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.
During the regular season, three teams changed coaches a total of four times:
Toulon was forced to find a replacement for Philippe Saint-André once he was named to become the new head coach of the France national team, effective 1 December.[1]Bernard Laporte, a former France head coach (1999–2007), was named as Toulon's new head coach, and took over in September after Saint-André was granted an early release by Toulon.[2]
Perpignan sacked Jacques Delmas on 21 November, only four months after he had taken over from Jacques Brunel, who left to become the new head coach of Italy. The Catalans had lost seven of their 12 matches in all competitions under Delmas. Assistants Bernard Goutta and Christophe Manas were named as replacements.[3]
Bayonne sacked their entire coaching staff—director of rugby Christian Gajan, forwards coach Thomas Lièvremont and backs coach Frédéric Tauzin—on 6 December. Gajan's position was filled by Jean-Pierre Élissalde, former Japan head coach and also father of former France international and current Toulouse backs coach Jean-Baptiste Élissalde.[4] After six weeks, in which Bayonne remained near the bottom of the table with two losses and one draw in league play, Élissalde was sacked on 16 January, with former Stade Français head coach Didier Faugeron named as his replacement.[5]
Due to the interplay between LNR's schedule for Heineken Cup qualification and the rules of European Rugby Cup (ERC), which operates both European cup competitions, it is theoretically possible that a team finishing as high as fourth in the league table may not qualify for the Heineken Cup. Under ERC rules, the winners of the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup each earn a place in the following season's Heineken Cup. If a team from France wins one of these competitions, the Top 14 will receive a seventh Heineken Cup place. However, if French teams win both cups, the Top 14 is capped at seven Heineken Cup places. Biarritz' victory in the Challenge Cup gave France an extra place for the 2012–13 Heineken Cup.
The LNR presents teams for the Heineken Cup in the following order, skipping any steps occupied by clubs outside the Top 14 or filled in a prior step.[8] The clubs involved in each step for this season are indicated in the numbered list.
Champion – Toulouse
Runner-up – Toulon
Heineken Cup holder – Skipped (won by Leinster of Pro12)
Semifinalist that finished higher in the league table – Clermont
Semifinalist that finished lower in the league table – Castres
Challenge Cup holder – Biarritz
Additional berths based on league position – Montpellier, Racing Métro
Under LNR rules, only Top 14 clubs are eligible for European competition. This means that in the (unlikely) event that the winner of one of the two European Cups is relegated from the Top 14 in the same season, its European place will go to a current Top 14 team, based on league position in that season.[8]
Under another ERC rule, if teams from England, which is also capped at seven Heineken Cup places, win both European cups, the extra place will go to the highest-ranked non-English team in the European Rugby Club Rankings that is not already qualified for the Heineken Cup. If that club is in the Top 14, it will receive a Heineken Cup place regardless of its league position, as long as it avoids relegation.
For a team in the top six to be left out of the Heineken Cup, French teams must win both European Cups, and those teams must have finished outside the top six in the league while also avoiding relegation.
^. Archived from the original on 2011-09-25. Retrieved 2012-01-11.
^ ab"Règlement Sportif des Compétitions Professionnelles, Article 328, Participations des clubs français en Coupes d'Europe" (PDF). Statuts et Règlements Généraux de la LNR – Saison 2011/2012 (in French). Ligue nationale de rugby. pp. 134–35. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
^ ab (in French). L'Équipe. 2 June 2012. Archived from the original on June 5, 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
^ ab (in French). L'Équipe. 3 June 2012. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
^"Ô Toulouse ! Ô Brennus !" (in French). L'Équipe. 9 June 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Top 14 2011-2012.
