2014–15 Rugby Pro D2 season
The 2014–15 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2014–15 season. It ran alongside the 2014–15 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby. The average team salaries at the outset of the 2014–15 season were €5.97m; Biarritz and Perpignan had the highest team salaries with €11.07m.
Teams
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne | Agen | Stade Armandie | 14,000 |
| SC Albi | Albi | Stadium Municipal d'Albi | 13,000 |
| Stade Aurillacois | Aurillac | Stade Jean Alric | 9,000 |
| AS Béziers Hérault | Béziers | Stade de la Méditerranée | 18,500 |
| Biarritz Olympique | Biarritz | Parc des Sports Aguiléra | 15,000 |
| CS Bourgoin-Jallieu | Bourgoin-Jallieu | Stade Pierre Rajon | 10,000 |
| US Carcassonne | Carcassonne | Stade Albert Domec | 10,000 |
| US Colomiers | Colomiers | Stade Michel Bendichou | 11,400 |
| US Dax | Dax | Stade Maurice Boyau | 16,170 |
| RC Massy | Massy | Stade Jules Ladoumègue | 3,200 |
| US Montauban | Montauban | Stade Sapiac | 12,600 |
| Stade Montois | Mont-de-Marsan | Stade Guy Boniface | 22,000 |
| RC Narbonne | Narbonne | Parc des Sports Et de l'Amitié | 12,000 |
| Section Paloise | Pau | Stade du Hameau | 13,800 |
| USA Perpignan | Perpignan | Stade Aimé Giral | 16,600 |
| Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby | Tarbes | Stade Maurice Trélut | 16,400 |
Changes in the lineup from 2013–14 were:
- Lyon won the 2013–14 Pro D2 title and were thereby automatically promoted to the Top 14. La Rochelle won the promotion playoffs to secure the second promotion place.
- The bottom two finishers in 2013–14, Bourg-en-Bresse and Auch, were relegated from Pro D2 to Fédérale 1.
- The two bottom finishers in the 2013–14 Top 14 season, Perpignan and Biarritz Olympique, were relegated to Pro D2.
- The two finalists in Fédérale 1, champion Montauban and runner-up Massy, earned promotion.
Competition format
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 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. This is a change from previous seasons, in which the margin was 7 points or less.
Table
Relegation
Normally, the teams that finish in 15th and 16th places in the table are relegated to Fédérale 1 at the end of the season. In certain circumstances, "financial reasons" may cause a higher-placed team to be demoted instead, or prevent one of the two finalists in Fédérale 1 from promotion.This season saw an example of the latter situation. Following the 2014–15 season, 15th-place Dax was spared relegation after Fédérale 1 runner-up Lille was denied promotion due to excessive debt and failed in an appeal of the decision.
The last instance of a team outside the bottom two places being relegated was at the end of the 2011–12 season, when 9th-place Bourgoin were relegated, thereby reprieving 15th-place Béziers.
Fixtures
The outline fixtures schedule was announced on 16 May 2014.Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Weekend of 13 December 2014Round 15
Weekend of 20 December 2014Round 16
Weekend of 10 January 2015Round 17
Weekend of 17 January 2015Round 18
Weekend of 24 January 2015Round 19
Weekend of 31 January 2015Round 20
Weekend of 7 February 2015Round 21
Weekend of 21 February 2015Round 22
Weekend of 28 February 2015Round 23
Weekend of 7 March 2015Round 24
Weekend of 14 March 2015Round 25
Weekend of 28 March 2015Round 26
Weekend of 4 April 2015Round 27
Weekend of 11 April 2015Round 28
Weekend of 25 April 2015Round 29
Weekend of 2 May 2015Round 30
Weekend of 9 May 2015Play–offs
The highest ranked team at the end of the regular season, Pau, earned automatic promotion to the Top 14 as champion de France de PRO D2 2015.Semi–finals
The semi–finals followed a 2 v 5, 3 v 4 system, with the higher ranked team playing at home.----
- Under LNR rules, if a playoff match ends level after full-time, the first tiebreaker is try count. Agen advanced with 4 tries to Perpignan's 2.
Final