2019–20 Top 14 season – Wikipedia

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The 2019–20 Top 14 competition was the 121st French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Two new teams from the 2018–19 Pro D2 season were promoted to Top 14 (Bayonne and Brive) in place of the two relegated teams, Perpignan and Grenoble.
Playing was suspended after the 17th Matchday due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The season was officially cancelled without any winner or relegation/promotion on 6 May.[1]

Number of teams by regions[edit]

Competition format[edit]

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,[2] 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.[3]

France’s bonus point system operates as follows:[3]

  • 4 points for a win.
  • 2 points for a draw.
  • 1 bonus point for winning while scoring at least 3 more tries than the opponent. This replaces the standard bonus point for scoring 4 tries regardless of the match result.
  • 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.
Source: Top 14
Rules for classification: 1) Competition points earned in head-to-head matches; 2) Points difference in head-to-head matches; 3) Try differential in head-to-head matches; 4) Points difference in all matches; 5) Try differential in all matches; 6) Points scored in all matches; 7) Tries scored in all matches; 8) Fewer matches forfeited; 9) Classification in the previous Top 14 season.

Relegation[edit]

Starting from the 2017–18 season forward, only the 14th placed team will be automatically relegated to Pro D2. The 13th placed team will face the runner-up of the Pro D2 play-off, with the winner of that play-off taking up the final place in Top 14 for the following season.[4]

Fixtures & Results[edit]

Round 1[edit]

[5]

Round 2[edit]

[6]

Round 3[edit]

[8]

Round 4[edit]

[9]

Round 5[edit]

[10]

Round 6[edit]

[11]

Round 7[edit]

[13]

Round 8[edit]

[14]

Round 9[edit]

[16]

Round 10[edit]

[17]

Round 11[edit]

[18]

Round 12[edit]

[21]

Round 13[edit]

[22]

Round 14[edit]

[29]

Round 15[edit]

[30]

Round 16[edit]

[35]

Round 17[edit]

[36]

Positions by round[edit]

The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards.

Results by round[edit]

Leading scorers[edit]

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.

Attendances[edit]

  • Attendances do not include the semi-finals or final as these are at neutral venues.
Club Home
Games 		Total Average Highest Lowest % Capacity
Agen 9 74,809 8,312 13,500 6,009 59%
Bayonne 9 129,795 14,422 16,630 12,517 85%
Bordeaux Bègles 9 220,662 24,518 38,503 17,172 68%
Brive 9 97,306 10,812 12,273 9,457 68%
Castres 8 79,525 9,941 10,724 9,325 80%
Clermont 8 134,530 16,816 18,804 14,957 88%
La Rochelle 8 128,000 16,000 16,000 16,000 100%
Lyon 9 130,301 14,478 16,256 10,778 58%
Montpellier 8 91,738 11,467 16,153 8,000 63%
Pau 9 100,752 11,195 16,153 8,000 61%
Racing 9 135,384 15,043 26,292 7,102 49%
Stade Francais 7 72,499 10,357 14,050 8,000 52%
Toulon 9 122,371 13,597 17,287 12,124 75%
Toulouse 8 167,253 20,907 33,000 14,573 90%

See also[edit]

References[edit]