2008–09 Top 14 season

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2008–09 Top 14 season
Countries France
ChampionsPerpignan (7th title)
Runners-upClermont
RelegatedMont-de-Marsan, Dax
Matches played185
Attendance2,362,394
(average 12,770 per match)
Highest attendance79,842
Stade Français v Clermont
4 April 2009
Lowest attendance4,428
Bourgoin v Mont-de-Marsan
13 September 2008
Tries scored610
(average 3.3 per match)
Top point scorerAustralia Brock James (324)
Top try scorerFiji Napolioni Nalaga (21)

The 2008–09 Top 14 Competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). It ran from late August 2008 through the final at Stade de France on June 6, 2009, in which Perpignan lifted the Bouclier de Brennus with a 22–13 win over Clermont.

This year's edition of the Top 14 welcomed Toulon, winners of the 2008 title in the second-level Pro D2, and Mont-de-Marsan, victors in the 2008 promotion playoffs between the second- through fifth-place teams in Pro D2. They took the place of Auch and Albi, relegated at the end of the 2007–08 Top 14. Auch, which had been promoted to the Top 14 for 2007–08, finished bottom of the table and went down. The other newly promoted team in 2007–08, Dax, finished second-from-bottom, but were reprieved when French sporting authorities forcibly relegated 12th-place Albi to Pro D2 due to financial issues.

Teams[]

Competition format[]

Each club plays 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. As in previous seasons, the top four clubs at the end of the home-and-away season advanced to a single-elimination playoff. The semifinals were held at neutral sites on May 29 and 30, with the final at Stade de France on June 6.

Going into the season, the top six clubs were guaranteed of berths in the 2009–10 Heineken Cup, with the possibility of a seventh if a French club had advanced further in the 2008–09 Heineken Cup than any team from England or Italy. However, the seventh French berth did not materialize this season, as the only Top 14 club to make the knockout stage, Toulouse, were eliminated in the quarterfinals, while England's Leicester Tigers reached the final (where they lost to Irish side Leinster). The sixth-place team would have been relegated to the 2009–10 European Challenge Cup if 11th-place Bourgoin had won the 2008–09 Challenge Cup final on 22 May; however, Bourgoin were defeated by English side Northampton Saints.

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 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 makes it impossible for either team to earn a bonus point in a drawn match. LNR chose to continue with this system for 2008-09.[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 7 points (or less).

Season synopsis[]

While the four playoff teams—Perpignan, Toulouse, Clermont, and Stade Français—separated themselves from the pack fairly early in the season, it was Toulouse who were the form team in the first half of the season; they had a Top 14-record streak of 11 wins from Round 5 through Round 15. However, Perpignan surged in the second half of the season, finishing level with Toulouse on the season log; the Catalans claimed the top seed on the first tiebreaker of head-to-head competition points. Biarritz used a late-season surge to claim fifth place, while the final Heineken Cup berth was ultimately decided in the final round, when Brive's draw with Bourgoin combined with Bayonne's win over Stade Français without a bonus point left Brive and Bayonne level on the log; Brive won on the second tiebreaker of head-to-head scoring.

At the other end of the ladder, Mont-de-Marsan were rarely competitive and finished bottom. The second relegation place finally fell on Dax, after Bourgoin, Castres, and the highly ambitious Toulon spent time in relegation trouble.

For much of the season, Bourgoin faced another type of relegation trouble—financial. At the end of each season, all teams in both divisions of LNR must pass a financial audit conducted by DNACG (Direction nationale d'aide et de contrôle de gestion), LNR's financial arm, to be able to keep their professional licenses. The club were able to satisfy DNACG that they had sufficient financial guarantees to participate in Top 14 and were thus allowed to stay in the top flight.[4]

Table[]

2008–09 Top 14 Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points For Points Against Points Diff. Bonus Points Points
1 Perpignan (C)[a 7] 26 20 1 5 615 374 241 10 92
2 Toulouse (SF) 26 21 0 5 594 324 270 8 92
3 Clermont (F) 26 16 1 9 752 367 385 17 83
4 Stade Français (SF) 26 16 1 9 622 450 172 12 78
5 Biarritz 26 15 0 11 516 398 118 11 71
6 Brive[a 8] 26 13 4 9 481 481 0 6 66
7 Bayonne 26 14 2 10 475 481 -6 6 66
8 Montauban 26 10 2 14 485 572 -87 9 53
9 Toulon 26 9 2 15 409 488 -79 11 51
10 Montpellier 26 11 0 15 408 568 -160 6 50
11 Bourgoin 26 8 2 16 451 599 -148 10 46
12 Castres 26 7 3 16 473 537 -64 10 44
13 Dax (R) 26 7 1 18 375 632 -257 7 37
14 Mont-de-Marsan (R) 26 5 1 20 325 730 -405 7 29
Green background Top four advance to playoffs, and receive places in the 2009–10 Heineken Cup.

