2023–24 Campeonato Nacional de Rugby Divisão de Honra explained

2023–24 TOP 10
Countries:	Portugal
Date:	14 October 2023 – 18 May 2024
Teams:	10
Website:	https://www.fpr.pt/
Prevseason:	2022–23
Nextseason:	2024–25

The 2023–24 Campeonato Nacional Divisão de Honra competition, also known as TOP 10, is the 65th Portuguese domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Federação Portuguesa de Rugby (FPR).

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 who will be crowned Portuguese champions. 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 Campo de Rugby do Jamor in Oeiras.

Points are awarded according to the following:

• 4 points for a win
• 2 points for a draw
• 1 bonus point is awarded to a team scoring 4 tries or more in a match, while scoring at least 3 more tries than the opponent.
• 1 bonus point is awarded to a team that loses a match by 7 points or fewer

Promotion and relegation

The bottom team in the relegation play-out is relegated to the Campeonato Nacional de Rugby I Divisão, while the team that finishes 1st in the second tier of rugby union competitions in Portugal will replace the latter.^[1]

Following the refusal of the lower division champion RC Montemor of competing in this division, the same 10 teams that played last season will remain and compete again in the TOP 10.^[2] João Reis, the president of RC Montemor, stated, "We declined the promotion. We do not have the human or financial resources to maintain a level of competitiveness in that higher division."^[3]

Teams

Stadia and locations

Current Teams

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality

Team	Manager	Captain	Stadium	Capacity
Académica	Sino Ganto	António Salgueiro	Estádio Municipal Sérgio Conceição	2500
Agronomia	Kane Hancy	João Lima	Tapada da Ajuda	500
Belenenses	João Mirra	Tomás Sequeira	Belém Rugby Park	500
Benfica	Travis Church	Francisco Bessa	Campo nº2 - Lisbon University	1500
Cascais	Frederico Sousa	António Vidinha	Estádio Municipal Dramático Cascais	1000
CDUL	Julio Farías	Tomás Appleton	Estádio Universitário de Lisboa	8000
CDUP	Francisco Vareta	Tomás Marrana	Estádio Universitário do Porto	1500
Direito	Enrique Pichot	Duarte Diniz	Complexo Desportivo Miguel Nobre Ferreira	2500
Lousã	Thomas Pieterse	Paulo Marques	Estádio Municipal de Rugby José Redondo	500
São Miguel	Nico Le Roux	Robert Delai	Bulldog Rugby Park	800

Table

<															-- --> width=20% style="border:0px" 2023–24 TOP 10 Table^[4]
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points For	Points Against	Points Diff.	Try Bonus	Losing Bonus	Points
1	Belenenses	18	16	0	2	733	257	476	9	0	73
2	Agronomia	18	12	2	4	621	318	303	10	1	63
3	Benfica	18	11	2	5	585	277	308	8	4	60
4	Direito	18	12	1	5	585	274	311	7	1	58
5	Cascais	18	12	1	5	589	361	228	4	1	55
6	CDUL	18	10	0	8	571	439	132	5	2	47
7	Académica	18	7	0	11	344	514	-170	2	1	31
8	São Miguel	18	4	0	14	318	623	-305	0	4	20
9	Lousã	18	2	0	16	297	772	-475	1	1	10
10	CDUP	18	1	0	17	210	1018	-808	0	1	5
	Green background (rows 1 and 2) receive semi-final play-off places. Blue background (rows 3 to 6) receive quarter-final play-off places Red background (row 10) will be relegated to Campeonato Nacional de Rugby I Divisão. Updated: 03 May 2024

Regular season

Round 1

Rest breaks: Benfica and CDUL

^[5]

Round 2

Rest breaks: Direito and São Miguel

^[6]

Round 3

Rest breaks: Académica and Belenenses

^{[7] [8]}

Round 4

^{[9] [10]}

Round 5

^{[11] [12]}

Round 6

^{[13] [14]}

Round 8

Rest breaks: Lousã and São Miguel

Round 9

^[15]

Round 10

Rest breaks: Agronomia and CDUP

^{[16] [17]}

Round 11

Rest breaks: Benfica and CDUL

^{[18] [19]}

Round 12

Rest breaks: Direito and São Miguel

^{[20] [21]}

Round 13

^{[22] [23]}

Round 14

^[24]

Round 15

^[25]

Round 16

Rest breaks: Cascais and Lousã

^[26]

Round 17

^[27]

Round 18

Rest breaks: Académica and Belenenses^[28]

Round 19

Rest breaks: Agronomia and CDUP

^[29]

Round 20

Playoffs

Following the regular season, the top 6 teams will contest the championship through playoffs. The top 2 teams will start playing in the semi-finals while the others will start in the quarter-finals.

