2012–13 Top 14 season

The 2012–13 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Two new teams from the 2011–12 Pro D2 season were promoted to Top 14 this year, Grenoble and Stade Montois in place of the two relegated teams, CA Brive and Lyon OU. Home-and-away play began on 17 August 2012 and continued through to 5 May 2013.^[1] The regular season was followed by a three-round playoff involving the top six sides. The final was contested at the Stade de France between Toulon and Castres; the match was won 19–14 by Castres^[2] to earn them their first title since the controversial final in 1993.^[3][4]

2012–13 Top 14 season
Countries	France
Champions	Castres Olympique
Runners-up	Toulon
Relegated	Agen, Mont-de-Marsan
Matches played	187
Attendance	2,589,905 (average 13,850 per match)
Tries scored	664 (average 3.6 per match)
Top point scorer	Rory Kockott (376)
Top try scorer	Napolioni Nalaga (13)
← 2011–12 2013–14 →

Teams

Agen

Bayonne

Biarritz

Bordeaux Bègles

Castres

Clermont

Grenoble

Mont-de-Marsan

Montpellier

Perpignan

Racing Métro

Stade Français

Toulon

Toulouse

Locations of the 2012–13 Top 14 teams

Club	Full name	City (department)	Stadium
SU Agen	Sporting Union Agen Lot-et-Garonne	Agen (Lot-et-Garonne)	Stade Armandie
Aviron Bayonnais	Aviron Bayonnais	Bayonne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)	Stade Jean Dauger[a 1]
Biarritz Olympique	Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque	Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)	Parc des Sports Aguiléra[a 2]
Union Bordeaux Bègles	Union Bordeaux Bègles	Bordeaux (Gironde)	Stade Chaban-Delmas (Bordeaux) Stade André Moga (Bègles)[a 3]
Castres Olympique	Castres Olympique	Castres (Tarn)	Stade Pierre-Antoine
ASM Clermont Auvergne	Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne	Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme)	Stade Marcel-Michelin
FC Grenoble	Football Club Grenoble Rugby	Grenoble (Isère)	Stade Lesdiguières[a 4]
Stade Montois	Stade Montois	Mont-de-Marsan (Landes)	Stade Guy Boniface
Montpellier Hérault Rugby	Montpellier Hérault Rugby	Montpellier (Hérault)	Stade Yves-du-Manoir
USA Perpignan	Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais	Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales)	Stade Aimé Giral[a 5]
Racing Métro	Racing Métro 92	Colombes (Hauts-de-Seine)	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir[a 6]
Stade Français Paris	Stade Français Club Athlétique des Sports Généraux Paris	Paris, 16th arrondissement[a 7]	Stade Charléty[a 8]
RC Toulonnais	Rugby Club Toulonnais	Toulon (Var)	Stade Mayol[a 9]
Stade Toulousain	Stade Toulousain	Toulouse (Haute-Garonne)	Stade Ernest-Wallon[a 10]

1. Bayonne took one match across the Spanish border to Estadio Anoeta in Donostia-San Sebastián in 2012–13.
2. Biarritz has historically taken at least one home match per season to the Anoeta, but has not done so since the 2010–11 season.
3. In 2012–13, Bordeaux Bègles played eight of their 13 home matches at the larger Stade Chaban-Delmas and only five at their traditional home of Stade André-Moga.
4. In 2012–13, Grenoble played four home matches at the city's largest venue, Stade des Alpes.
5. In 2012–13, Perpignan played one home match at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona.
6. Racing took two 2012–13 home matches to Stade de France.
7. Stade Français' offices are in the 16th arrondissement, although they are currently playing in the 13th arrondissement.
8. Stade Français' traditional home, Stade Jean-Bouin, is closed while a new stadium is built on the site; the new Jean-Bouin is expected to open for the 2013–14 season. The club also regularly takes at least three home matches per season to Stade de France; in 2012–13, they played three at Stade de France plus one at Grand Stade Lille Métropole in Villeneuve d'Ascq.
9. Toulon took one home match to Stade Vélodrome in Marseille in 2012–13, resuming a past practice that they skipped in 2011–12.
10. Toulouse often takes high-demand home matches to the city's largest sporting venue, Stadium Municipal. Two of their 2012–13 home matches were played there.

Team information

Club Last Promotion Budget 2012–13 million EUR[5] Position in 2011–12 season Coach(es) Stadium Capacity SU Agen 2010 13.2 10 Philippe Sella Mathieu Blin David Darricarrère Stade Armandie 14,000 Aviron Bayonnais 2004 17.9 12 Christophe Deylaud Christian Lanta Stade Jean-Dauger 16,934 Biarritz Olympique 1996 17.3 9 Laurent Rodriguez Serge Milhas John Isaac Parc des sports d'Aguiléra 15,000 Bordeaux Bègles 2011 11.9 8 Raphaël Ibañez Régis Sonnes Vincent Etcheto Stade André-Moga 09,088 Castres Olympique 1989 15.6 4 Laurent Labit Laurent Travers Stade Pierre-Antoine 11,500 ASM Clermont Auvergne 1925 25.5 2 Vern Cotter Franck Azéma Stade Marcel-Michelin 18,030 FC Grenoble 2012 14.9 1 (Pro D2) Fabrice Landreau Sylvain Bégon Franck Corrihons Stade Lesdiguières 12,000 Stade Montois 2012 6.2 3 (Pro D2) Marc Dantin Stéphane Prosper Stade Guy-Boniface 22,000 Montpellier HR 2003 17.5 5 Fabien Galthié Mario Ledesma Stéphane Glas Stade Yves-du-Manoir 14,700 Stade Français 1997 22.8 7 Richard Pool-Jones Christophe Laussucq David Auradou Stade Charléty Stade de France 20,000 USA Perpignan 1911 14.4 11 Marc Delpoux Giampiero de Carli Patrick Arlettaz Stade Aimé-Giral 14,593 Racing Métro 92 2009 21.7 6 Gonzalo Quesada Simon Raiwalui Stade Yves-du-Manoir Stade de France 14,000 RC Toulon 2008 21.8 3 (finalist) Bernard Laporte Pierre Mignoni Olivier Azam Stade Mayol 15,000 Stade Toulousain 1907 34.9 1 (Champion) Guy Novès William Servat Jean-Baptiste Élissalde Stade Ernest-Wallon Stadium municipal 19,500

