- Joined
- Apr 27, 2008
- Messages
- 100,020,470
- Country Flag
- Club or Nation
Narbonne closest to where my Parents live
-
Help Support The Rugby Forum :
Pro D2 2010/11 season and lower divisions
- Thread starter M Two One
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2007
- Messages
- 902
- Club or Nation
There is only one week left in the season and no club has secured automatic promotion yet. Albi were dominant early in the season before Lyon started to take off and control the top spot for months. Currently Lyon are at the top of the table only three points above Grenoble. Luckily enough for Lyon they will face soon-to-be-relegated club Saint-Étienne in the final week while Grenoble will face a Pau, a far more difficult opponent. With this information, it is very likely that Lyon have secured the league ***le and automatic promotion.
If things remain the way they are in the standings, the promotion playoffs will start with Grenoble against Mont-de-Marsan and Albi against Bordeaux-Bègles. Both of these potential matches could go either way considering that these four clubs have been in the top five for a long time now. There is a massive gap between fifth and sixth place in terms of plus/minus differential.
Aside from the promotion playoffs, the relegation battle is also quite intriguing. Aix-en-Provence were relegation candidates since the beginning of the season, but they had a nice run over five matches securing their spot in the league. As of right now they're higher than Narbonne in the standings, which further proves my point that Narbonne is surely waiting to be flushed by next season.
Believe it or not Dax is very close to dropping down to the top amateur division. They're locked with Colomiers in the standings with 50 points but ahead only by plus-minus differential. I think Dax deserves to be dropped considering that many people had them tagged for possible promotion. I had them positioned just outside a playoff spot, but never did I believe they would have suffered so poorly. Narbonne could actually dump them into the lower leagues this weekend, but Colomiers would have to respond with a big win over Carcassonne.
I'd like to point out that Stade Phocéen finished their season in Fédérale 2 undefeated with 22 wins, scoring 1227 points and allowing a mere 117. They surely have promotion and the league ***le in their sights as the playoffs begin this weekend with first leg matches. You can check out the standings and the playoff picture (phases finales) by clicking here. My predictions are listed below:
Vichy v Arras
Beaune v Gennevilliers
Rennes v Compiègne
Boulogne-Billancourt v Clermont-Cournon
Montélimar v Chambéry
Saint-Raphaël-Fréjus v Vienne
Beaurepaire v ROC
Montmélian v Nîmes
Castelsarrasin v Nîmes
Vallée du Girou v Agde
Lombez Samatan v Decazeville
Argelès-sur-Mer v Rodez
Cognac v Hagetmau
Rochefort v Bagnères
Bizanos v Belvès
Hendaye v Saint-Jean d'Angely
If things remain the way they are in the standings, the promotion playoffs will start with Grenoble against Mont-de-Marsan and Albi against Bordeaux-Bègles. Both of these potential matches could go either way considering that these four clubs have been in the top five for a long time now. There is a massive gap between fifth and sixth place in terms of plus/minus differential.
Aside from the promotion playoffs, the relegation battle is also quite intriguing. Aix-en-Provence were relegation candidates since the beginning of the season, but they had a nice run over five matches securing their spot in the league. As of right now they're higher than Narbonne in the standings, which further proves my point that Narbonne is surely waiting to be flushed by next season.
Believe it or not Dax is very close to dropping down to the top amateur division. They're locked with Colomiers in the standings with 50 points but ahead only by plus-minus differential. I think Dax deserves to be dropped considering that many people had them tagged for possible promotion. I had them positioned just outside a playoff spot, but never did I believe they would have suffered so poorly. Narbonne could actually dump them into the lower leagues this weekend, but Colomiers would have to respond with a big win over Carcassonne.
I'd like to point out that Stade Phocéen finished their season in Fédérale 2 undefeated with 22 wins, scoring 1227 points and allowing a mere 117. They surely have promotion and the league ***le in their sights as the playoffs begin this weekend with first leg matches. You can check out the standings and the playoff picture (phases finales) by clicking here. My predictions are listed below:
Vichy v Arras
Beaune v Gennevilliers
Rennes v Compiègne
Boulogne-Billancourt v Clermont-Cournon
Montélimar v Chambéry
Saint-Raphaël-Fréjus v Vienne
Beaurepaire v ROC
Montmélian v Nîmes
Castelsarrasin v Nîmes
Vallée du Girou v Agde
Lombez Samatan v Decazeville
Argelès-sur-Mer v Rodez
Cognac v Hagetmau
Rochefort v Bagnères
Bizanos v Belvès
Hendaye v Saint-Jean d'Angely
Last edited:
Amobokoboko
Waikato Junglist
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2008
- Messages
- 4,724
- Country Flag
- Club or Nation
It's very enjoyable to watch this competition, the Pau - Lyon game of last week was good fun to see.