Blue background Fifth to sixth also qualify for the 2009–10 Heineken Cup.
Pink background Bottom two places are relegated to the 2009–10 Rugby Pro D2

Fixtures & Results[]

Round 1[]

26 August 2008
19:00
Biarritz 29 - 22 Bourgoin (1 BP)
Parc des Sports Aguiléra
Attendance: 10,133[5]
26 August 2008
19:00
(1 BP) Castres 26 - 27 Bayonne
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Attendance: 7,717[6]
26 August 2008
19:00
Dax 9 - 31 Stade Français (1 BP)
Stade Maurice Boyau
Attendance: 9,110[7]
26 August 2008
19:00
(1 BP) Montauban 37 - 19 Mont-de-Marsan
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 6,844[8]
26 August 2008
19:00
Montpellier 16 - 11 Toulouse (1 BP)
Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Attendance: 14,248[9]
26 August 2008
19:00
Perpignan 34 - 18 Brive
Stade Aimé Giral
Attendance: 12,890[10]
26 August 2008
21:00
Toulon 22 - 16 Clermont (1 BP)
Stade Mayol
Attendance: 12,835[11]

Round 2[]

30 August 2008
14:30
Bayonne 22 - 20 Montauban (1 BP)
Stade Jean Dauger
Attendance: 11,412[12]
30 August 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Clermont 43 - 20 Montpellier
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Attendance: 12,207[13]
30 August 2008
14:30
Stade Français 27 - 22 Mont-de-Marsan
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 8,777[14]
30 August 2008
14:30
Toulon 3 - 3 Brive
Stade Mayol
Attendance: 12,351[11]
30 August 2008
14:30
Toulouse 25 - 20 Dax (1 BP)
Stade Ernest-Wallon
Attendance: 15,665[15]
30 August 2008
16:45
Biarritz 32 - 17 Castres
Parc des Sports Aguiléra
Attendance: 7,667[5]
30 August 2008
20:30
(1 BP) Bourgoin 16 - 22 Perpignan
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 5,283[16]

Round 3[]

5 September 2008
20:30
Bayonne 17 - 6 Clermont
Stade Jean Dauger
Attendance: 11,841[12]
6 September 2008
14:30
Brive 16 - 16 Castres
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 7,893[17]
6 September 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Dax 6 - 9 Montpellier
Stade Maurice Boyau
Attendance: 5,057[7]
6 September 2008
14:30
Montauban 18 - 14 Bourgoin (1 BP)
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 5,068[8]
6 September 2008
16:30
Perpignan 11 - 26 Stade Français
Stade Aimé Giral
Attendance: 11,671[10]
6 September 2008
20:30
Mont-de-Marsan 25 - 18 Toulon (1 BP)
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 6,851[18]
7 September 2008
20:00
(1 BP) Toulouse 20 - 6 Biarritz
Stadium Municipal
Attendance: 24,722[19]

Round 4[]

12 September 2008
20:30
(1 BP) Toulon 13 - 19 Stade Français
Stade Mayol
Attendance: 12,916[11]
13 September 2008
14:30
Bourgoin 18 - 6 Mont-de-Marsan
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 4,428[16]
13 September 2008
14:30
Castres 11 - 19 Dax
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Attendance: 6,907[6]
13 September 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Montpellier 32 - 10 Montauban
Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Attendance: 10,263[9]
13 September 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Perpignan 38 - 10 Bayonne
Stade Aimé Giral
Attendance: 11,671[10]
13 September 2008
16:30
Clermont 16 - 6 Toulouse
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Attendance: 14,701[13]
13 September 2008
20:30
Biarritz 24 - 5 Brive
Parc des Sports Aguiléra
Attendance: 8,101[5]

Round 5[]

