2010–11 Top 14 season

The 2010–11 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 13, 2010 and continued through April 2011. The regular season was followed by a three-round playoff starting in May that involved the top six teams, culminating in the final on June 4 at Stade de France. Toulouse won the Bouclier de Brennus for the 18th time, defeating Montpellier 15–10.

2010–11 Top 14 season
Countries	France
Champions	Toulouse
Runners-up	Montpellier
Relegated	La Rochelle Bourgoin
Matches played	187
Attendance	2,827,343 (average 15,119 per match)
Tries scored	692 (average 3.7 per match)
Top point scorer	Jonathan Wisniewski (336)
Top try scorer	Maxime Médard (15)
← 2009–10 2011–12 →

Season synopsis

This year's edition of the Top 14 welcomed Agen, winners of the 2010 title in the second-level Pro D2 and returning to the top flight three years after being relegated, and La Rochelle, victors in the 2009 promotion playoffs between the second- through fifth-placed teams. They took the place of Montauban and Albi, relegated at the end of the 2009–10 Top 14.

Of the two promoted teams, Agen survived, while La Rochelle were tentatively relegated after finishing second-from-bottom. The other relegated side were Bourgoin, which had barely avoided bankruptcy in the previous season. Their financial struggles continued, and they were docked 5 points for their financial issues. The deduction was ultimately immaterial, as even without it they would have finished more than 20 points adrift of 13th-place La Rochelle.

There was, however, a chance that La Rochelle would be spared the drop. During the season, Stade Français faced major financial issues, temporarily avoiding an administrative relegation in early June 2011 when president Max Guazzini announced a deal in which a Canadian foundation, working with former France national coach Bernard Laporte and an unnamed investor, would purchase a minority stake in the club.^[1] However, the planned infusion of €12 million did not materialize; Guazzini and Laporte sued the foundation, and three people had been arrested in connection with the deal as of June 24. On June 27, Guazzini met with the LNR's financial watchdog, DNACG, to discuss the club's situation. Reports indicated that if the club did not find €6.6 million by the time of the meeting, Stade would file for bankruptcy, which would result in an automatic relegation to the nominally amateur Fédérale 1. The French government had announced it would not bail out the club.^[2] The meeting ended with the announcement of a new deal by which Guazzini would sell a controlling stake in the club to a group of investors led by French technology executive Jean-Pierre Savare, keeping Stade in the Top 14 and confirming La Rochelle's relegation. As part of the deal, Guazzini stepped aside as club president in favor of Savare's son Thomas.^[3][4]

The season saw signs of a changing of the guard in French rugby, especially in Paris. Racing Métro reasserted itself as a national power, finishing second on the season table. Bayonne went from being reprieved from relegation to playoff contenders, ultimately missing out in the final week of the season. Montpellier went from fighting for survival through much of 2009–10 to finalists this season, winning their quarterfinal and semifinal matches away by 1 point each, and leading Toulouse for most of the final before falling short. In the end, traditional power Toulouse lifted the Bouclier de Brennus.

Previous season

The 2009–10 season saw Clermont, in their 100th season, end decades of frustration by defeating Perpignan in the final to claim their first title, having lost in all 10 of their previous final appearances. At the other end of the table, Albi, which had been promoted to the Top 14 for 2009–10, finished bottom of the table and went down. Bayonne finished second-to-bottom but avoided relegation when it was revealed that 12th-placed Montauban were filing for bankruptcy^[5] and would therefore be automatically relegated. The other newly promoted team in 2009–10, Racing Métro, enjoyed a very successful season, finishing sixth, and qualified to the quarter-finals where they narrowly lost to eventual champions Clermont.

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. Semifinals are traditionally held at neutral sites; this season, both were held at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille. The final was held at Stade de France.