For the first time in Portuguese rugby history, the final will be broadcast on free to air television channel Televisão Independente, as a result of a greater interest in rugby following Portugal's participation in the 2023 Rugby World Cup.^[30]

An inquiry was opened as a consequence of the incident with fans on 27 April Direito's match, resulting on the provisional ban of Direito's home ground by at least 8 matches.^[31]

Quarter-Finals

FB 15 Manuel Vareiro RW 14 Francisco Nobre OC 13 José Maria Vareta IC 12 João Rosa LW 11 Duarte Portela FH 10 Jerónimo Portela SH 9 Afonso Castiñeira N8 8 Pedro Rosa OF 7 João Granate BF 6 João Vital RL 5 Duarte Torgal LL 4 Pedro Ferreira TP 3 Pablo Durán HK 2 Duarte Diniz (c) LP 1 David Costa Substitutions: PR 16 Tamatautonu Faitotonu HK 17 António Peixoto PR 18 Afonso Tapadinhas LK 19 Luís Semedo N8 20 Vasco Fragoso Mendes SH 21 Duarte Cortes WG 22 João Vaz Antunes WG 23 Caetano Castelo Branco Coach: Enrique Pichot

FB 15 Alfredo Almeida RW 14 José Maria Vilar Gomes OC 13 Francisco Costa Campos IC 12 António Vidinha LW 11 Vasco Durão FH 10 Santiago Jara SH 9 Duarte Cardoso N8 8 Francisco Sousa (c) OF 7 Duarte Costa Campos BF 6 João Cabaço RL 5 Martim Bello LL 4 Manuel Barros TP 3 Nicolás Griffiths HK 2 Pedro Santiago Lopes LP 1 Ignácio Urueña Substitutions: PR 16 Duarte Conde HK 17 Nuno Mascarenhas PR 18 José Martínez LK 19 Alexandre Rodrigues FL 20 Salvador Vassalo N8 21 Lourenço Durão SH 22 Noah Nash FB 23 Vasco Correia Coach: Frederico Sousa

FB 15 Shane van Rooyen RW 14 Latrell Ah Kiong OC 13 Hayden Hann IC 12 Matteo Colli LW 11 Diogo Salgado FH 10 José Rodrigues SH 9 Elliot Ryan N8 8 Frederico Couto (c) OF 7 Tomás Picado BF 6 Vasco Baptista RL 5 Adrian Hall LL 4 Felipe Rosa TP 3 Gavin van der Berg HK 2 Jason Cornelius LP 1 Luan Almeida Substitutions: HK 16 Pedro Gouveia PR 17 Márcio Pinheiro PR 18 André Antunes LK 19 Pedro Tavares FL 20 Lorenzo Palacio SH 21 António Campos WG 22 António Valadares WG 23 Diego Caeiro Coach: Travis Church

FB 15 Jorge Abecassis RW 14 Fábio Vaz Conceição OC 13 Ignacio Albornoz IC 12 Tomás Appleton LW 11 Sebastião Stilwell FH 10 Nuno Penha e Costa SH 9 Francisco Pinto Magalhães (c) N8 8 José Roque OF 7 Manuel Fati BF 6 Francisco Figueiredo RL 5 Gonzalo Aguiar LL 4 Francisco Almeida TP 3 Matheus Rocha HK 2 Duarte Foro LP 1 Cristian Zurita Substitutions: PR 16 Isaías Camará HK 17 Charlie Ward PR 18 Gonçalo Alves LK 19 Diogo D'Almeida FL 20 Francisco Appleton SH 21 Martim Domingues FH 22 Faustino Gama CE 23 Bernardo Matos Coach: Júlio Farias

Final

Squads 2023/24

Squads are ordered by the last classification of the league.According to Portuguese Rugby Federation^[32]