19 September 2008
20:30
Dax 30 - 18 Biarritz
Stade Maurice Boyau
Attendance: 8,004[7]
20 September 2008
14:30
Bayonne 19 - 15 Mont-de-Marsan (1 BP)
Stade Jean Dauger
Attendance: 12,827[12]
20 September 2008
14:30
Castres 12 - 6 Clermont (1 BP)
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Attendance: 7,103[6]
20 September 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Stade Français 37 - 16 Brive
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 9,250[14]
20 September 2008
14:30
Toulon 15 - 9 Bourgoin (1 BP)
Stade Mayol
Attendance: 12,557[11]
20 September 2008
16:30
Montauban 10 - 41 Toulouse (1 BP)
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 9,049[8]
20 September 2008
20:30
(1 BP) Montpellier 3 - 5 Perpignan
Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Attendance: 14,182[9]

Round 6[]

26 September 2008
20:30
(1 BP) Bourgoin 25 - 32 Stade Français
Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
Attendance: 18,014[20]
27 September 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Brive 41 - 9 Dax
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 7,893[17]
27 September 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Clermont 32 - 6 Biarritz
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Attendance: 14,498[13]
27 September 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Mont-de-Marsan 16 - 22 Montpellier
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 6,237[18]
27 September 2008
14:30
Montauban 24 - 23 Castres (1 BP)
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 5,844[8]
27 September 2008
16:30
Toulouse 30 - 20 Perpignan
Stade Ernest-Wallon
Attendance: 18,739[15]
27 September 2008
20:30
Bayonne 19 - 15 Toulon (1 BP)
Stade Jean Dauger
Attendance: 13,902[12]

Round 7[]

3 October 2008
20:30
Castres 10 - 28 Toulouse
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Attendance: 9,451[6]
4 October 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Biarritz 46 - 3 Montpellier
Parc des Sports Aguiléra
Attendance: 7,000[5]
4 October 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Brive 53 - 11 Mont-de-Marsan
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 8,208[17]
4 October 2008
14:30
Perpignan 37 - 12 Toulon
Stade Aimé Giral
Attendance: 13,061[10]
4 October 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Stade Français 34 - 16 Montauban
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 8,357[14]
4 October 2008
16:30
(1 BP) Bourgoin 23 - 30 Clermont
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 6,872[16]
4 October 2008
20:30
Dax 27 - 17 Bayonne
Stade Maurice Boyau
Attendance: 10,204[7]

Round 8[]

24 October 2008
20:30
Mont-de-Marsan 6 - 33 Biarritz (1 BP)
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 7,064[18]
25 October 2008
14:30
Bayonne 14 - 9[a 9] Brive (1 BP)
Stade Jean Dauger
Attendance: 11,441[12]
25 October 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Clermont 25 - 30 Montauban (1 BP)
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Attendance: 12,940[13]
25 October 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Montpellier 12 - 19 Bourgoin
Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Attendance: 10,007[9]
25 October 2008
14:30
Perpignan 17 - 6 Dax
Stade Aimé Giral
Attendance: 11,705[10]
25 October 2008
16:30
Stade Français 13 - 26 Toulouse
Stade de France
Attendance: 78,782[21]
25 October 2008
20:30
(1 BP) Toulon 17 - 21 Castres
Stade Mayol
Attendance: 12,144[11]

Round 9[]

31 October 2008
18:30
(1 BP) Montauban 42 - 20 Toulon
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 6,291[8]
1 November 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Castres 28 - 31 Montpellier
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Attendance: 7,279[6]
1 November 2008
14:30
Dax 32 - 10 Bourgoin
Stade Maurice Boyau
Attendance: 6,978[7]
1 November 2008
14:30
Mont-de-Marsan 7 - 31 Perpignan (1 BP)
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 6,140[18]
1 November 2008
14:30
Toulouse 21 - 15 Brive (1 BP)
Stade Ernest-Wallon
Attendance: 18,708[15]
1 November 2008
16:30
Clermont 22 - 6 Stade Français
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Attendance: 15,724[13]
1 November 2008
20:30
(1 BP) Biarritz 12 - 14 Bayonne
Parc des Sports Aguiléra
Attendance: 13,104[5]

Round 10[]