Going into the season, the top six clubs are guaranteed of berths in the following season's Heineken Cup.^[6][7] The winners of the 2010–11 Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup are assured of berths in the 2011–12 Heineken Cup regardless of their league standing, as long as they avoid relegation. This means that if a club finishes in the top six and wins one of the European competitions, the seventh-place team will gain a Heineken Cup berth. However, if French clubs win both competitions, only five clubs will qualify for the 2011–12 Heineken Cup via their league position because France is capped at seven Heineken Cup places. France can also secure a seventh berth if clubs from England's Aviva Premiership, also capped at seven Heineken Cup places, win both Cup competitions, and the top club in the European Rugby Club Rankings among those not already qualified for the Heineken Cup is from the Top 14. Note, however, that if a winner of one of the European cups is relegated in the same season, LNR will not nominate it for European competition; its place will be taken by a current Top 14 side based on league position.^[7]

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,^[8] a system that also made it impossible for either team to earn a bonus point in a drawn match. The LNR chose to continue with this system for subsequent seasons.^[9]

France's bonus point system operates as follows:^[9]

• 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).

New developments

Salary cap

This season was the first in French rugby history to have a fixed salary cap. Previously, the only restrictions on team salaries were that wage bills were limited to 50% of turnover^[10] and that 10% of the salary budget had to be held in reserve.^[11] In December 2009, LNR announced that team payrolls would be limited to €8 million in 2010–11, and that the reserve requirement would be increased to 20%.^[11] The previous limitation of 50% of turnover remained in effect.^[10] However, rugby journalist Ian Moriarty dismissed the cap as "little more than a bit of sleight of hand by the LNR to appease a sporting public", noting that the announced cap was 5% greater than the highest official wage bill in the 2009–10 Top 14, and translated to £7.1 million at the time of announcement, well above the then-current £4 million cap in the English Premiership. Moriarty also added that clubs would likely find ways around the cap, noting, "Last season [2008–09], it's rumoured that one big, overseas name was paid less than 40% of his total income as a salary."^[10]

Domestic player rules

LNR also announced new rules requiring a minimum percentage of French players on team rosters. Under the new policy, "French players" are defined as those meeting the following criteria:^[11]

• Players 21 or over must have been registered with the French Rugby Federation (FFR) for at least five years before having turned 21.
• Players currently under 21 must have spent at least three seasons in an FFR-approved training centre.

The required percentage of French players was 40% this season, and will increase to 50% in 2011–12 and 60% in 2012–13.^[11]

Tax issues

A change in French tax law that took effect on 1 July 2010 raised concerns about the financial future of smaller clubs. The root of this issue is a French law known as DIC (Droit à l'Image Collectif), passed in 2004, that had allowed all French professional sports clubs to treat 30% of each player's salary as image rights. This portion of the salary was thus exempt from France's high employment and social insurance taxes, allowing French clubs to compete on a more equal financial footing with those in other European countries. However, the government announced in 2009 that it would suspend DIC.^[12]

The policy change was publicly criticized by wealthy club owners. Mourad Boudjellal of Toulon, who claimed that the change in the law would cost him more than €1 million in 2010–11, and Paul Goze of Perpignan took to the pitch before one of their matches to participate in a protest. Max Guazzini of Stade Français complained that the end of DIC would cost him about €800,000. However, the real concern in French rugby circles was for the potential blow to smaller clubs. Bourgoin, who only avoided a bankruptcy filing in 2009 by players agreeing to large wage cuts, faced an effective increase of €400,000 in their 2010–11 expenses. Brive had already announced that they would slash their budget by 40% for the 2010–11 season, but with a 2009–10 wage bill of €7.2 million and several high-profile players locked into long-term contracts, the increased tax bill was speculated to be a serious problem for the club.^[12]

Financial troubles at Bourgoin

Bourgoin's financial struggles became a major issue during the early summer of 2010. The club had been called in for a financial review by LNR's financial watchdog DNACG late in the 2009–10 season, which they survived with no action taken at that time.^[13] However, after the fixture list for the 2010–11 season was released, DNACG denied Bourgoin a professional license.^[14] Bourgoin appealed this ruling, and also considered pursuing legal action against LNR.^[14] Had Bourgoin been unsuccessful in their bid to stave off relegation, the choice of the team to replace them would not have been straightforward, as the most logical choice, Albi, who had been relegated after finishing at the bottom of the 2009–10 table, were facing their own financial problems and may not have had the resources for a Top 14 campaign.^[15] However, the FFR officially rescinded the DNACG's ruling on July 9, allowing Bourgoin to stay in the Top 14, thus also confirming Albi's place in Pro D2.^[16]