(in French) Ligue Nationale de Rugby – Official website
on Planetrugby.com
May 14, 2024
2011, season, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, october, 2011. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 2011 12 Top 14 season news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2011 Learn how and when to remove this message The 2011 12 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 26 2011 Two new teams from the 2010 11 Rugby Pro D2 season were promoted to Top 14 this year Lyon and Bordeaux Begles in place of the two relegated teams La Rochelle and Bourgoin 2011 12 Top 14 seasonCountries FranceChampionsToulouseRunners upToulonRelegatedBriveLyonMatches played183Attendance2 566 416 average 14 024 per match Top point scorerJonny Wilkinson 273 Top try scorerTimoci Nagusa 11 2010 112012 13 Toulouse claimed the Bouclier de Brennus as champions for the 19th time defeating Toulon 18 12 in the final on June 9 2012 at Stade de France in Saint Denis At the other end of the table Brive and Lyon were relegated Contents 1 Competition format 2 The teams 3 Table 4 Playoffs 4 1 Quarter finals 4 2 Semi finals 4 3 Final 5 Statistics 5 1 Top points scorers 5 2 Top try scorers 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksCompetition format editEach 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 The teams edit nbsp nbsp Agen nbsp Bayonne nbsp Biarritz nbsp Bordeaux Begles nbsp Brive nbsp Castres nbsp Clermont nbsp Lyon nbsp Montpellier nbsp Perpignan nbsp Racing Metro nbsp Stade Francais nbsp Toulon nbsp Toulouseclass notpageimage Locations of the 2011 12 Top 14 teams Team Captain Head coach Stadium Capacity Agen nbsp Adri Badenhorst nbsp Christophe Deylaud nbsp Christian Lanta Stade Armandie 14 600 Bayonne nbsp Pepito Elhorga nbsp Didier Faugeron Stade Jean Dauger 16 934 Biarritz nbsp Imanol Harinordoquy nbsp Jack Isaac and nbsp Jean Michel Gonzalez Parc des Sports Aguilera 15 000 Bordeaux Begles nbsp Matthew Clarkin nbsp Marc Delpoux nbsp Laurent Armand nbsp Vincent Etcheto Stade Andre Moga 9 088 Brive nbsp Antonie Claassen nbsp Ugo Mola Stade Amedee Domenech 15 000 Castres nbsp Alexandre Albouy nbsp Sebastien Tillous Borde nbsp Laurent Labit and nbsp Laurent Travers Stade Pierre Antoine 11 500 Clermont nbsp Aurelien Rougerie nbsp Vern Cotter Stade Marcel Michelin 16 334 Lyon nbsp Matthieu Lazerges nbsp Raphael Saint Andre Matmut Stadium 8 000 Montpellier nbsp Fulgence Ouedraogo nbsp Fabien Galthie Stade Yves du Manoir 15 000 Perpignan nbsp Nicolas Mas nbsp Bernard Goutta nbsp Christophe Manas Stade Aime Giral 16 593 Racing Metro nbsp Lionel Nallet nbsp Pierre Berbizier Stade Olympique Yves du Manoir 14 000 Stade Francais nbsp Sergio Parisse nbsp Michael Cheika Stade Charlety 20 000 Stade de France 80 000 Toulon nbsp Joe van Niekerk nbsp Bernard Laporte Stade Mayol 14 700 Toulouse nbsp Thierry Dusautoir nbsp Guy Noves Stade Ernest Wallon 19 500 Stadium Municipal 35 472 During the regular season three teams changed coaches a total of four times Toulon was forced to find a replacement for Philippe Saint Andre once he was named to become the new head coach of the France national team effective 1 December 1 Bernard Laporte a former France head coach 1999 2007 was named as Toulon s new head coach and took over in September after Saint Andre was granted an early release by Toulon 2 Perpignan sacked Jacques Delmas