The Direito squad for the 2023–24 TOP 10 season

Props David Costa António Prim Francisco Bruno José Lupi Guillermo Durán Luis Lopes Afonso Tapadinhas Lourenço Moita Hookers Duarte Diniz Afonso Bento Locks Duarte Torgal Rui D'Orey João Vital António Peixoto Guilherme Valente Pedro Ferreira Luis Semedo Henrique Cortes Duarte Pedro Nunes	Backrow Manuel Picão João Granate Vasco Fragoso Mendes Pedro Afra Rosa Nuno Peixoto Tama Faitotonu Mateus Ferreira Sebastião Silva Diogo Matos Miguel Romero Rodrigues Luis Pina Scrum-halves João Dias Manuel Queirós António Amaral Duarte Cortes Afonso Castiñeira Fly-halves Jerónimo Portela Frederico Filipe Manuel Vareiro	Centres José Maria Vareta Francisco Nobre João Afra Rosa Tomás Cary Wingers João Vaz Antunes Duarte Portela Duarte Matos Diogo Custódio João Burnay Francisco Pinto Fullbacks Manuel Vilela Pereira João Maria Silva Francisco Perloiro Frederico Roquette
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. denotes players qualified to play for Portugal on residency or dual nationality.

The Cascais squad for the 2023–24 TOP 10 season

Props Nuno Mascarenhas Pedro Bengaló Ignácio Urueña Nicolas Griffiths José Lavos Duarte Conde Pedro Lopes Hookers Santiago Lopes José Martinez Joseph Duffy Bernardo Gomes Alexander Vieira Locks Martim Belo Alexandre Fonseca Rodrigues Manuel Barros Gustavo Freire António Carvalho Martins Luis Graça João Cabaço	Backrow Gonzalo Paulin Salvador Vassalo Duarte Costa Campos Boaventura Almeida Francisco Sousa Sebastião Petronilho Gonçalo Carvalho Diogo Pina Lourenço Durão Scrum-halves Noah Nash Duarte Cardoso Domingos Albuquerque Francisco Carmona e Costa Fly-halves Gabriel Ascárate Santiago Jara	Centres Gabriel Pop* António Vidinha Francisco C. Campos Wingers Vasco Durão José Villar Gomes António Sousa Francisco Pissarra Duarte Tavares Fullbacks Vasco Correia Alfredo Almeida
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. denotes players qualified to play for Portugal on residency or dual nationality.

The Agronomia squad for the 2023–24 TOP 10 season

Props Giorgi Turabelidze* Luis Carranza Francisco Domingues Gil Buchinho Nicolau Turabelidze Hookers Pedro Vicente José Nicolás Gea Mariano Muntaner Frederico Tenório Bernardo Cardoso Locks José Rebelo de Andrade Pedro Herédia António Maria Andrade Bernardo B. Cardoso António Rebelo de Andrade	Backrow Wolf Van Djick Xavier Mccorkindale Francisco Cabral Manuel Navalhinhas Francisco Uva Diogo Sarmento Vicente Pinto Scrum-halves Nicolas Herreros João Bandeiras Fly-halves Hugo de Franq Domingos Cabral João Lima Kane Hancy	Centres José Lima Vasco Ribeiro Vasco Leite Sebastião Cardoso José Câmara Wingers António Cortes José Cortes Pena Monteiro António Pena Monteiro Pedro Ribeiro Rodrigo Castanheira Fullbacks Manuel Cardoso Pinto Afonso Vinagre Gonçalo Vasco Costa
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. denotes players qualified to play for Portugal on residency or dual nationality.

The Benfica squad for the 2023–24 TOP 10 season

Props Gavin Van den Berg Hugo Valente Barend Bezuidenhout Meli Sifa Márcio Pinheiro André Antunes Hookers Luan Almeida Jason Cornelius Pedro Gouveia Locks Felipe Rosa Adrian Hall Jaden Delport Fidel Vidal*	Backrow Vasco Baptista Frederico Couto Lorenzo Palacio* Frederico Silva Tomás Picado Pedro Ismael Tavares Scrum-halves Elliott Ryan Francisco Russo António Campos Tomás Boavida Fly-halves José Rodrigues	Centres Hayden Hann Matteo Colli Francisco Bessa Diogo Salgado Wingers Latrell Ah Kiong José Miguel Carvalho Harrison Stock António Valadares Diego Caeiro Rodrigo Sampaio Felisbelo Vieira* Noah Ménard Fullbacks Shane Van Rooyen
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. denotes players qualified to play for Portugal on residency or dual nationality.

