2011–12 Top 14 season explained

Countries:	France
Champions:	Toulouse
Runnersup:	Toulon
Relegated:	Brive Lyon
Matches:	183
Attendance:	2566416
Top Point Scorer:	Jonny Wilkinson (273)
Top Try Scorer:	Timoci Nagusa (11)
Prevseason:	2010–11
Nextseason:	2012–13

The 2011–12 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Home-and-away play began on August 26, 2011. Two new teams from the 2010–11 Rugby Pro D2 season were promoted to Top 14 this year, Lyon and Bordeaux Bègles in place of the two relegated teams, La Rochelle and Bourgoin.

Toulouse claimed the Bouclier de Brennus as champions for the 19th time, defeating Toulon 18–12 in the final on June 9, 2012 at Stade de France in Saint-Denis. At the other end of the table, Brive and Lyon were relegated.

Competition format

Each club played every other club twice. The second half of the season was 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 maintained the format introduced the previous season for the knockout stage: the top two teams qualified directly to the semifinals, while teams ranked from third to sixth qualified for a quarterfinal held at the home ground of the higher-ranked team.

The teams

During the regular season, three teams changed coaches a total of four times:

• Toulon was forced to find a replacement for Philippe Saint-André once he was named to become the new head coach of the France national team, effective 1 December.^[1] Bernard Laporte, a former France head coach (1999–2007), was named as Toulon's new head coach, and took over in September after Saint-André was granted an early release by Toulon.^[2]
• Perpignan sacked Jacques Delmas on 21 November, only four months after he had taken over from Jacques Brunel, who left to become the new head coach of Italy. The Catalans had lost seven of their 12 matches in all competitions under Delmas. Assistants Bernard Goutta and Christophe Manas were named as replacements.^[3]
• Bayonne sacked their entire coaching staff—director of rugby Christian Gajan, forwards coach Thomas Lièvremont and backs coach Frédéric Tauzin—on 6 December. Gajan's position was filled by Jean-Pierre Élissalde, former Japan head coach and also father of former France international and current Toulouse backs coach Jean-Baptiste Élissalde.^[4] After six weeks, in which Bayonne remained near the bottom of the table with two losses and one draw in league play, Élissalde was sacked on 16 January, with former Stade Français head coach Didier Faugeron named as his replacement.^[5]

Table

Due to the interplay between LNR's schedule for Heineken Cup qualification and the rules of European Rugby Cup (ERC), which operates both European cup competitions, it is theoretically possible that a team finishing as high as fourth in the league table may not qualify for the Heineken Cup. Under ERC rules, the winners of the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup each earn a place in the following season's Heineken Cup. If a team from France wins one of these competitions, the Top 14 will receive a seventh Heineken Cup place. However, if French teams win both cups, the Top 14 is capped at seven Heineken Cup places. Biarritz' victory in the Challenge Cup gave France an extra place for the 2012–13 Heineken Cup.

The LNR presents teams for the Heineken Cup in the following order, skipping any steps occupied by clubs outside the Top 14 or filled in a prior step.^[6] The clubs involved in each step for this season are indicated in the numbered list.

1. Champion – Toulouse
2. Runner-up – Toulon
3. Heineken Cup holder – Skipped (won by Leinster of Pro12)
4. Semifinalist that finished higher in the league table – Clermont
5. Semifinalist that finished lower in the league table – Castres
6. Challenge Cup holder – Biarritz
7. Additional berths based on league position – Montpellier, Racing Métro

Under LNR rules, only Top 14 clubs are eligible for European competition. This means that in the (unlikely) event that the winner of one of the two European Cups is relegated from the Top 14 in the same season, its European place will go to a current Top 14 team, based on league position in that season.^[6]

Under another ERC rule, if teams from England, which is also capped at seven Heineken Cup places, win both European cups, the extra place will go to the highest-ranked non-English team in the European Rugby Club Rankings that is not already qualified for the Heineken Cup. If that club is in the Top 14, it will receive a Heineken Cup place regardless of its league position, as long as it avoids relegation.