The teams

Agen

Bayonne

Biarritz

Bourgoin

Brive

Castres

Clermont

La Rochelle

Montpellier

Perpignan

Racing Métro

Stade Français

Toulon

Toulouse

Locations of the 2010–11 Top 14 teams

Team	Captain	Head coach	Stadium	Capacity
Agen	Adri Badenhorst	Christophe Deylaud Christian Lanta	Stade Armandie	14,600
Bayonne	Pépito Elhorga	Christian Gajan	Stade Jean-Dauger	16,934
Biarritz	Imanol Harinordoquy	Jack Isaac and Jean-Michel Gonzalez	Parc des Sports Aguiléra	15,000
Bourgoin	Julien Frier	Éric Catinot	Stade Pierre-Rajon	9,441
Brive	Antonie Claassen	Ugo Mola	Stade Amédée-Domenech	15,000
Castres	Alexandre Albouy Sébastien Tillous-Borde	Laurent Labit and Laurent Travers	Stade Pierre-Antoine	11,500
Clermont	Aurélien Rougerie	Vern Cotter	Stade Marcel-Michelin	16,334
Montpellier	Fulgence Ouedraogo	Fabien Galthié	Stade Yves-du-Manoir	15,000
Perpignan	Nicolas Mas	Jacques Brunel	Stade Aimé-Giral	16,593
Racing Métro	Lionel Nallet	Pierre Berbizier	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir	14,000
La Rochelle	Robert Mohr	Serge Milhas	Stade Marcel-Deflandre	12,500
Stade Français	Sergio Parisse	Michael Cheika	Stade Charléty	20,000
			Stade de France	80,000
Toulon	Joe van Niekerk	Philippe Saint-André	Stade Mayol	13,700
Toulouse	Thierry Dusautoir	Guy Novès	Stade Ernest-Wallon	19,500
			Stadium Municipal	35,472

Note: Stade Francais have moved their home matches from their traditional home of Stade Jean-Bouin while a new 20,000-seat stadium is built on the site. The new Jean-Bouin is scheduled to open in 2013–14.^[17]

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	B	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Toulouse	26	17	1	8	664	485	+179	12	82	Advance to playoff semi-finals Qualified for the 2011–12 Heineken Cup
2	Racing Métro	26	16	2	8	674	549	+125	10	78
3	Castres	26	16	1	9	617	487	+130	10	76	Advance to playoff quarter-finals Qualified for the 2011–12 Heineken Cup
4	Clermont	26	15	0	11	600	445	+155	12	72[a]
5	Biarritz	26	15	1	10	647	571	+76	10	72[a][b]	Qualified for the 2011–12 Heineken Cup
6	Montpellier	26	15	1	10	602	495	+107	10	72[a][b]
7	Bayonne	26	16	0	10	569	508	+61	7	71
8	Toulon	26	15	0	11	559	469	+90	10	70
9	Perpignan	26	13	3	10	538	543	−5	5	63
10	Agen	26	11	1	14	534	677	−143	5	51
11	Stade Français	26	10	1	15	562	614	−52	7	49
12	Brive	26	8	2	16	495	578	−83	10	46
13	La Rochelle	26	6	1	19	476	673	−197	7	33	Relegated to the 2011–12 Rugby Pro D2
14	Bourgoin	26	2	0	24	379	822	−443	3	6[c]

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Notes:

1. Head-to-head: Clermont: 10; Biarritz: 9; Montpellier: 9
2. Head-to-head: Biarritz 5; Montpellier: 4
3. On January 4, Bourgoin were docked five points by the DNACG because of a predicted deficit of 1.5 million euros.^[18] Bourgoin first decided to appeal this decision on January 10^[19] before changing their minds on February 8, causing the point deduction to stand.^[20]