The Belenenses squad for the 2023–24 TOP 10 season

Props Anthony Kent Joaquin Dominguez António Machado dos Santos Frederico Simões Manuel Worm Israel Otunuku Hookers Guillermo Lawrie Miguel Nunes Locks Salvador da Cunha Manuel Lima José Moreira Francisco Simões António Andrade Tomás da Cunha	Backrow Rafael Simões David Wallis Manuel Pinto André Cunha Pedro Cunha Tomás Sequeira Sebastião da Cunha Diogo Raposo Scrum-halves Duarte Azevedo Fly-halves Francisco Menéres Manuel Menéres João Freudenthal	Centres José Paiva dos Santos Rodrigo Fruedenthal Alex Thrupp Lourenço Pedras António Cunha António Claro Wingers Diogo Rodrigues Duarte Moreira Owen Jenkins Francisco Galveias Lourenço Pedras Fullbacks Manuel Marta Francisco Murta Salvador da Cunha Jr.
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. denotes players qualified to play for Portugal on residency or dual nationality.

The CDUL squad for the 2023–24 TOP 10 season

Props Matheus Rocha Cristian Zurita Gonçalo Madaleno José Almeida Gonçalo Alves Manuel Magriço Hookers Duarte Foro Francisco Pedro Isaías Camará Samuel Marques Locks Gonzalo Aguiar Francisco Almeida António Stilwell Diogo D'Almeida	Backrow Sebastião Villax Xavier Cerejo José Roque Manuel Fati Eduardo Queiroz Rodrigo Oliveira Francisco Figueiredo José Libano Monteiro Scrum-halves Francisco Magalhães Reymond Dorian Martim Domingues Fly-halves Jorge Abecasis Nuno Penha Costa Pedro Neiva Pedro Anahory Lourenço Cardoso Faustino Gama	Centres Tomás Appleton Francisco Appleton Ignacio Albornoz Nuno Macedo Bernardo Matos Guilherme Vasconcelos Martim Faro Francisco Teiga Vieira Afonso Alvarez Wingers Fabio Conceiçao Tomás Noronha Bernardo Canas Hussein Sacoor Tomás Passaro João Cardoso Fullbacks Sam Aitken Manuel Salgado Diogo Cardoso Sebastião Stilwell
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. denotes players qualified to play for Portugal on residency or dual nationality.

The RC Lousã squad for the 2023–24 TOP 10 season

Props Fermin Conti Mathieu Lopes* Gabriel Blanco João Henrique Santos Marco Nortje Bruno Pereira Hookers Josh Gatt Locks Kauã Guimarães Bruno Pinheiro Bruno Santos Diogo Forte	Backrow Ricardo Reis Exequiel Chedid João Francisco dos Santos Henrique Batista João Barreto Diogo Graça Scrum-halves Cirian Roberts Pedro Dias dos Santos Fly-halves Thomas Guzman Juan Agustín Graciarena	Centres Daniel Lopes João Campos Wingers Facundo Lopes Giuliano Franchi Cristiaan Brandt Francisco Caetano Gonçalo Graça Fullbacks Manuel Nogueira Rui Freitas
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. denotes players qualified to play for Portugal on residency or dual nationality.

The São Miguel squad for the 2023–24 TOP 10 season

Props Robert Delai José Santucho Giovanni Ramallo Juninho Patricio Jayson Jackson Tiago Quitério Hookers Miguel Seoane Banana Locks Pedro Oliveira Volodymyr Grikh Francisco Silva Simão Oliveira Miguel Máximo Simão Medeiro	Backrow Sabata Mokhachane Gonçalo Melo Miguel Orrico Tommy Duarte Carolino Diogo Pina Rui Duarte Scrum-halves Tomás Trincheiras Carlos Mike Fly-halves Danny Mokhoabane Bader Pretorius Francisco Teixeira	Centres Charles Goedhals Rivaldo Pinto Tomás Morais Lourenço Chambel Wingers Bright Matimba Ricardo Rosa Francisco Cardoso Francisco Reis Tomás Aquino Fullbacks Andrea Ragno Duarte Branquinho José Nascimento
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. denotes players qualified to play for Portugal on residency or dual nationality.

The CDUP squad for the 2023–24 TOP 10 season

Props Filipe Granja Gonzalo Vidal Bernardo Coelho Diogo Amaro Hookers Nuno Figueiredo António Terroso Locks Gonçalo Seruca Tiago Albuquerque Francisco Bastos Luis Moreira Henrique Vieira Gonçalo Santos Afonso Santos	Backrow Facundo Ojeda Pedro Cálem João Duarte Luis Leão Henrique Santos Vasco Sarmento Tomás Pereira Scrum-halves João Belo Manuel Mendonça Fly-halves Tiago Rocha Luis Agrelos Bernardo Nogueira	Centres Tomás Marrana Miguel Trepa Guilherme Brandão Eduardo Moreira Wingers Rodrigo Gauna Salvador Cardoso Lucas Velo Afonso Aguiar José Diogo Fullbacks Nuno Sousa Guedes Sebastião Leite Nuno Maia
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. denotes players qualified to play for Portugal on residency or dual nationality.

