| French Rugby Championship 1980–81 | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  France |
| Number of teams | Group A : 40 teams Group B : 40 teams |
| Champions | Béziers (9th title) |
| Runners-up | Stade Bagnérais |
The 1980–81 French Rugby Union Championship was won by Béziers beating Stade Bagnérais in the final.
Formula
For the second time, the clubs of the "Group B" didn't participate to win the title, but played a proper championship.
The group A, like the group B was divided in four pools of ten clubs.
The eight better of each pool were qualified for the knockout stages.
Group A
Qualification round
In bold the teams qualified for knock out stages, ordered according to the ranking.
|
Pool A |
Pool B |
|
Pool C
|
Pool D
|
"Last 32"
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Perpignan | Nîmes | 25-6 |
| Valence | Thuir | 13-10 |
| Béziers | Carcassonne | 29-6 |
| Grenoble | Aurillac | 6-12 |
| Bayonne | Castres | 14-12 |
| Graulhet | Stadoceste | 9-21 |
| Lourdes | Biarritz | 23-9 |
| Pau | Tulle | 22-3 |
| Toulon | RRC Nice | 6-15 |
| Montferrand | Bègles | 9-4 |
| Boucau | Brive | 12-15 |
| Toulouse | Narbonne | 12-6 |
| Agen | Albi | 21-10 |
| Angoulême | Stade Bagnérais | 12-24 |
| Dax | Oloron | 42-21 |
| Romans | US Bressane | 21-9 |
"Last 16"
In bold the clubs qualified for the next round
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Perpignan | Valence | 28-7 |
| Béziers | Aurillac | 22-10 |
| Bayonne | Stadoceste | 12-18 |
| Lourdes | Pau | 25-9 |
| RRC Nice | Montferrand | 9-15 |
| Brive | Toulose | 24-23 |
| Agen | Stade Bagnérais | 6-23 |
| Dax | Romans | 19-9 |
Quarter of finals
In bold the clubs qualified for the next round
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Perpignan | Béziers | 12-13 |
| Stadoceste | Lourdes | 7-9 |
| Montferrand | Brive | 6-3 |
| Stade Bagnérais | Dax | 16-9 |
Semifinals
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Results |
|---|---|---|
| Béziers | Lourdes | 35-9 |
| Montferrand | Stade Bagnérais | 3-6 |
Final
| Teams | Béziers - Stade Bagnérais |
| Score | 22-13 |
| Date | 25 May 1981 |
| Venue | Parc des Princes |
| Referee | Jean-Pierre Bonnet |
| Line-up | |
| Béziers | Armand Vaquerin, Alain Paco, Jean-Louis Martin, Alain Estève, Michel Palmié, Jean-Marc Cordier, Pierre Lacans, Henri Mioch, Philippe Morrisson, Jean-Pierre Pesteil, Marc Andrieu, Claude Martinez, Jean-Luc Rivallo, Michel Fabre, Patrick Fort Replacements : Philippe Escande, Yvan Buonomo, Bernard Teissier, Christian Prax, Michel Calas |
| Bagnères | Michel Laguerre-Basse, Antranik Torossian, Michel Urtizverea, André Cazenave, René Vergez, Claude Frutos, Albert Cigagna, Omar Derghali, Adrien Mournet, Philippe Fourneau, Michel Dancla, Pierre Rispal, Roland Bertranne, Jean-François Gourdon, Jean-Michel Aguirre Replacements : Gérard Chevallier, Yves Duhard, Arnaud Duplan, Roger Bayen, Michel Mardegan, Jean-Louis Carrère |
| Scorers | |
| Béziers | 2 tries Andrieu and Fabre, 1 conversion and 2 penalties Fort, 2 drops Pesteil |
| Bagnères | 2 tries Gourdon, 1 conversion and 1 penalty Aguirre |
Béziers held their title of French Champions and won the fourth Bouclier de Brennus in five years. Stade Bagnérais lost the second final, after the one in 1979.
Group B
Qualification round
In bold the teams qualified for knockout stages, ordered according to the ranking.
|
Pool E
|
Pool F
|
|
Pool G
|
Pool H
|
"Last 32"
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Results |
|---|---|---|
| US Tyrosse | ||
| US Montauban | ||
"Last 16"
In bold the clubs qualified for the next round
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Results |
|---|---|---|
| US Tyrosse | ||
| US Montauban | ||
Quarter of finals
In bold the clubs qualified for the next round
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Results |
|---|---|---|
| US Tyrosse | ||
| US Montauban | ||
Semifinals
| Team 1 | Team 2 | Results |
|---|---|---|
| US Tyrosse | ||
| US Montauban |
Final
| Teams | US Tyrosse – US Montauban |
| Score | 15-9 (after over-time) |
| Venue | Agen |