Notes

1. It was possible that the sixth-place team on the table would not qualify for the Heineken Cup. However, it would have occurred only if French teams had won both the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup, both of these teams had finished outside the top six on the league table and avoided relegation, and the sixth-place team had not advanced to the Top 14 final (under LNR regulations, the participants in the final receive the first two priority spots on its Heineken Cup entry list, ahead of a French Heineken Cup winner).^[7] This did not happen in 2010–11.
2. Conversely, if the only French team to win a European trophy finished in the top six, or if both European trophy winners finished in the top six, the seventh-place finisher would receive a Heineken Cup berth. This also did not happen in 2010–11, as the cup winners were Leinster (Ireland, Heineken Cup) and Harlequins (England, Challenge Cup).

Results

As in recent seasons, several teams took occasional home matches to larger stadiums, either in their home city or a nearby location. In addition to Stade Français and Toulouse, whose use of larger venues is long-established, the following teams took home matches to other venues:

• Castres — Round 2 vs. Toulouse, Stade de la Méditerranée, Béziers
• Toulon — Round 7 vs. Clermont and Round 25 vs. Toulouse, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
• Bourgoin — Round 12 vs. Toulouse and Round 20 vs. Racing Métro, Stade des Alpes, Grenoble
• Bayonne — Round 20 vs. Toulouse, Estadio Anoeta, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
• Biarritz — Round 22 vs. Bayonne, Estadio Anoeta
• Racing Métro — Round 22 vs. Toulouse, Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Key

The score of the game is given by the middle (third and fourth) columns. The first and last columns indicate the number of tries scored by the home and the away team, respectively. A blue border indicates that the team has earned an attacking bonus point (i.e. has scored at least three more tries than its opponent), a yellow one that the team has earned a defensive bonus point (defeat by 7 points or less).

Within each round, matches are listed in order of kickoff time. Matches with the same kickoff time are listed in alphabetic order of the home team. A dark horizontal line separates matches held on different dates.

Round 1 13 and 14 August 6 Toulouse 44 24 Agen 3 0 Brive 18 23 Racing Métro 92 2 2 Biarritz 30 22 Montpellier 3 1 Toulon 22 26 Bayonne 2 5 Stade Français 43 12 Bourgoin 0 0 Perpignan 21 13 Clermont 1 3 La Rochelle 22 17 Castres 2

Round 2 20 and 21 August 0 Bourgoin 12 25 Clermont 3 2 Brive 26 11 Perpignan 1 4 Montpellier 36 19 Racing Métro 92 1 3 Bayonne 27 0 Agen 0 5 Stade Français 41 26 La Rochelle 3 0 Biarritz 3 13 Toulon 1 1 Castres 22 16 Toulouse 1

Round 3 27 and 28 August 1 Toulon 31 36 Racing Métro 92 3 0 Perpignan 6 16 Montpellier 1 1 Agen 28 23 Biarritz 2 1 Castres 25 16 Bayonne 1 1 La Rochelle 20 12 Bourgoin 0 3 Clermont 33 9 Brive 0 3 Toulouse 34 16 Stade Français 1

Round 4 1 September 1 Montpellier 22 21 Toulouse 2 2 Perpignan 17 12 Biarritz 0 1 Bayonne 19 18 Brive 2 1 La Rochelle 13 15 Toulon 0 1 Bourgoin 22 15 Agen 0 5 Stade Français 40 34 Castres 3 1 Racing Métro 92 28 17 Clermont 1

Round 5 5 September 3 Agen 23 23 Perpignan 1 1 Castres 31 25 Racing Métro 92 1 2 Bourgoin 23 28 Bayonne 3 7 Toulouse 50 3 La Rochelle 0 3 Clermont 27 10 Montpellier 1 3 Brive 27 9 Toulon 0 1 Biarritz 19 11 Stade Français 1

Round 6 10 and 11 September 0 Bayonne 18 16 Clermont 1 2 Perpignan 27 20 Bourgoin 2 5 Racing Métro 92 43 18 La Rochelle 2 3 Stade Français 27 29 Brive 2 2 Montpellier 23 12 Castres 0 6 Toulon 41 10 Agen 1 1 Biarritz 25 20 Toulouse 2