The Académica squad for the 2023–24 TOP 10 season

Props Alexandre Alves Mzo Buthelezi André Gonçalves Afonso Machado João Claúdio Dos Santos Hookers João Mateus Santiago Bonavento João Aguiar Guilherme Coelho Locks Matheus Wolf Diogo Paixão Santos Sérgio Duarte Franco Artur Lima Gonçalo Costa Daniel Almeida Rafael Espirito Santo	Backrow Ntokozo Vidima Genaro Fissore João Tavares Edmundo Ferreira Francisco Curica Antonio Salgueiro Gonçalo Breda Miguel André Scrum-halves Tomás Cornejo Silvio Costa Fly-halves Geronimo Boccazzi Blake Rixon	Centres Moisés Duque Marcus Arrindell Francisco Migueis Gonçalo Ramos Wingers João Diogo Silva João Dinis Rodrigo Barradas Afonso Monteiro João Cunha António Costa Fullbacks Nuno Cardoso Joaquim Couto Tiago Pintão
(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. denotes players qualified to play for Portugal on residency or dual nationality.

See also

• 2023–24 Premiership Rugby
• 2023–24 Top 14 season
• 2023–24 Rugby Pro D2 season
• 2023–24 European Rugby Champions Cup
• 2023–24 EPCR Challenge Cup
• 2023–24 Premiership Rugby Cup
• 2023–24 RFU Championship
• 2023–24 United Rugby Championship

Notes and References

1. Web site: Regulamento CN Divisão de Honra 23/24.
2. Web site: COMUNICADO OFICIAL N.º 1 ÉPOCA 2023/2024 . 2024-05-19.
3. Web site: Jornalista . Luís Godinho . 2023-11-13 . Râguebi no Alentejo, uma escola de carácter . 2024-05-19 . SUDOESTE Portugal . pt-PT.
4. Web site: Classificação CN Honra 23/24.
5. Web site: Resultados: 14 e 15 de Outubro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
6. Web site: Resultados CN: 21 & 22 de Outubro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
7. Web site: Calendário: 28 & 29 de Outubro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
8. Web site: Resultados CN: 28 & 29 de Outubro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
9. Web site: Calendário CN: 4 & 5 de Novembro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
10. Web site: Resultados CN: 4 & 5 de Novembro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
11. Web site: Calendários CN: 11 & 12 de Novembro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
12. Web site: Resultados CN: 11 & 12 de Novembro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
13. Web site: CN Honra 2023/2024 Results - Rugby Union/Portugal . 2024-01-26 . www.flashscore.com . en.
14. Web site: Resultados e Classificações (15 a 21 de Dezembro) . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
15. Web site: Calendário CN: 16 & 17 de Dezembro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
16. Web site: Calendário: 6 & 7 de Janeiro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
17. Web site: Resultados CN: 6 & 7 de Janeiro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
18. Web site: Calendário CN: 13 & 14 de Janeiro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
19. Web site: Resultados CN: 13 e 14 de Janeiro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
20. Web site: Calendário CN: 20 & 21 de Janeiro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
21. Web site: Resultados CN: 20 & 21 de Janeiro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
22. Web site: Calendário CN: 27 & 28 de Janeiro . 2024-01-26 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
23. Web site: Resultados CN: 27 & 28 de Janeiro . 2024-02-02 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
24. Web site: Resultado CN: 9 & 10 de Março . 2024-03-13 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
25. Web site: Resultados CN: 23 e 24 de Março . 2024-04-03 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
26. Web site: Resultados CN: 29 de Março . 2024-04-05 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
27. Web site: Resultados CN: 6 & 7 de Abril . 2024-04-17 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
28. Web site: Resultados CN: 13 & 14 de Abril . 2024-04-17 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
29. Web site: Calendário CN: 20 & 21 de Abril . 2024-04-18 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
30. Web site: FINAL DO CAMPEONATO NACIONAL DIVISÃO DE HONRA COM TRANSMISSÃO NA TVI . 2024-05-03 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
31. Web site: ALTERAÇÃO DO LOCAL DO JOGO GD DIREITO v GDS CASCAIS QUARTOS-DE-FINAL DO CNDH . 2024-05-03 . PORTUGAL RUGBY . pt.
32. News: Registered players on FPR.

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