on 21 November only four months after he had taken over from Jacques Brunel who left to become the new head coach of Italy The Catalans had lost seven of their 12 matches in all competitions under Delmas Assistants Bernard Goutta and Christophe Manas were named as replacements 3 Bayonne sacked their entire coaching staff director of rugby Christian Gajan forwards coach Thomas Lievremont and backs coach Frederic Tauzin on 6 December Gajan s position was filled by Jean Pierre Elissalde former Japan head coach and also father of former France international and current Toulouse backs coach Jean Baptiste Elissalde 4 After six weeks in which Bayonne remained near the bottom of the table with two losses and one draw in league play Elissalde was sacked on 16 January with former Stade Francais head coach Didier Faugeron named as his replacement 5 Table editPos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD B Pts Qualification or relegation 1 Toulouse 26 19 1 6 629 448 181 9 87 League championsQualified for the 2012 13 Heineken Cup 2 Clermont 26 19 2 5 644 364 280 7 87 b Advance to playoff semi finalsQualified for the 2012 13 Heineken Cup 3 Toulon 26 14 5 7 581 393 188 7 73 Advance to playoff quarter finalsQualified for the 2012 13 Heineken Cup 4 Castres 26 14 4 8 585 522 63 5 69 5 Montpellier 26 14 1 11 601 505 96 9 67 Qualified for the 2012 13 Heineken Cup 6 Racing Metro 26 13 1 12 569 538 31 10 64 7 Stade Francais 26 11 2 13 568 588 20 10 58 8 Bordeaux Begles 26 12 0 14 493 619 126 5 53 9 Biarritz 26 10 2 14 424 518 94 8 52 c Qualified for the 2012 13 Heineken Cup a 10 Agen 26 12 1 13 479 573 94 2 52 c 11 Perpignan 26 9 2 15 515 578 63 9 49 12 Bayonne 26 9 3 14 479 619 140 6 48 13 Brive 26 7 1 18 408 488 80 12 42 Relegated to 2012 13 Rugby Pro D2 14 Lyon 26 5 3 18 369 591 222 5 31Source 6 7 Notes Qualified by winning the 2011 12 European Challenge Cup Head to head Toulouse 5 4 a b Head to head Biarritz 6 2 Due to the interplay between LNR s schedule for Heineken Cup qualification and the rules of European Rugby Cup ERC which operates both European cup competitions it is theoretically possible that a team finishing as high as fourth in the league table may not qualify for the Heineken Cup Under ERC rules the winners of the Heineken Cup and European Challenge Cup each earn a place in the following season s Heineken Cup If a team from France wins one of these competitions the Top 14 will receive a seventh Heineken Cup place However if French teams win both cups the Top 14 is capped at seven Heineken Cup places Biarritz victory in the Challenge Cup gave France an extra place for the 2012 13 Heineken Cup The LNR presents teams for the Heineken Cup in the following order skipping any steps occupied by clubs outside the Top 14 or filled in a prior step 8 The clubs involved in each step for this season are indicated in the numbered list Champion Toulouse Runner up Toulon Heineken Cup holder Skipped won by Leinster of Pro12 Semifinalist that finished higher in the league table Clermont Semifinalist that finished lower in the league table Castres Challenge Cup holder Biarritz Additional berths based on league position Montpellier Racing Metro Under LNR rules only Top 14 clubs are eligible for European competition This means that in the unlikely event that the winner of one of the two European Cups is relegated from the Top 14 in the same season