Round 7 17 and 18 September 2 Toulouse 29 20 Bayonne 2 1 Perpignan 22 21 Stade Français 2 6 Racing Métro 92 51 20 Bourgoin 2 3 La Rochelle 23 29 Biarritz 2 1 Castres 28 6 Brive 0 0 Agen 6 35 Montpellier 4 1 Toulon 28 16 Clermont 1

Round 8 24 and 25 September 0 Bourgoin 3 26 Toulon 2 2 Agen 12 27 Stade Français 2 1 Racing Métro 92 17 12 Biarritz 0 1 Brive 16 16 Toulouse 1 2 Clermont 24 6 Castres 0 2 Bayonne 25 26 Perpignan 2 3 Montpellier 26 6 La Rochelle 0

Round 9 1 and 2 October 1 Toulon 22 15 Castres 0 2 Bourgoin 18 3 Brive 0 3 Stade Français 30 13 Montpellier 2 3 Perpignan 21 16 La Rochelle 1 7 Clermont 45 19 Agen 1 1 Toulouse 28 23 Racing Métro 92 1 1 Bayonne 19 22 Biarritz 1

Round 10 22 and 23 October 0 Racing Métro 92 15 9 Bayonne 0 5 Toulouse 38 29 Perpignan 2 4 Castres 38 11 Agen 1 3 La Rochelle 26 21 Brive 2 3 Montpellier 28 3 Bourgoin 0 1 Biarritz 16 13 Clermont 1 1 Stade Français 22 15 Toulon 0

Round 11 29 and 30 October 0 Racing Métro 92 18 18 Perpignan 0 3 Clermont 27 3 Stade Français 0 0 Bayonne 18 29 Montpellier 2 2 Agen 29 14 La Rochelle 2 6 Castres 41 24 Bourgoin 3 2 Brive 21 27 Biarritz 2 6 Toulouse 44 5 Toulon 1

Round 12 4 November 0 Agen 21 20 Racing Métro 92 1 3 Perpignan 20 29 Toulon 2 1 La Rochelle 22 14 Clermont 1 1 Biarritz 17 17 Castres 1 1 Stade Français 20 24 Bayonne 3 4 Montpellier 35 9 Brive 0 1 Bourgoin 11 35 Toulouse 4

Round 13 4 December 2 Toulon 29 13 Montpellier 1 0 Racing Métro 92 15 13 Stade Français 1 0 Brive 12 30 Agen 3 3 Castres 23 13 Perpignan 1 2 Bayonne 23 14 La Rochelle 1 2 Clermont 32 25 Toulouse 1 5 Biarritz 37 20 Bourgoin 2

Round 14 29 December 1 Montpellier 22 16 Biarritz 1 1 Bayonne 20 9 Toulon 0 1 Agen 8 25 Toulouse 1 3 Castres 25 10 La Rochelle 1 2 Bourgoin 16 26 Stade Français 2 0 Racing Métro 92 6 6 Brive 0 1 Clermont 22 16 Perpignan 1

Round 15 2 January 2 Perpignan 23 16 Brive 1 4 Toulon 38 26 Biarritz 2 2 Agen 21 3 Bayonne 0 4 Clermont 34 9 Bourgoin 0 2 La Rochelle 26 26 Stade Français 2 3 Racing Métro 92 28 16 Montpellier 1 2 Toulouse 23 16 Castres 1

Round 16 7–9 January 2 Brive 29 22 Clermont 3 0 Montpellier 12 12 Perpignan 0 10 Biarritz 65 22 Agen 3 1 Bayonne 25 22 Castres 1 2 Bourgoin 14 44 La Rochelle 5 3 Stade Français 31 3 Toulouse 0 0 Racing Métro 92 15 12 Toulon 0

Round 17 26 and 27 January 3 Clermont 31 15 Racing Métro 92 0 2 Biarritz 23 21 Perpignan 3 2 Brive 18 26 Bayonne 3 2 Toulon 12 9 La Rochelle 0 2 Agen 23 9 Bourgoin 0 3 Castres 34 12 Stade Français 0 4 Toulouse 29 9 Montpellier 0