14 November 2008
20:30
Montpellier 26 - 13 Stade Français
Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Attendance: 14,570[9]
15 November 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Bourgoin 9 - 13 Bayonne
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 5,325[16]
15 November 2008
14:30
Castres 26 - 3 Mont-de-Marsan
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Attendance: 6,615[6]
15 November 2008
14:30
Dax 20 - 20 Montauban
Stade Maurice Boyau
Attendance: 5,703[7]
15 November 2008
14:30
Toulouse 19 - 18 Toulon (1 BP)
Stade Ernest-Wallon
Attendance: 18,701[15]
15 November 2008
16:30
Brive 18 - 16 Clermont (1 BP)
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 11,708[17]
15 November 2008
20:45
(1 BP) Perpignan 27 - 12 Biarritz
Stade Aimé Giral
Attendance: 12,942[10]

Round 11[]

21 November 2008
19:00
(1 BP) Bourgoin 12 - 18 Toulouse
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 7,989[16]
21 November 2008
21:00
Stade Français 19 - 12 Castres (1 BP)
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 7,443[14]
22 November 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Bayonne 42 - 9 Montpellier
Stade Jean Dauger
Attendance: 10,938[12]
22 November 2008
14:30
Brive 33 - 28 Montauban (1 BP)
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 7,892[17]
22 November 2008
14:30
Mont-de-Marsan 12 - 6 Dax (BP)
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 8,832[18]
22 November 2008
14:30
Toulon 10 - 5 Biarritz (1 BP)
Stade Mayol
Attendance: 12,357[11]
22 November 2008
16:30
Clermont 29 - 9 Perpignan
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Attendance: 14,364[13]

Round 12[]

28 November 2008
20:35
Toulouse 32 - 11 Bayonne
Stade Ernest-Wallon
Attendance: 18,701[15]
29 November 2008
14:30
Castres 9 - 23 Bourgoin
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Attendance: 6,851[6]
29 November 2008
14:30
Mont-de-Marsan 12 - 11 Clermont (1 BP)
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 5,507[18]
29 November 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Montauban 6 - 9 Perpignan
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 6,965[8]
29 November 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Toulon 6 - 13 Dax
Stade Mayol
Attendance: 11,482[11]
29 November 2008
16:30
Biarritz 13 - 32 Stade Français (1 BP)
Parc des Sports Aguiléra
Attendance: 9,923[5]
29 November 2008
20:45
Montpellier 9 - 22 Brive
Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Attendance: 9,517[9]

Round 13[]

19 December 2008
20:35
(1 BP) Dax 16 - 20 Clermont
Stade Maurice Boyau
Attendance: 5,983[7]
20 December 2008
14:30
Brive 20 - 12 Bourgoin
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 8,529[17]
20 December 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Montpellier 33 - 8 Toulon
Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Attendance: 11,707[9]
20 December 2008
14:30
Perpignan 16 - 9 Castres (1 BP)
Stade Aimé Giral
Attendance: 13,102[10]
20 December 2008
14:30
(1 BP) Toulouse 27 - 6 Mont-de-Marsan
Stade Ernest-Wallon
Attendance: 18,654[15]
20 December 2008
16:30
(1 BP) Stade Français 35 - 8 Bayonne
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 9,395[14]
20 December 2008
20:35
Montauban 19 - 12 Biarritz (1 BP)
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 6,402[8]

Round 14[]

2 January 2009
20:35
Bayonne 13 - 13 Castres
Stade Jean Dauger
Attendance: 12,665[12]
3 January 2009
14:30
Bourgoin 15 - 14 Biarritz (1 BP)
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 6,430[16]
3 January 2009
14:30
Mont-de-Marsan 16 - 13 Montauban (1 BP)
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 5,771[18]
3 January 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Clermont 32 - 5 Toulon
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Attendance: 15,102[13]
3 January 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Stade Français 56 - 15 Dax
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 9,248[14]
3 January 2009
16:30
(1 BP) Toulouse 34 - 0 Montpellier
Stade Ernest-Wallon
Attendance: 18,725[15]
3 January 2009
20:45
(1 BP) Brive 15 - 18 Perpignan
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 9,613[17]

Round 15[]

9 January 2009
20:35
Dax 9 - 25[a 10] Toulouse
Stade Maurice Boyau
Attendance: 8,325[7]
10 January 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Castres 9 - 10 Biarritz
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Attendance: 7,753[6]
10 January 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Mont-de-Marsan 6 - 13 Stade Français
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 7,921[18]
10 January 2009
14:30
Montauban 15 - 13 Bayonne (1 BP)
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 6,288[8]
10 January 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Perpignan 40 - 14 Bourgoin
Stade Aimé Giral
Attendance: 11,811[10]
10 January 2009
16:30
Montpellier 3 - 30 Clermont (1 BP)
Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Attendance: 13,182[9]
10 January 2009
20:35
Brive 19 - 9 Toulon
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 8,660[17]