its European place will go to a current Top 14 team based on league position in that season 8 Under another ERC rule if teams from England which is also capped at seven Heineken Cup places win both European cups the extra place will go to the highest ranked non English team in the European Rugby Club Rankings that is not already qualified for the Heineken Cup If that club is in the Top 14 it will receive a Heineken Cup place regardless of its league position as long as it avoids relegation For a team in the top six to be left out of the Heineken Cup French teams must win both European Cups and those teams must have finished outside the top six in the league while also avoiding relegation Playoffs editQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal1Toulouse244Castres314Castres155Montpellier151Toulouse183Toulon122Clermont123Toulon173Toulon156Racing Metro13 All times are in Central European Summer Time UTC 2 Quarter finals edit 25 May 201221 00Castres31 15MontpellierTry Lacrampe 18 cCon Teulet 1 1 Pen Bernard 5 5 2 33 44 50 80 Teulet 3 3 15 38 72 ReportTry Tulou 36 mFakate 68 cCon Bustos Moyano 1 2 Pen Bustos Moyano 1 1 23 Stade Ernest Wallon Toulouse Attendance 15 203Referee Patrick Pechambert 26 May 201221 00Toulon17 13Racing MetroTry Armitage 66 mPen Wilkinson 35 Giteau 3 58 62 80 ReportTry Fall 27 cCon Descons 1 1 Pen Steyn 16 Descons 32Stade Mayol Toulon Referee Mathieu Raynal Semi finals edit 2 June 201220 45Toulouse24 15CastresPen McAlister 6 6 6 11 29 51 61 71 Beauxis 1 1 39 Drop Beauxis 1 1 20 ReportPen Bernard 3 18 26 46 Teulet 37 Drop Bernard 1 1 22 Stadium de Toulouse Toulouse Attendance 36 121 9 Referee Jerome Garces 9 3 June 201216 30Clermont12 15ToulonPen Parra 4 5 8 30 62 73 ReportPen Wilkinson 5 5 12 22 34 59 77 Stadium de Toulouse Toulouse Attendance 35 608 10 Referee Pascal Gauzere 10 Final edit 9 June 201218 00Toulouse18 12ToulonPen McAlister 6 6 3 21 35 42 64 68 ReportPen Wilkinson 4 6 1 27 32 46 Stade de France Saint Denis Attendance 79 612 11 Referee Romain Poite FB 15 nbsp Clement Poitrenaud RW 14 nbsp Vincent Clerc OC 13 nbsp Yann David nbsp 61 IC 12 nbsp Florian Fritz LW 11 nbsp Timoci Matanavou FH 10 nbsp Luke McAlister nbsp 70 SH 9 nbsp Jean Marc Doussain nbsp 50 N8 8 nbsp Louis Picamoles OF 7 nbsp Thierry Dusautoir c BF 6 nbsp Jean Bouilhou nbsp 53 nbsp 62 nbsp 68 RL 5 nbsp Patricio Albacete LL 4 nbsp Yoann Maestri nbsp 76 TP 3 nbsp Census Johnston HK 2 nbsp William Servat nbsp 51 to 62 LP 1 nbsp Gurthro Steenkamp nbsp 76 Replacements HK 16 nbsp Christopher Tolofua nbsp 53 nbsp 62 PR 17 nbsp Daan Human nbsp 76 FL 18 nbsp Yannick Nyanga nbsp 68 FL 19 nbsp Gregory Lamboley nbsp 76 SH 20 nbsp Luke Burgess nbsp 50 FH 21 nbsp Lionel Beauxis nbsp 70 CE 22 nbsp Yannick Jauzion nbsp 61 PR 23 nbsp Yohan Montes Coach nbsp Guy Noves FB 15 nbsp Benjamin Lapeyre RW 14 nbsp Alexis Palisson OC 13 nbsp Mathieu Bastareaud IC 12 nbsp Matt Giteau LW 11 nbsp David Smith FH 10 nbsp Jonny Wilkinson SH 9 nbsp Sebastien Tillous Borde N8 8 nbsp Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe OF 7 nbsp Steffon Armitage BF 6 nbsp Joe van Niekerk c nbsp 53 nbsp 62 nbsp 68 RL 5 nbsp Simon Shaw nbsp 61 LL 4 nbsp Bakkies Botha TP 3 nbsp Davit Kubriashvili nbsp 63 to 73 nbsp 73 HK 2 nbsp Sebastien Bruno nbsp 51 to 62 nbsp 70 LP 1 nbsp Eifion Lewis Roberts nbsp 74 Replacements HK 16 nbsp Mickael Ivaldi nbsp 53 nbsp 62 nbsp 70 