2020–21 Nationale
Countries France
Date13 September 2020 – 30 May 2021
ChampionsBourg-en-Bresse (1st title)
Runners-upNarbonne
PromotedBourg-en-Bresse, Narbonne
Official website
www.ffr.fr

The 2020–21 Championnat Fédéral Nationale was the third-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Rugby Pro D2 and Top 14, for the 2020–21 season.

Teams

Number of teams by regions

Teams Region or country Team(s)
4  Auvergne-Rhône-AlpesAubenas Vals, Bourgoin, Bourg-en-Bresse, Chambéry
 OccitanieAlbi, Blagnac, Narbonne, Tarbes
2  Île-de-FranceMassy, Suresnes
 Nouvelle-AquitaineCognac Saint-Jean-d'Angély, Dax
1  Bourgogne-Franche-ComtéDijon
 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'AzurNice

Competition format

The regular season uses a double round-robin format, in which each team plays the others home and away.

There is relegation and promotion between both the Rugby Pro D2 and Fédérale 1, the fourth-level competition. Nationale conducts a play-off system similar to the one currently used in Pro D2, with the top six teams qualifying for the play-offs and the top two teams receiving byes into the semi-finals. The winner of each semi-final earns automatic promotion to the next season's Pro D2 if they are eligible financially to do so. The bottom two are automatically relegated to Fédérale 1. The bottom two clubs of the Pro D2 and the top two of Fédérale 1 then enter Nationale for the next season.

There are 26 rounds in the regular season, with each team playing each other team home and away. The two halves of the season are played in the same order, with the away team in the first half of the season at home in the second half. The semi-finals and final take place in May, with the semi-finals being held over two-legs and the final taking place at a predetermined site. At present, 14 clubs compete in the competition.[1][2]

France's bonus point system operates as follows:[3]

  • 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 5 points (or less). The required margin had been 7 points or less until being changed in advance of the 2014–15 season.

Promotion

Nationale to Pro D2

As noted above, both promotion places will be determined by play-offs, with the two finalists of the Nationale play-offs earning promotion.

Relegation

Normally, the teams that finish in 13th and 14th places in the table are relegated to Fédérale 1 at the end of the season. In certain circumstances, "financial reasons" may cause a higher-placed team to be demoted instead, or bar a Fédérale 1 team from promotion.

Table

2020–21 Nationale season Table
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts Qualification
1 Nice 18 13 2 3 500 312 +188 5 3 75.1 Semi-final promotion play-off
2 Bourg-en-Bresse (C, P) 20 16 0 4 498 320 +178 4 3 75
3 Albi 20 12 1 7 451 349 +102 4 6 64 Quarter-final promotion play-off
4 Narbonne (P) 20 13 0 7 450 366 +84 5 3 62
5 Massy 20 10 1 9 456 359 +97 4 7 57
6 Dax 20 11 0 9 393 406 −13 0 5 53
7 Cognac Saint-Jean-d'Angély 18 8 1 9 392 408 −16 2 5 49.54
8 Bourgoin-Jallieu 19 7 0 12 433 457 −24 3 8 45.05
9 Tarbes 20 9 2 9 334 405 −71 0 3 45
10 Blagnac 19 8 0 11 357 421 −64 1 4 42.94
11 Dijon 20 7 1 12 402 462 −60 1 6 41
12 Chambéry 19 6 1 12 337 409 −72 0 6 37.68
13 Suresnes 19 6 0 13 381 536 −155 2 5 36.63
14 Aubenas Vals 20 5 1 14 340 514 −174 0 6 32
Source: [4]
Rules for classification: When two teams have the same points total, position is determined by head-to-head results before points difference.

Promotion Playoffs

Semi-finals Final
      
1 Nice 9
4 Narbonne 12
4 Narbonne 16
2 Bourg-en-Bresse 26
2 Bourg-en-Bresse 36
3 Albi 16

See also

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ "Nationale : Le calendrier des oppositions" (Press release) (in French). French Rugby Federation. 17 July 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
    2. ↑ "REGLEMENT DU CHAMPIONNAT DE FRANCE DE 1ERE DIVISION FEDERALE" (PDF) (Press release) (in French). French Rugby Federation. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
    3. ↑ "Article 330, Section 3.2. Points "terrain" et points de bonus" (PDF). Statuts et Reglements de la Ligue Nationale de Rugby 2014/2015, Chapitre 2 : Règlement sportif des championnats profesionnels (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. p. 166. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
    4. ↑ "Classement NATIONALE". Fédération Française de Rugby (in French). Retrieved 10 September 2020.
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