Round 16[]

30 January 2009
20:35
(1 BP) Toulon 38 - 22 Mont-de-Marsan
Stade Mayol
Attendance: 12,316[11]
31 January 2009
14:30
Biarritz 17 - 13[a 11] Toulouse (1 BP)
Parc des Sports Aguiléra
Attendance: 11,018[5]
31 January 2009
14:30
Bourgoin 25 - 15 Montauban
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 5,441[16]
31 January 2009
14:30
Castres 11 - 11 Brive
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Attendance: 9,304[6]
31 January 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Clermont 44 - 10 Bayonne
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Attendance: 15,806[13]
31 January 2009
14:30
Montpellier 23 - 14 Dax
Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Attendance: 9,552[9]
31 January 2009
16:30
Stade Français 13 - 13 Perpignan
Stade de France
Attendance: 79,122[21]

Round 17[]

20 February 2009
20:35
Stade Français 22 - 12 Toulon
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 9,167[14]
21 February 2009
14:30
Brive 19 - 15 Biarritz (1 BP)
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 10,154[17]
21 February 2009
14:30
Dax 16 - 32 Castres (1 BP)
Stade Maurice Boyau
Attendance: 6,738[7]
21 February 2009
14:30
Mont-de-Marsan 16 - 16 Bourgoin
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 5,734[18]
21 February 2009
14:30
Montauban 27 - 19 Montpellier
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 5,734[8]
21 February 2009
16:30
Bayonne 19 - 12 Perpignan (1 BP)
Stade Jean Dauger
Attendance: 15,125[12]
22 February 2009
16:30
Toulouse 20 - 13 Clermont (1 BP)
Stadium Municipal
Attendance: 34,932[19]

Round 18[]

27 February 2009
19:00
Bourgoin 12 - 23 Toulon (1 BP)
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 6,672[16]
28 February 2009
14:15
Brive 26 - 11 Stade Français
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 11,106[17]
28 February 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Biarritz 44 - 13 Dax
Parc des Sports Aguiléra
Attendance: 8,031[5]
28 February 2009
14:30
Clermont 43 - 20 Castres
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Attendance: 13,919[13]
28 February 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Mont-de-Marsan 30 - 37 Bayonne
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 7,201[18]
28 February 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Perpignan 50 - 13 Montpellier
Stade Aimé Giral
Attendance: 12,690[10]
28 February 2009
20:35
Toulouse 9 - 6 Montauban (1 BP)
Stade Ernest-Wallon
Attendance: 18,649[15]

Round 19[]

6 March 2009
21:00
(1 BP) Perpignan 32 - 8 Toulouse
Stade Aimé Giral
Attendance: 14,578[10]
7 March 2009
14:30
Castres 31 - 19 Montauban
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Attendance: 7,668[6]
7 March 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Dax 15 - 17 Brive
Stade Maurice Boyau
Attendance: 5,514[7]
7 March 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Montpellier 33 - 6 Mont-de-Marsan
Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Attendance: 9,503[9]
7 March 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Stade Français 53 - 3 Bourgoin
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 8,401[14]
7 March 2009
16:30
Biarritz 18 - 14 Clermont (1 BP)
Parc des Sports Aguiléra
Attendance: 8,708[5]
7 March 2009
20:35
Toulon 3 - 3 Bayonne
Stade Mayol
Attendance: 12,888[11]

Round 20[]

13 March 2009
20:35
Montauban 22 - 16 Stade Français (1 BP)
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 12,589[8]
14 March 2009
14:15
Toulouse 26 - 11 Castres
Stade Ernest-Wallon
Attendance: 17,984[15]
14 March 2009
14:30
Bayonne 14 - 9 Dax (1 BP)
Stade Jean Dauger
Attendance: 12,589[12]
14 March 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Clermont 57 - 23 Bourgoin
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Attendance: 13,936[13]
14 March 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Mont-de-Marsan 16 - 18 Brive
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 8,099[18]
14 March 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Toulon 29 - 32 Perpignan
Stade Mayol
Attendance: 12,415[11]
14 March 2009
20:35
Montpellier 12 - 9 Biarritz (1 BP)
Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Attendance: 10,627[9]

Round 21[]

