French rugby union system

The major national club competition in France is the Top 14 (formerly, the Top 16). The Top 14 is played on a home and away basis between the top fourteen club sides in France. The second major competition in France is the Rugby Pro D2 competition. A relegation system exists between the two tiers of competition.

Below the professional leagues is the Fédérale 1, Fédérale 2, Fédérale 3 and a number of lower leagues.

* Top 14
* Rugby Pro D2
* Fédérale 1
* Fédérale 2
* Fédérale 3
* Lower leagues

Top 14

There exists a promotion and relegation system between the Top 14 and Pro D2. The two lowest placed clubs on the ladder after the regular season are relegated to Pro D2, while two clubs come up from Pro D2, specifically the champion and the winner of a knock-out playoff between the next four teams on the ladder. The knock-out stages for the Top 14 consists of two stages - semi-finals and then the final. The top four teams on the ladder qualify for the semi-finals, although in addition to the top four, fifth and sixth placed teams also qualify for the Heineken Cup. The seventh-place team will also qualify if a French club advances farther in that season's Heineken Cup than any team from England or Italy.

Pro D2

Pro D2 is the second level of domestic club rugby, below the first division, Top 14. At present, 16 clubs compete in the competition.

The top club at the end of the season is automatically promoted to the Top 14; the 2nd through 5th place teams play each other for the second promotion.

The bottom two are automatically relegated to Fédérale 1. The bottom two clubs of the Top 14 and the top two of Fédérale 1 then enter the Rugby Pro D2 for the next season.

Fédérale 1

Preliminary phase

8 teams compete on a round-robin basis (14 games) in each of the 6 groups. The top 4 teams of each group move into the play-offs ("Trophée Jean-Prat"), the bottom 4 move into play-downs

Second phase
*Play-downsThe lowest ranked 24 teams from the preliminary phase play another round-robin competition in 4 groups of 6. Points scored in the preliminary phase are kept. Teams only play teams from other groups. The top 2 teams of each group move on to a sudden death competition (quarter-finals, semi-finals, final), at the end of which an honorary title is awarded. The bottom 3 teams of each group (12 in all) are relegated to Fédérale 2.

*Play-offsThe top 24 teams from the preliminary phase play another round-robin competition in 6 groups of 4. Points scored in the preliminary phase are "not" kept. Teams only play teams from other groups. The best four top clubs are automatically qualified for the quarter finals. The other two top clubs and the six n°2 clubs have to fight it out in a play-off game to get into the quarter finals. The two finalists are promoted to Pro D2 and play for the championship; the losing semifinalists play for the final ticket to Pro D2.

At the end of each season, three teams are promoted to Pro D2, and 12 relegated into Fédérale 2.

Fédérale 2

Fédérale 2 is the fourth division of rugby above Fédérale 3. Teams can earn promotion to Fédérale 1.

Fédérale 3

Fédérale 3 is the fifth division of rugby union in France. The competition involves a very large number of clubs, and winners can progress up into higher division of competition. The competition above Fédérale 3 is Fédérale 2.

ee also

* Top 14
* Rugby Pro D2
* Fédérale 1
* Fédérale 2
* Fédérale 3
* Ligue Nationale de Rugby
* Rugby union in France