Round 18 11 and 12 February 1 La Rochelle 19 22 Toulouse 1 1 Toulon 22 16 Brive 1 5 Perpignan 31 18 Agen 2 2 Racing Métro 92 20 13 Castres 1 3 Bayonne 24 7 Bourgoin 1 4 Montpellier 29 9 Clermont 0 1 Stade Français 31 18 Biarritz 0

Round 19 18 and 19 February 1 Brive 26 10 Stade Français 2 0 Bourgoin 15 32 Perpignan 2 2 La Rochelle 24 32 Racing Métro 92 2 5 Castres 43 29 Montpellier 4 2 Clermont 24 19 Bayonne 1 2 Toulouse 23 19 Biarritz 1 2 Agen 23 13 Toulon 1

Round 20 4 and 5 March 1 Clermont 19 12 Toulon 2 0 Stade Français 9 21 Perpignan 2 1 Bourgoin 19 38 Racing Métro 92 4 4 Biarritz 32 30 La Rochelle 4 0 Brive 12 20 Castres 2 1 Bayonne 19 13 Toulouse 1 1 Montpellier 25 24 Agen 3

Round 21 11 March 2 Perpignan 25 19 Bayonne 2 4 Biarritz 36 32 Racing Métro 92 2 1 Toulouse 23 22 Brive 1 2 La Rochelle 20 16 Montpellier 1 6 Toulon 39 17 Bourgoin 2 1 Stade Français 22 18 Agen 0 2 Castres 23 19 Clermont 2

Round 22 25–27 March 0 Castres 18 12 Toulon 0 1 La Rochelle 16 34 Perpignan 5 7 Brive 50 6 Bourgoin 0 2 Agen 26 17 Clermont 2 4 Biarritz 40 10 Bayonne 1 3 Racing Métro 92 43 21 Toulouse 0 2 Montpellier 29 23 Stade Français 1

Round 23 1 and 2 April 2 Perpignan 24 25 Toulouse 2 2 Bayonne 26 16 Racing Métro 92 1 3 Brive 26 9 La Rochelle 0 3 Bourgoin 27 42 Montpellier 5 4 Toulon 38 10 Stade Français 1 6 Clermont 41 13 Biarritz 2 2 Agen 21 16 Castres 1

Round 24 15 and 16 April 1 La Rochelle 19 29 Agen 2 0 Stade Français 12 20 Clermont 2 2 Perpignan 23 16 Racing Métro 92 1 1 Montpellier 17 22 Bayonne 3 8 Biarritz 52 26 Brive 4 4 Bourgoin 22 33 Castres 4 2 Toulon 21 9 Toulouse 0

Round 25 22 and 23 April 1 Castres 16 13 Biarritz 1 7 Racing Métro 92 51 34 Agen 4 7 Bayonne 54 20 Stade Français 2 5 Toulouse 33 0 Bourgoin 0 6 Clermont 34 10 La Rochelle 1 4 Toulon 43 12 Perpignan 0 2 Brive 23 21 Montpellier 2

Round 26 7 May 2 Perpignan 10 29 Castres 4 1 Stade Français 16 29 Racing Métro 92 3 2 Bourgoin 18 22 Biarritz 1 1 La Rochelle 17 30 Bayonne 3 6 Agen 36 10 Brive 1 3 Montpellier 27 3 Toulon 0 2 Toulouse 15 6 Clermont 0

Playoffs

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Final
						1	Toulouse	29
	4	Clermont	27			4	Clermont	6
	5	Biarritz	17								1	Toulouse	15
											6	Montpellier	10
						2	Racing Métro	25
	3	Castres	17			6	Montpellier	26
	6	Montpellier	18

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

Quarter-finals

13 May 2011 21:00

Clermont	27 – 17	Biarritz
Try: James 57' c Lapandry 68' c Malzieu 73' c Con: Parra (2/2) James (1/1) Pen: Floch (1/1) 14' Parra (1/2) 40+2'	Report	Try: Yachvili 30' c Peyrelongue 37' c Con: Yachvili (2/2) Pen: Yachvili (1/2) 20'