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2007
- Messages
- 902
- Club or Nation
I forgot to mention that the Fédérale 1 promotion playoffs first leg matches begin this weekend as well. I've also put a list of the match ups with my predicted winners in bold and some notes. Clubs that have been relegated to Fédérale are also listed below. I think that Graulhet and (more particularly) Cahors are the only two surprises to drop this season.
Lannemezan v Massy
Notes: This first match will actually favor the northern club Massy. The club had a lot to prove this season in a weaker group that didn't even contain the best northern-based amateur club this season. Coming out strong from the beginning of the season until the very end, Massy have proven that they can compete for professional status. Still, I wouldn't count out Lannemezan considering that they were in the Pro D2 just last season.
Nice v Limoges
Notes: This is a match up of massive differences. Limoges are a professional rugby club yearning to return to the professional leagues having dominated in their tough group much of the season. Nice on the other hand are just a building club that finished strong. This should still be no contest for Limoges. Expect a blowout.
Lille v Bobigny
Notes: The best northern-based amateur rugby club shown that they can not simply survive in the south, but earn a playoff position over bigger clubs such as Oloron and Lourdes. Bobigny have been consistently solid over the past couple of seasons and although I think they deserve more credit, Lille will field the better squad in this first "upset."
Lavaur v Périgueux
Notes: While I wouldn't sleep on Lavaur, their opponents are my pick to showcase in the Top 14 down the road. Périgueux are a professional club that dominated a tough group only losing the top spot to Limoges for a few weeks because they had played a few less matches. I don't expect a blowout, but it is always possible.
Bourg-en-Bresse v Castanet
Notes: US Bressane may be the lower ranked club here, but considering that for months they were floating around the bottom half of the standings in a weak group to end up finish third is astounding. With experience on their side they should take down a surprisingly good Castanet squad.
Marmande v Béziers
Notes: This match could go either way in all honesty. Marmande have remained consistent in Fédérale 1 despite changes within the team, including it's identity, but this is Béziers. The Mediterranean club has won the Brennus eleven times and ply their trade in one of the largest rugby stadiums in the country. Surely they won't remain in the lower leagues for much longer, or will the pressure of living up to their past get to the players?
Dijon v Tyrosse
Notes: Tyrosse dominated the toughest group in the league and had no trouble staying on top for the entire season. Expect them to drop Dijon like a bad habit in what could be a massive blowout. This small Aquitaine town club has high hopes.
Vannes v Montauban
Notes: This match up favors the Bay of Biscay club. Montauban will be under a lot of pressure to make a swift return to the professional leagues and Vannes will feed off of this. They remained strong through a tough group by beating quality clubs like Limoges and should be more than able to pull off an upset here. The only way Montauban will move on is if their coaching staff can keep the players calm.
Relegated
Annecy
Aubenas
Cahors
Cergy-Pontoise
Figeac
Grasse
Graulhet
Niort
Orthez
Pays du Médoc
Suresnes
Tournefeuille
Tours
Notes: This first match will actually favor the northern club Massy. The club had a lot to prove this season in a weaker group that didn't even contain the best northern-based amateur club this season. Coming out strong from the beginning of the season until the very end, Massy have proven that they can compete for professional status. Still, I wouldn't count out Lannemezan considering that they were in the Pro D2 just last season.
Notes: This is a match up of massive differences. Limoges are a professional rugby club yearning to return to the professional leagues having dominated in their tough group much of the season. Nice on the other hand are just a building club that finished strong. This should still be no contest for Limoges. Expect a blowout.
Notes: The best northern-based amateur rugby club shown that they can not simply survive in the south, but earn a playoff position over bigger clubs such as Oloron and Lourdes. Bobigny have been consistently solid over the past couple of seasons and although I think they deserve more credit, Lille will field the better squad in this first "upset."
Notes: While I wouldn't sleep on Lavaur, their opponents are my pick to showcase in the Top 14 down the road. Périgueux are a professional club that dominated a tough group only losing the top spot to Limoges for a few weeks because they had played a few less matches. I don't expect a blowout, but it is always possible.
