| 2025–26Top 14 | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  France |
| Date | September 2025 – June 2026 |
The2025–26 Top 14 competition will be the 127thFrench domesticrugby union club competition operated by theLigue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).
The top six teams at the end of the regular season (after all the teams played one another twice, once at home, once away) enter a knockout stage to decide theChampions of France. This consists of three rounds: the teams finishing third to sixth in the table play quarter-finals (hosted by the third and fourth placed teams). The winners then face the top two teams in the semi-finals, with the winners meeting in the final at theStade de France inSaint-Denis. The LNR uses a slightly differentbonus points system from that used in most other rugby competitions. It trialled a new system in 2007–08 explicitly designed to prevent a losing team from earning more than one bonus point in a match,[1] a system that also made it impossible for either team to earn a bonus point in a drawn match. LNR chose to continue with this system for subsequent seasons.[2]
France's bonus point system operates as follows:[2]
From the 2017–18 season onwards, only the 14th placed team is automatically relegated to thePro D2. The 13th placed team play the runner-up of thePro D2 play-off, with the winner taking up the final place in the Top 14 for the following season.[3]
Fourteen clubs will compete in the 2025–26 Top 14 season, 12 of them returning.Vannes were relegated toPro D2 after finishing at the bottom of the table the previous season.Montauban is the sole promoted club, finishing sixth in the Pro D2 the previous season and winning the Pro D2 playoffs.Perpignan, who finished 13th in the previous Top 14 season, defeatedGrenoble in the relegation playoffs to retain their place.
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayonne | Bayonne | Stade Jean Dauger | 16,934 | 4th |
| Bordeaux Bègles | Bordeaux | Stade Chaban-Delmas[a] | 33,500 | 2nd |
| Castres | Castres | Stade Pierre-Fabre | 12,500 | 6th |
| Clermont | Clermont-Ferrand | Stade Marcel-Michelin | 19,022 | 5th |
| La Rochelle | La Rochelle | Stade Marcel-Deflandre | 17,900 | 7th |
| Lyon | Lyon | Matmut Stadium de Gerland | 25,000 | 11th |
| Montauban | Montauban | Stade Sapiac | 9,210 | 6th (D2) |
| Montpellier | Montpellier | Altrad Stadium | 15,697 | 9th |
| Pau | Pau | Stade du Hameau | 14,588 | 8th |
| Perpignan | Perpignan | Stade Aimé Giral | 14,593 | 13th |
| Racing | Nanterre | Paris La Défense Arena | 30,681 | 10th |
| Stade Français | Paris | Stade Jean-Bouin | 20,000 | 12th |
| Toulon | Toulon | Stade Mayol[b] | 18,200 | 3rd |
| Toulouse | Toulouse | Stade Ernest-Wallon[c] | 18,754 | 1st |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toulouse | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 334 | 217 | +117 | 32 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 29 | Qualification forplayoff semi-finals andEuropean Rugby Champions Cup |
| 2 | Toulon | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 280 | 223 | +57 | 37 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 29 | |
| 3 | Pau | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 249 | 211 | +38 | 29 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 28 | Qualification forplayoff semi-final qualifiers andEuropean Rugby Champions Cup |
| 4 | Bordeaux Bègles | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 274 | 240 | +34 | 39 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 27 | |
| 5 | Bayonne | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 273 | 260 | +13 | 31 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 26 | |
| 6 | Stade Français | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 252 | 212 | +40 | 31 | 28 | 3 | 2 | 25 | |
| 7 | La Rochelle | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 257 | 193 | +64 | 31 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 25 | Qualification forEuropean Rugby Champions Cup |
| 8 | Clermont | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 321 | 244 | +77 | 41 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 23 | |
| 9 | Racing 92 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 212 | 243 | −31 | 23 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 21 | Qualification forEuropean Rugby Challenge Cup |
| 10 | Castres | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 208 | 268 | −60 | 24 | 34 | 1 | 3 | 20 | |
| 11 | Montpellier | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 222 | 191 | +31 | 27 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 19 | |
| 12 | Lyon | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 231 | 278 | −47 | 27 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 18 | |
| 13 | Montauban | 9 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 202 | 406 | −204 | 24 | 56 | 0 | 1 | 7 | Qualification forrelegation play-off |
| 14 | Perpignan | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 142 | 271 | −129 | 15 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Relegation toPro D2 |
