France Professionnel (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  4. ↑ Moriarty, Ian (2009-08-08). "Stade sack McKenzie and Dominici". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  5. ↑ "Sheridan may be out for 6 months". News in Brief. Scrum.com. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  6. ↑ "Le staff réorganisé" (in French). L'Équipe. 2009-10-26. Archived from the original on 29 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  7. ↑ "Dourthe s'en va (officiel)" (in French). L'Équipe. 2009-11-07. Archived from the original on 10 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-08.
  8. ↑ "Salagoïty:"Pas d'autre alternative"" (in French). L'Équipe. 2009-11-07. Archived from the original on 10 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-08.
  9. ↑ "Michael Cheika : Directeur du Rugby" (Press release) (in French). Stade Français. 2010-03-19. Archived from the original on 22 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
  10. 1 2 3 "Montauban face Top 14 ruin". Scrum.com. 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
  11. 1 2 "Financial strife sees Montauban relegated". Scrum.com. 2010-04-26. Archived from the original on 1 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  12. ↑ "Calendrier RUGBY TOP 14 Orange – Saison 2009/2010" (in French). Ligue nationale de rugby. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  13. 1 2 "TOP 14 Orange : Deux matchs reportes" (Press release) (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. 2009-08-28. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  14. ↑ "Grippe A: 6 cas à Castres" (Press release) (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. 2009-08-28. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  15. 1 2 "Report du match Biarritz Olympique P.B / Racing Metro 92 : 12ème journée du TOP 14 Orange" (Press release) (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. 2009-11-06. Archived from the original on 10 November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
  16. ↑ "Report de match : Biarritz Olympique / Racing-Metro 92" (Press release) (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. 2009-11-27. Retrieved 2009-11-28.
  17. ↑ "TOP 14 Orange : Match reporte" (Press release) (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. 2009-11-27. Retrieved 2009-11-28.
  18. ↑ "Report du match CS Bourgoin-Jallieu / Bayonne" (PDF) (Press release) (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. 2010-01-08. Retrieved 2010-01-08.
  19. ↑ "Clermont – Racing Métro 92, Top 14 (vendredi 7 mai 2010), Fiche Match" (in French). L'Équipe. 2010-05-07. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  20. ↑ "Toulouse – Castres, Top 14 (samedi 8 mai 2010), Fiche Match" (in French). L'Équipe. 2010-05-08. Archived from the original on 11 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  21. ↑ "Perpignan – Toulouse, Top 14 (vendredi 14 mai 2010), Fiche Match" (in French). L'Équipe. 2010-05-14. Archived from the original on 17 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
  22. ↑ "Toulon – Clermont, Top 14 (samedi 15 mai 2010), Fiche Match" (in French). L'Équipe. 2010-05-15. Archived from the original on 19 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  23. ↑ "Perpignan – Clermont, Top 14 (samedi 29 mai 2010), Fiche Match" (in French). L'Équipe. 2010-05-29. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-29.

External links

Rugby union schedule for 2009
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
H. CupSix Nations ChampionshipHeineken Cup Mid-Year Tests H. CupEnd of year Int'ls H. Cup
British & Irish Lions Tour
English Premiership English Premiership
Celtic League Celtic League
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Top League Top League
Shute Shield
Currie Cup
Sevens Sevens
World Cup Sevens Pacific Rugby Cup Churchill CupAir New Zealand Cup
Super 14Pacific Nations CupTri Nations
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