RC Vannes, winner of Aurillac with the bonus, took the lead in the Pro D2 championship on Friday during the 19th day, ahead of Béziers, who defeated Montauban.
The Bretons outclassed the Cantaliens 40-6 and took first place in the ranking thanks to the bonus point obtained at home.
With 60 points on the clock, Vannes has one more unit than its new runner-up, Béziers, who won 37-34 on the Montauban pitch after a crazy match.
The two teams benefit from the defeat conceded by the former leader Provence Rugby in Agen (31-7), Thursday at the start of this day.
After two setbacks, Mont-de-Marsan returned to success, at the expense of Grenoble (36-19) and moved a little further into the play-off places, with 51 points.
In the match of fear between the 14th and 15th, Biarritz lost to the wire at Soyeux-Angoulême (29-24) and saw the first non-relegation place occupied by the Charentais move away, now at four lengths.
Results of the matches of the 19th day of Pro D2 rugby played on Friday:
Thursday February 8Agen – Provence Rugby 31 – 7
Friday February 9Montauban (bd) – Béziers 34 – 37Colomiers – Dax 30 – 17Vannes (bo) – Aurillac 40 – 6Rouen – Valence-Romans (bd) 22 – 19Soyaux-Angoulême – Biarritz (bd) 29 – 24Mont-de-Marsan (bo ) – Grenoble 36 – 19
(9:00 p.m.) Brive – Nevers
Ranking: Pts J G N P pp pc dif Good1. Vannes 60 19 12 1 6 470 290 180 102. Béziers 59 19 12 1 6 526 396 130 93. Provence Rugby 57 19 12 2 5 482 414 68 54. Mont-de-Marsan 51 19 11 0 8 478 382 96 75. Nevers 48 18 10 0 8 438 385 53 86. Colomiers 46 19 9 1 9 414 378 36 87. Brive 45 18 10 0 8 390 349 41 58. Aurillac 43 19 9 1 9 365 460 -95 59. Agen 41 19 9 1 9 364 462 -98 310. Dax 41 19 9 1 9 348 454-106 311. Grenoble 39 19 10 0 9 496 460 36 712. Montauban 39 19 9 0 10 357 456 -99 313. Valence-Romans 35 19 7 0 12 379 368 11 714. Soyaux-Angoulême 35 19 7 1 11 351 377 -26 515. Biarritz 31 19 6 0 13 395 499-104 716. Rouen 24 19 4 1 14 339 462-123 6
Note: Grenoble was penalized with a withdrawal of twelve points for financial problems.
Editor’s note: Victory = 4 pts, draw = 2 pts, defeat = 0 pts
Bonus: 1 pt for a victory with 3 more tries than the opponent, 1 pt for a defeat with 5 pts difference or less.
In the event of a tie in the ranking, the “field points” (victory, draw, bonus) recorded during direct confrontations prevail then, if the tie persists, the general difference over all the matches, the difference in points over the all matches, the difference in points in the matches of the teams concerned, the difference between tries scored and conceded in matches between the teams concerned, the number of points scored over all matches, the difference between tries scored and conceded, the number of withdrawals which did not result in a general withdrawal and finally the place the previous season.
The first 2 qualified for the semi-finals.
The clubs ranked 3 to 6 compete in play-offs for the semi-finals on the field of the best ranked.
The winner of the final promoted to Top 14.
The loser plays a promotion match on his home field against the 13th in the Top 14.
The last two are relegated to the National.