Stade Marcel-Michelin, Clermont-Ferrand Attendance: 16,794[21] Referee: Jean-Luc Rebollal

---

14 May 2011 16:25

Castres	17 – 18	Montpellier
Try: Diarra 5' c Penalty try 40' c Con: Teulet (2/2) Pen: Teulet (1/4) 54'	Report	Pen: Bustos Moyano (6/7) 8', 29', 33', 44', 49', 71'

Stade Pierre-Antoine, Castres Attendance: 10,012[22] Referee: Franck Maciello

Semi-finals

27 May 2011 21:00

Toulouse	29 – 6	Clermont
Try: Caucaunibuca (2) 8' c, 80+3' c Con: Skrela (1/1) Bézy (1/1) Pen: Skrela (4/4) 6', 22', 47', 54' Bézy (1/4) 79'	Report	Pen: Floch (1/1) 15' Parra (1/2) 35'

Stade Vélodrome, Marseille Attendance: 56,676[23] Referee: Jérôme Garcès

---

28 May 2011 16:25

Racing Métro	25 – 26	Montpellier
Try: Bobo 52' m Wisniewski 62' c Qovu 76' c Con: Wisniewski (2/3) Pen: Steyn (1/1) 4' Wisniewski (1/3) 16'	Report	Try: Mirande 33' c Fernández 42' c Con: Bustos Moyano (2/2) Pen: Bustos Moyano (4/5) 13', 19', 51', 79'

Stade Vélodrome, Marseille Attendance: 56,855[24] Referee: Romain Poite

Final

4 June 2011 20:45

Toulouse	15 – 10	Montpellier
Pen: Skrela (3/8) 38', 47', 67' Bézy (2/2) 70', 75'	Report	Try: Nagusa 26' c Con: Bustos Moyano (1/1) Drop: Trinh-Duc (1/3) 41'

Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 77,000[25] Referee: Patrick Pechambert

FB 15 Cédric Heymans  49' RW 14 Maxime Médard OC 13 Yannick Jauzion  61' IC 12 Clément Poitrenaud LW 11 Rupeni Caucaunibuca  65' FH 10 David Skrela  67' SH 9 Jean-Marc Doussain N8 8 Louis Picamoles OF 7 Thierry Dusautoir (c) BF 6 Jean Bouilhou  56' RL 5 Patricio Albacete LL 4 Romain Millo-Chluski  48' TP 3 Census Johnston  76' HK 2 William Servat  31' LP 1 Daan Human  48' Replacements: HK 16 Virgile Lacombe  31' PR 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux  48' LK 18 Yoann Maestri  48' FL 19 Yannick Nyanga  56' FH 20 Nicolas Bézy  67' CE 21 Florian Fritz  49' WG 22 Vincent Clerc  65' PR 23 Johnson Falefa  76' Coach: Guy Novès

FB 15 Benjamin Thiéry RW 14 Timoci Nagusa 33' to 43'  58' OC 13 Sylvain Mirande  68' IC 12 Santiago Fernández LW 11 Martín Bustos Moyano FH 10 François Trinh-Duc SH 9 Julien Tomas  65' N8 8 Sakiusa Matadigo OF 7 Mamuka Gorgodze BF 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo (c)  67' RL 5 Aliki Fakaté  53' LL 4 Drikus Hancke TP 3 Giorgi Jgenti  78' HK 2 Fabien Rofes  53' LP 1 Juan Figallo  71'  78' Replacements: HK 16 Joan Caudullo  53' PR 17 Na'ama Leleimalefaga  71' LK 18 Mickaël de Marco  53' FL 19 Vassili Bost  67' SH 20 Benoît Paillaugue  65' 74' to 80' WG 21 Pierre Bérard  58' CE 22 Grant Rees  68' PR 23 Danie Thiart Coach: Fabien Galthié