PR 17 nbsp Laurent Emmanuelli nbsp 74 LK 18 nbsp Christophe Samson nbsp 61 FL 19 nbsp Pierrick Gunther nbsp 68 nbsp 70 nbsp 73 CE 20 nbsp Geoffroy Messina FB 21 nbsp Luke Rooney SH 22 nbsp Fabien Cibray PR 23 nbsp Levan Chilachava nbsp 70 Coach nbsp Bernard LaporteStatistics editTop points scorers edit Updated 19 May 2012 nbsp Jonny Wilkinson RC Toulon nbsp Romain Teulet Castres Olympique nbsp Martin Bustos Moyano Montpellier HR nbsp Julien Dupuy Stade Francais nbsp Benjamin Boyet Aviron Bayonnais Table of Top points scorers Rank Player Club Points Tries Conversions Penalties Drop goals 1 Jonny Wilkinson RC Toulon 273 0 24 75 0 2 Conrad Barnard SU Agen 267 0 15 75 4 3 Romain Teulet Castres Olympique 249 0 30 62 1 4 Martin Bustos Moyano Montpellier HR 213 3 27 48 0 5 Julien Dupuy Stade Francais 206 2 23 50 0 6 Benjamin Boyet Aviron Bayonnais 202 2 12 55 1 7 Lionel Beauxis Stade Toulousain 191 0 19 43 8 8 Luke McAlister Stade Toulousain 191 3 22 44 0 9 Brock James USA Perpignan 190 2 24 40 4 10 Jonathan Wisniewski Racing Metro 92 174 1 20 42 1 Top try scorers edit Updated 6 May 2012 nbsp Yves Donguy Stade Toulousain nbsp Timoci Matanavou Stade Toulousain nbsp Sireli Bobo Racing Metro 92 nbsp Henry Chavancy Racing Metro 92 nbsp Blair Connor Bordeaux Begles Table of Top try scorers Rank Player Club Tries 1 Timoci Nagusa Montpellier HR 11 2 Romain Martial Castres Olympique 10 Yves Donguy Stade Toulousain 10 Timoci Matanavou Stade Toulousain 10 5 Alex Tulou Montpellier HR 8 6 Lucas Amorosino Montpellier HR 7 Sireli Bobo Racing Metro 92 7 Henry Chavancy Racing Metro 92 7 Blair Connor Union Bordeaux Begles 7 10 Marc Andreu Castres Olympique 6 Steffon Armitage RC Toulon 6 Jean Marcellin Buttin USA Perpignan 6 Damien Chouly USA Perpignan 6 Rudi Coetzee USA Perpignan 6See also edit2011 12 Rugby Pro D2 seasonReferences edit Saint Andre confirmed as next France coach ESPN Scrum 25 August 2011 Retrieved 27 August 2011 Laporte takes charge at Toulon ESPN Scrum 12 September 2011 Retrieved 20 November 2011 Bernard Laporte takes charge at Toulton ESPN Scrum 21 November 2011 Retrieved 21 November 2011 Bayonne sack coaching staff ESPN Scrum 6 December 2011 Retrieved 6 December 2011 Elissalde axed by Bayonne ESPN Scrum 16 January 2012 Retrieved 17 January 2012 Yahoo UK News email and search Rugby Radar Provides results fixtures and table information from the top 18 rugby tournaments around the world Archived from the original on 2011 09 25 Retrieved 2012 01 11 a b Reglement Sportif des Competitions Professionnelles Article 328 Participations des clubs francais en Coupes d Europe PDF Statuts et Reglements Generaux de la LNR Saison 2011 2012 in French Ligue nationale de rugby pp 134 35 Retrieved May 18 2012 a b Top 14 2011 2012 Demi finales Toulouse Castres in French L Equipe 2 June 2012 Archived from the original on June 5 2012 Retrieved 4 June 2012 a b Top 14 2011 2012 Demi finales Clermont Toulon in French L Equipe 3 June 2012 Archived from the original on June 6 2012 Retrieved 4 June 2012 O Toulouse O Brennus in French L Equipe 9 June 2012 Retrieved 9 June 2012 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Top 14 2011 2012 in French Ligue Nationale de Rugby Official website Top 14 on Planetrugby com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2011 12 Top 14 season amp oldid 1179993295, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