For a team in the top six to be left out of the Heineken Cup, French teams must win both European Cups, and those teams must have finished outside the top six in the league while also avoiding relegation.

Playoffs

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

Quarter-finals

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Semi-finals

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Final

FB 15 Clément Poitrenaud RW 14 Vincent Clerc OC 13 IC 12 Florian Fritz LW 11 Timoci Matanavou FH 10 SH 9 N8 8 Louis Picamoles OF 7 Thierry Dusautoir (c) BF 6 RL 5 Patricio Albacete LL 4 TP 3 Census Johnston HK 2 LP 1 Replacements: HK 16 PR 17 FL 18 FL 19 SH 20 FH 21 CE 22 PR 23 Yohan Montes Coach: Guy Novès

FB 15 Benjamin Lapeyre RW 14 Alexis Palisson OC 13 Mathieu Bastareaud IC 12 Matt Giteau LW 11 David Smith FH 10 Jonny Wilkinson SH 9 Sébastien Tillous-Borde N8 8 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe OF 7 Steffon Armitage BF 6 Joe van Niekerk (c) RL 5 LL 4 Bakkies Botha TP 3 HK 2 LP 1 Replacements: HK 16 PR 17 LK 18 FL 19 CE 20 Geoffroy Messina FB 21 Luke Rooney SH 22 Fabien Cibray PR 23

Statistics

Top points scorers

Updated 19 May 2012

Table of Top points scorers

scope=col style="background-color:#ccccff; width:50px;"	Rank	scope=col style="background-color:#ccccff; width:150px;"	Player	scope=col style="background-color:#ccccff; width:200px;"	Club	scope=col style="background-color:#ccccff; width:50px;"	Points	scope=col style="background-color:#ccccff; width:50px;"	Tries	scope=col style="background-color:#ccccff; width:50px;"	Conversions	scope=col style="background-color:#ccccff; width:50px;"	Penalties	scope=col style="background-color:#ccccff; width:50px;"	Drop goals
1			273	0	24	75	0
2			267	0	15	75	4
3			249	0	30	62	1
4			213	3	27	48	0
5			206	2	23	50	0
6			202	2	12	55	1
7			191	0	19	43	8
8		Stade Toulousain	191	3	22	44	0
9			190	2	24	40	4
10			174	1	20	42	1

Top try scorers

Updated 6 May 2012

Table of Top try scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Tries
1	align=left			11
2	align=left			10
-	align=left			10
-	align=left		Stade Toulousain	10
5	align=left		Montpellier HR	8
6	align=left		Montpellier HR	7
-	align=left			7
-	align=left		Racing Métro 92	7
-	align=left			7
10	align=left		Castres Olympique	6
-	align=left			6
-	align=left			6
-	align=left			6
-	align=left		USA Perpignan	6

See also

• 2011–12 Rugby Pro D2 season

External links

• Ligue Nationale de Rugby – Official website
• Top 14 on Planetrugby.com

Notes and References

1. News: Saint-Andre confirmed as next France coach . ESPN Scrum . 25 August 2011 . 27 August 2011.
2. News: Laporte takes charge at Toulon . ESPN Scrum . 12 September 2011 . 20 November 2011.
3. News: Bernard Laporte takes charge at Toulton . ESPN Scrum . 21 November 2011 . 21 November 2011.
4. News: Bayonne sack coaching staff . ESPN Scrum . 6 December 2011 . 6 December 2011.
5. News: Elissalde axed by Bayonne . ESPN Scrum . 16 January 2012 . 17 January 2012.
6. Web site: Règlement Sportif des Compétitions Professionnelles, Article 328, Participations des clubs français en Coupes d'Europe . Statuts et Règlements Généraux de la LNR – Saison 2011/2012 . . fr . 134–35 . May 18, 2012.