27 March 2009
20:35
Castres 25 - 9 Toulon
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Attendance: 8,497[6]
28 March 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Biarritz 37 - 7 Mont-de-Marsan
Parc des Sports Aguiléra
Attendance: 7,192[5]
28 March 2009
14:30
Bourgoin 22 - 3 Montpellier
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 5,847[16]
28 March 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Dax 13 - 16 Perpignan
Stade Maurice Boyau
Attendance: 6,333[7]
28 March 2009
14:30
Montauban 19 - 19 Clermont
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 6,724[8]
28 March 2009
16:30
Brive 13 - 6 Bayonne (1 BP)
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 10,762[17]
29 March 2009
20:35
Toulouse 15 - 11 Stade Français (1 BP)
Stadium Municipal
Attendance: 34,993[19]

Round 22[]

3 April 2009
20:35
(1 BP) Bourgoin 43 - 6 Dax
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 6,418[16]
4 April 2009
14:30
Brive 10 - 42 Toulouse (1 BP)
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 14,066[17]
4 April 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Montpellier 21 - 23 Castres
Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Attendance: 10,547[9]
4 April 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Perpignan 44 - 3 Mont-de-Marsan
Stade Aimé Giral
Attendance: 12,211[10]
4 April 2009
14:30
Toulon 33 - 20 Montauban
Stade Mayol
Attendance: 12,491[11]
4 April 2009
16:30
(1 BP) Stade Français 19 - 21 Clermont
Stade de France
Attendance: 79,842[21]
4 April 2009
20:35
(1 BP) Bayonne 15 - 19 Biarritz
Stade Jean Dauger
Attendance: 16,930[12]

Round 23[]

17 April 2009
20:35
Biarritz 12 - 10 Perpignan (1 BP)
Parc des Sports Aguiléra
Attendance: 10,243[5]
18 April 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Bayonne 61 - 10 Bourgoin
Stade Jean Dauger
Attendance: 11,624[12]
18 April 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Clermont 52 - 7 Brive
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Attendance: 15,853[13]
18 April 2009
14:30
Mont-de-Marsan 21 - 15 Castres (1 BP)
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 5,445[18]
18 April 2009
14:30
Stade Français 24 - 15 Montpellier
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 8,651[14]
18 April 2009
16:30
Toulon 14 - 6 Toulouse
Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 56,953[22]
18 April 2009
20:35
(1 BP) Montauban 15 - 20 Dax
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 6,614[8]

Round 24[]

24 April 2009
20:35
(1 BP) Castres 16 - 21 Stade Français
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Attendance: 8,891[6]
25 April 2009
14:30
Biarritz 19 - 12 Toulon (1 BP)
Parc des Sports Aguiléra
Attendance: 8,257[5]
25 April 2009
14:30
Montauban 15 - 10 Brive (1 BP)
Stade Sapiac
Attendance: 6,897[8]
25 April 2009
14:30
Montpellier 20 - 11 Bayonne
Stade Yves-du-Manoir
Attendance: 12,497[9]
25 April 2009
14:30
Perpignan 20 - 16 Clermont (1 BP)
Stade Aimé Giral
Attendance: 14,499[10]
25 April 2009
16:30
Toulouse 13 - 6 Bourgoin (1 BP)
Stade Ernest-Wallon
Attendance: 18,666[15]
25 April 2009
20:35
Dax 12 - 8 Mont-de-Marsan (1 BP)
Stade Maurice Boyau
Attendance: 9,725[7]

Round 25[]

8 May 2009
20:35
Dax 12 - 22 Toulon
Stade Maurice Boyau
Attendance: 8,030[7]
9 May 2009
14:30
Bourgoin 31 - 23 Castres
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 6,402[16]
9 May 2009
14:30
Brive 28 - 18 Montpellier
Stade Amédée-Domenech
Attendance: 9,272[17]
9 May 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Clermont 66 - 3 Mont-de-Marsan
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Attendance: 15,745[13]
9 May 2009
14:30
(1 BP) Perpignan 19 - 9 Montauban
Stade Aimé Giral
Attendance: 13,798[10]
9 May 2009
16:30
(1 BP) Bayonne 9 - 12 Toulouse
Stade Jean Dauger
Attendance: 18,840[12]
10 May 2009
20:45
(1 BP) Stade Français 12 - 16 Biarritz
Stade Jean-Bouin
Attendance: 9,104[14]

Round 26[]