Individual statistics

Correct as of June 5, 2011

Top points scorers

Player	Team	Points
Jonathan Wisniewski	Racing Métro	336
Romain Teulet	Castres	326
Martín Bustos Moyano	Montpellier	283
Jonny Wilkinson	Toulon	274
Jérôme Porical	Perpignan	268
Dimitri Yachvili	Biarritz	256
Benjamin Boyet	Bayonne	233
David Skrela	Toulouse	215
Mathieu Bélie	Brive	197
Julien Dupuy	Stade Français	179

^[26]

Top try scorers

Player	Team	Tries
Maxime Médard	Toulouse	15
Yoann Huget	Bayonne	12
Julien Malzieu	Clermont	11
Timoci Nagusa	Montpellier	11
Marc Andreu	Castres	10
Takudzwa Ngwenya	Biarritz	9
Joe Tekori	Castres	9
Yoan Audrin	Castres	8
Sireli Bobo	Racing Métro	8
Ollie Phillips	Stade Français	8

^[26]

See also

• 2010–11 Rugby Pro D2 season
• 2010–11 Heineken Cup
• Match Attd

Notes and references

1. "Stade Français beat the drop". ESPN Scrum. 4 June 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
2. "French government will not bail Stade out". ESPN Scrum. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
3. "Le Stade français maintenu". Midi Olympique (in French). 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
4. "Stade Francais secure top flight status". ESPN Scrum. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
5. "Financial strife sees Montauban relegated". Scrum.com. 2010-04-26. Archived from the original on 1 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
6. "Heineken Cup – Key Tournament Rules". European Rugby Cup. Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
7. "Article 328, Section 3.1 – Participation des clubs français en Coupes d'Europe", Reglements de la Ligue Nationale de Rugby 2009/2010, Chapitre 2 : Règlement sportif des championnats professionnels (in French), Ligue Nationale de Rugby Downloadable from the official LNR site here Archived 2010-05-12 at the Wayback Machine; click on the link immediately below "REGLEMENTS DE LA LIGUE NATIONALE DE RUGBY 2009-2010". No change is expected for the 2010–11 season.
8. "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.
9. "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.
10. Moriarty, Ian (2009-12-18). "Salary cap just sleight of hand". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
11. "Top 14 set for salary cap". Scrum.com. 2009-12-17. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
12. Moriarty, Ian (2009-11-11). "French rugby heading for crisis". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
13. "Montauban face Top 14 ruin". Scrum.com. 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
14. "Bourgoin embroiled in fresh financial trouble". Scrum.com. 2010-07-02. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
15. Moriarty, Ian (2010-07-06). "Time to hit the panic button?". Scrum.com. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
16. "Bourgoin maintenu en Top 14" (in French). 2010-07-09. Archived from the original on 2010-07-11. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
17. Moriarty, Ian (2011-05-17). "Times are changing in Paris". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 2011-05-17.
18. "Décision du Conseil Supérieur de la DNACG suite à la situation du CS Bourgoin-Jallieu" (in French). LNR. 2011-01-04. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
19. "Communiqué de presse du CSBJ - Lundi 10 janvier 2011" (in French). CS Bourgoin-Jallieu. 2011-01-10. Archived from the original on 2011-01-12. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
20. "Bourgoin : Sanction définitive". L'Équipe (in French). 2011-02-08. Archived from the original on 2011-08-25. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
21. "Clermont – Biarritz, Top 14 (vendredi 13 mai 2011), Fiche Match". L'Équipe (in French). 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
22. "Castres – Montpellier, Top 14 (samedi 14 mai 2011), Fiche Match". L'Équipe (in French). 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
23. "Toulouse – Clermont, Top 14 (vendredi 27 mai 2011), Fiche Match". L'Équipe (in French). 2011-05-27. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
24. "Racing-Métro 92 – Montpellier, Top 14 (samedi 28 mai 2011), Fiche Match". L'Équipe (in French). 2011-05-28. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
25. "Top 14 Finale: Fiche Match". L'Équipe (in French). 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2011-06-04.
26. "Points". It's Rugby. Retrieved 2011-06-05.

External links

• (in French) Ligue Nationale de Rugby – Official website
• Top 14 on Planetrugby.com