Notes: US Bressane may be the lower ranked club here, but considering that for months they were floating around the bottom half of the standings in a weak group to end up finish third is astounding. With experience on their side they should take down a surprisingly good Castanet squad.
Notes: This match could go either way in all honesty. Marmande have remained consistent in Fédérale 1 despite changes within the team, including it's identity, but this is Béziers. The Mediterranean club has won the Brennus eleven times and ply their trade in one of the largest rugby stadiums in the country. Surely they won't remain in the lower leagues for much longer, or will the pressure of living up to their past get to the players?
Notes: Tyrosse dominated the toughest group in the league and had no trouble staying on top for the entire season. Expect them to drop Dijon like a bad habit in what could be a massive blowout. This small Aquitaine town club has high hopes.
Notes: This match up favors the Bay of Biscay club. Montauban will be under a lot of pressure to make a swift return to the professional leagues and Vannes will feed off of this. They remained strong through a tough group by beating quality clubs like Limoges and should be more than able to pull off an upset here. The only way Montauban will move on is if their coaching staff can keep the players calm.
Relegated
Annecy
Aubenas
Cahors
Cergy-Pontoise
Figeac
Grasse
Graulhet
Niort
Orthez
Pays du Médoc
Suresnes
Tournefeuille
Tours
Amobokoboko
Waikato Junglist
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2008
- Messages
- 4,724
- Country Flag
- Club or Nation
Hopefully there will be some games broadcasted on Friday and Saturday evening and sunday during the day.
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2007
- Messages
- 902
- Club or Nation
Here are results from this weekend:
It is official, Lyon have been promoted to the Top 14. I'm not impressed with their victory over Saint-Étienne, nor have I been that impressed the past few weeks with the club. They need to put in a lot of work this summer if they want to survive in the top flight.
Grenoble finished second after they beat Pau 22-6. They will be facing Bordeaux-Bègles in the opening match of the promotion playoffs. Albi will face Mont-de-Marsan in the second match.
At the bottom of the ladder, Colomiers will be joining Saint-Étienne in Fédérale 1 next season. Colomiers managed to get that all-important win this weekend against Carcassonne 35-15, but Dax defeated a terribly disappointing Narbonne side 60-17 to secure their place in the league.
In Fédérale 1 first leg playoff promotion action there were only two upsets from my predictions, those being Lannemezan defeating Massy 29-26 and Montauban defeating Vannes 21-20. I would have loved to watch that second match. There were no blowouts to my surprise, but Périgueux and Tyrosse had no trouble at all with their matches.
In Fédérale 2 there were a few upsets, most notably Lombez-Samatan defeating Decazeville 19-10 and Boulogne-Billancourt defeating Clermont-Cournon 13-6. Stade Phocéen were also given their first scare of the season, at the wrong time I might add, against Montmélian picking up a 37-27 victory. Credit Montmélian for staying that close.
It is official, Lyon have been promoted to the Top 14. I'm not impressed with their victory over Saint-Étienne, nor have I been that impressed the past few weeks with the club. They need to put in a lot of work this summer if they want to survive in the top flight.
Grenoble finished second after they beat Pau 22-6. They will be facing Bordeaux-Bègles in the opening match of the promotion playoffs. Albi will face Mont-de-Marsan in the second match.
At the bottom of the ladder, Colomiers will be joining Saint-Étienne in Fédérale 1 next season. Colomiers managed to get that all-important win this weekend against Carcassonne 35-15, but Dax defeated a terribly disappointing Narbonne side 60-17 to secure their place in the league.
In Fédérale 1 first leg playoff promotion action there were only two upsets from my predictions, those being Lannemezan defeating Massy 29-26 and Montauban defeating Vannes 21-20. I would have loved to watch that second match. There were no blowouts to my surprise, but Périgueux and Tyrosse had no trouble at all with their matches.
In Fédérale 2 there were a few upsets, most notably Lombez-Samatan defeating Decazeville 19-10 and Boulogne-Billancourt defeating Clermont-Cournon 13-6. Stade Phocéen were also given their first scare of the season, at the wrong time I might add, against Montmélian picking up a 37-27 victory. Credit Montmélian for staying that close.
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2007
- Messages
- 902
- Club or Nation
Béziers won the Jean-Prat and have been promoted back to professional rugby. Joining them in the Pro D2 will be Périgueux. Stade Phocéen also had no issue winning Fédérale 2 and will continue their march towards professional rugby next season. I wonder if the club will eventually merge with Olympique de Marseille as the latter was originally known for it's rugby program, hence their motto.