16 May 2009
16:30
Bayonne 31 - 27 Stade Français (1 BP)
Stade Jean Dauger
Attendance: 15,248[12]
16 May 2009
16:30
(1 BP) Biarritz 38 - 10 Montauban
Parc des Sports Aguiléra
Attendance: 8,774[5]
16 May 2009
16:30
Bourgoin 19 - 19 Brive
Stade Pierre Rajon
Attendance: 6,558[16]
16 May 2009
16:30
(1 BP) Castres 26 - 32 Perpignan
Stade Pierre-Fabre
Attendance: 9,039[6]
16 May 2009
16:30
(1 BP) Clermont 73 - 3 Dax
Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Attendance: 15,827[13]
16 May 2009
16:30
Mont-de-Marsan 8 - 60 Toulouse (1 BP)
Stade Guy Boniface
Attendance: 10,468[18]
16 May 2009
16:30
(1 BP) Toulon 23 - 3 Montpellier
Stade Mayol
Attendance: 12,926[11]

Knock-out stages[]

Semi-finals[]

29 May 2009
20:45 CEST
Toulouse 9 – 19 Clermont
Pen: Elissalde (3/3) 21', 26', 31' Report Try: James 12' c
Con: James (1/1)
Pen: James (2/3) 4', 63'
Baby (2/2) 28', 45'
Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
Attendance: 32,824
Referee: Christophe Berdos
30 May 2009
16:30 CEST
Perpignan 25 – 21 Stade Français
Tries: Porical 24' c
Mermoz 48' c
Candelon 62' m
Con: Porical (2/3)
Pen: Porical (2/6) 5', 36' 		Report Tries: Beauxis 50' m
Parisse 69' c
Con: Beauxis (1/2)
Pen: Beauxis (2/4) 33', 55'
Drop: Beauxis 12'
Stade de Gerland, Lyon
Attendance: 40,377
Referee: Jérôme Garces

Final[]

6 June 2009
20:45 CEST
Perpignan 22 – 13 Clermont
Try: Marty 45' c
Con: Porical (1/1)
Pen: Porical (4/4) 40', 49, 61', 64'
Drop: Hume 15' 		Report Try: Nalaga 10' c
Con: James (1/1)
Pen: James (2/3) 19', 55'
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 79,205
Referee:
FB 15 France Jérôme Porical
RW 14 France Farid Sid
OC 13 France David Marty Substituted off 75'
IC 12 France Maxime Mermoz
LW 11 France Julien Candelon Substituted off 78'
FH 10 South Africa Gavin Hume
SH 9 France Nicolas Durand Substituted off 75'
N8 8 France Damien Chouly
OF 7 France
BF 6 France Grégory Le Corvec Substituted off 57'
RL 5 France Olivier Olibeau Substituted off 65'
LL 4 Argentina Rimas Alvarez-Kairelis
TP 3 France Nicolas Mas (c) Substituted off 78'
HK 2 Romania Marius Tincu Substituted off 59'
LP 1 England Perry Freshwater Substituted off 59'
Replacements:
HK 16 France Guilhem Guirado Substituted in 59'
PR 17 Tonga Kisi Pulu Substituted in 59'
LK 18 France Substituted in 65'
FL 19 South Africa Gerrie Britz Substituted in 57'
SH 20 Spain David Mélé Substituted in 75'
CE 21 France Jean-Philippe Grandclaude Substituted in 75'
WG 22 South Africa Philip Burger Substituted in 78'
PR 23 Argentina Substituted in 78'
Coach: France Jacques Brunel
FB 15 France Anthony Floch
RW 14 France Benoît Baby
OC 13 France Aurélien Rougerie (c)
IC 12 Italy Gonzalo Canale
LW 11 Fiji Napolioni Nalaga Substituted off 77'
FH 10 Australia Brock James
SH 9 France Pierre Mignoni
N8 8 France Julien Bonnaire
OF 7 France Alexandre Audebert
BF 6 Canada Jamie Cudmore Substituted off 50'
RL 5 France Thibaut Privat Substituted off 55'
LL 4 France Julien Pierre
TP 3 Argentina Martín Scelzo Substituted off 30'
HK 2 Argentina Mario Ledesma Substituted off 65'
LP 1 France Thomas Domingo Substituted off 74'
Replacements:
HK 16 France Benoît Cabello Substituted in 65'
PR 17 France Laurent Emmanuelli Substituted in 74'
LK 18 France Loïc Jacquet Substituted in 55'
N8 19 France Elvis Vermeulen Substituted in 50'
SH 20 Samoa John Senio
FH 21 Fiji Seremaia Bai Substituted in 77'
CE 22 Spain Pierre-Emmanuel Garcia
PR 23 Georgia (country) Davit Zirakashvili Substituted in 30'
Coach: New Zealand Vern Cotter

Leading scorers[]

  • Note that points scorers includes tries as well as conversions, penalties and drop goals.

