Oyonnax, one of the favorites for the title, launched its Pro D2 season on Friday by beating Massy 33-5, while Rouen took the championship lead after their victory at home against Colomiers (22-15) in the 2nd daytime.
The promoted Biarritz, which had just surprised Oyonnax last weekend (18-14) at the start of the season, fell on the lawn of Vannes (34-26) while Grenoble, thanks to its success (16-11) in Agen, took second place on equal points with the leader.
Agen is also the only team beaten at home during this second day.
Rouen thus took advantage of the defeat of Mont-de-Marsan in Béziers the day before (26-24) to seize the leader’s chair (8 points like Grenoble).
In the other matches on Friday evening, Aurillac won against Provence Rugby (22-13), Carcassonne disposed of Montauban (21-10) and Nevers beat Soyaux-Angoulême (20-18).
Results of the 2nd day of Pro D2:
Thursday, September 1:
Béziers – Mont-de-Marsan (bd) 26 – 24
Friday, September 2:
Aurillac – Provence Rugby 22 – 13
Oyonnax (bo) – Massy 33 – 5
Vannes – Biarritz 34 – 26
Nevers – Soyaux-Angoulême (bd) 20 – 18
Carcassonne – Montauban 21 – 10
Rouen – Colomiers 22 – 15
Agen (bd) – Grenoble 11 – 16
Ranking: Pts JGNP pp pc dif Good
1. Rouen 8 2 2 0 0 62 41 21 0
2. Grenoble 8 2 2 0 0 35 26 9 0
3. Oyonnax 6 2 1 0 1 47 23 24 2
4. Mont-de-Marsan 6 2 1 0 1 64 44 20 2
5. Soyaux-Angoulême 5 2 1 0 1 49 50 -1 1
6. Valves 5 2 1 0 1 64 57 7 1
7. Beziers 5 2 1 0 1 41 43 -2 1
8. Agen 5 2 1 0 1 30 33 -3 1
9. Colomiers 4 2 1 0 1 39 28 11 0
10. Biarritz 4 2 1 0 1 44 48 -4 0
11. Nevers 4 2 1 0 1 40 47 -7 0
12. Aurillac 4 2 1 0 1 40 53 -13 0
13. Carcassonne 4 2 1 0 1 27 34 -7 0
14. Montauban 2 2 1 0 1 39 41 -2 0
15. Provence Rugby 1 2 0 0 2 30 41 -11 1
16. Massy 0 2 0 0 2 31 73 -42 0
Editor’s note: Victory = 4 pts, draw = 2 pts, defeat = 0 pts
Bonus: 1 pt for a victory with 3 tries more than the opponent, 1 pt for a defeat with a gap of 5 pts or less.
In the event of a tie in the final classification, the “field points” (victory, draw, bonus) recorded during the direct confrontations prevail then, if the tie persists, the general difference over all the matches.
The first 2 qualified for the semi-finals.
The clubs ranked 3 to 6 contest play-offs for the semi-finals on the ground of the highest ranked.
The winner of the final promoted to the Top 14.
The loser plays an accession match on his field against the 13th in the Top 14.
The last 2 are relegated to National.