Attendances[]

  • Attendances do not include the semi-finals or final as these are at neutral venues.
Club Home
Games 		Total Average Highest Lowest % Capacity
Bayonne 13 175,382 13,491 18,840 10,938 79%
Biarritz 13 118,151 9,089 13,104 7,000 61%
Bourgoin 13 91,679 7,052 18,014 4,428 67%
Brive 13 125,756 9,674 14,066 7,892 64%
Castres 13 103,075 7,929 9,451 6,615 69%
Clermont 13 190,622 14,663 15,853 12,207 88%
Dax 13 95,704 7,362 10,204 5,057 46%
Mont-de-Marsan 13 91,270 7,021 10,468 5,445 32%
Montauban 13 91,309 7,024 12,589 5,068 56%
Montpellier 13 150,402 11,569 14,570 9,503 73%
Perpignan 13 166,629 12,818 14,578 11,671 77%
Stade Français 13 325,539 25,041 79,842 7,443 79%
Toulon 13 206,631 15,895 56,953 11,482 91%
Toulouse 13 277,839 21,372 34,993 15,665 93%

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Although the capacity of Stade Jean Dauger is listed at 16,934, the club achieved an attendance of 18,840 at the ground in their game against Toulouse on 13 May 2009. Whether this attendance was achieved due to a temporary capacity increase is unclear but no sources list Stade Jean Dauger as having a regular capacity of this size.
  2. ^ Despite finishing 13th Dax were saved from relegation due to 12th placed Albi going down instead due to financial irregularities.[1]
  3. ^ Capacity of Stade Sapiac up to 12,600 from 11,500 the previous season.
  4. ^ Stade Français would also play three home games at the 81,338 capacity Stade de France.
  5. ^ Toulon would also play one home game at the 67,394 capacity Stade Vélodrome in Marseille.
  6. ^ Toulouse would also play three home games at the 35,575 capacity Stadium Municipal.
  7. ^ Perpignan finished first on the ladder, ahead of Toulouse, based on a 5–4 edge in head-to-head competition points; Toulouse scored a regular win against Perpignan in Round 6, while Perpignan picked up a bonus-point win in the return match in Round 19.
  8. ^ Brive edged out Bayonne for sixth place, and ultimately the final Heineken Cup berth. In Round 8, Bayonne defeated Brive 14–9 at home. In the return match in Round 21, Brive won 13–6 at home. Since both losing teams picked up bonus points, the tiebreaker went to head-to-head point differential, in which Brive had a two-point edge.
  9. ^ This was the first Top 14 match to see both teams earn bonus points since LNR adopted its revised bonus points system in the 2007-08 season.
  10. ^ Toulouse win their 11th consecutive Top 14 match, breaking the previous record of 10 set last season by Clermont.
  11. ^ Toulouse's Top 14-record win streak of 11 ends.

References[]

  1. ^ European Rugby Cup. "Albi Could Miss Out on Europe Following Appeal Decision". Archived from the original on 20 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-11.
  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. ^ Jump up to: a b "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. ^ "Bourgoin reste parmi l'élite" (in French). L'Équipe. 12 June 2009. Archived from the original on 15 June 2009. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS PARC DES SPORTS AGUILERA". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE PIERRE ANTOINE". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE MAURICE BOYAU". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE SAPIAC". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE YVES DU MANOIR". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE AIME GIRAL". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE MAYOL". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE JEAN DAUGER". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE MARCEL MICHELIN". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS JEAN BOUIN". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE ERNEST WALLON". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE PIERRE RAJON". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS PARC DES SPORTS". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k l m "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE GUY BONIFACE". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b c "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADIUM". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  20. ^ "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE DES ALPES". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  21. ^ Jump up to: a b c "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE DE FRANCE". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  22. ^ "RECORDS DE SPECTATEURS STADE VELODROME". STADES ET SPECTATEURS. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  23. ^ Jump up to: a b "Top 14 : 2008/2009 - Statistiques - Rugby". It's Rugby. Retrieved 20 September 2018.

External links[]

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