Table

2012–13 Top 14 season

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Clermont Auvergne	26	19	1	6	779	418	+361	8	5	91	Semi-final play-off places and qualified for 2013–14 Heineken Cup
2	RC Toulon	26	18	1	7	779	456	+323	11	5	90
3	Stade Toulousain	26	17	0	9	702	501	+201	7	4	79	Home quarter-final play-off places and qualified for 2013–14 Heineken Cup
4	Castres Olympique	26	15	2	9	599	489	+110	4	6	74
5	Montpellier Hérault	26	16	0	10	570	520	+50	5	4	73[a]	Away quarter-final play-off places and qualified for 2013–14 Heineken Cup[b]
6	Racing Métro	26	16	0	10	512	431	+81	2	7	73[a]
7	USA Perpignan	26	13	0	13	593	607	−14	2	7	61	Qualified for 2013–14 Heineken Cup[c]
8	Aviron Bayonnais	26	12	1	13	467	609	−142	1	6	57[d]
9	Biarritz Olympique	26	12	1	13	505	540	−35	2	5	57[d]
10	Stade Français	26	12	1	13	578	691	−113	2	2	54[e]
11	FC Grenoble	26	12	0	14	480	606	−126	1	5	54[e]
12	Bordeaux Bègles	26	8	1	17	561	584	−23	4	9	47
13	SU Agen	26	6	0	20	423	709	−286	0	7	31	Relegated to Rugby Pro D2
14	Stade Montois	26	2	0	24	374	761	−387	1	7	16

Updated to match(es) played on 18 May 2013. Source: ESPN Scrum
Rules for classification: If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:

1. Competition points earned in head-to-head matches
2. Points difference in head-to-head matches
3. Try differential in head-to-head matches
4. Points difference in all matches
5. Try differential in all matches
6. Points scored in all matches
7. Tries scored in all matches
8. Fewer matches forfeited'
9. Classification in the previous Top 14 season
   Notes:

1. Montpellier 5–5, 31–29
2. Qualified barring highly unlikely circumstances
3. Qualified by winning the Heineken Cup
4. Bayonne 6–3
5. Stade Français 5–4

Playoffs

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Final
						1	Clermont	9
	4	Castres	25			4	Castres	25
	5	Montpellier	12								4	Castres	19
											2	Toulon	14
						2	Toulon	24
	3	Toulouse	33			3	Toulouse	9
	6	Racing Métro	19

All times are in Central European Summer Time (UTC+2).

Quarter-finals

10 May 2013 21:00

Toulouse	33–19	Racing Métro
Try: Fickou 18' m Picamoles 54' c Con: McAlister (1/2) Pen: McAlister (7/7) 3', 28', 40', 48', 58', 68', 75'		Try: Matadigo 36' m Chavancy 55' m Pen: Wisniewski (3/3) 5', 12', 61'

Stadium Municipal, Toulouse Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Jérôme Garcès

11 May 2013 14:40

Castres	25–12	Montpellier
Try: Claassen 46' c Con: Kockott (1/1) Pen: Kockott (5/9) 25', 30', 39', 53', 63' Drop: Talès (1/1) 13'		Pen: Paillaugue (4/4) 2', 19', 34', 58'

Stade Pierre-Antoine, Castres Attendance: 11,500 Referee: Romain Poite

Semi-finals

24 May 2013 21:00

Toulon	24–9	Toulouse
Try: Rossouw 2' m D. Armitage 72' c Con: Wilkinson (1/2) Pen: Wilkinson (3/4) 10', 54' 70' Drop: Wilkinson (1/1) 64'	Report	Pen: McAlister (3/3) 6', 30', 43'

Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Attendance: 36,726 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

25 May 2013 16:30

Clermont	9–25	Castres
Pen: Delany (3/3) 28', 46', 59'	Report	Try: Cabannes 63' c Con: Kockott (1/1) Pen: Kockott (6/8) 9', 19', 36', 40', 44', 53'

Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Attendance: 36,242 Referee: Christophe Berdos

Final

1 June 2013 21:00

Toulon	14–19	Castres
Try: D. Armitage 80'+1 m Pen: Wilkinson (3/6) 7', 47' 67'	Report	Try: Kockott 40'+1 c Con: Kockott (1/1) Pen: Kockott (2/3) 14', 79' Drop: Talès (2/2) 72', 74'

Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 80,033 Referee: Jérôme Garcès

FB 15 Delon Armitage RW 14 Rudi Wulf  65' OC 13 Mathieu Bastareaud IC 12 Matt Giteau LW 11 Alexis Palisson FH 10 Jonny Wilkinson (c) SH 9 Frédéric Michalak  50' N8 8 Chris Masoe  70' OF 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe BF 6 Danie Rossouw  58' RL 5 Nick Kennedy LL 4 Bakkies Botha TP 3 Carl Hayman  19'  28' HK 2 Sébastien Bruno  47' LP 1 Andrew Sheridan  66' Substitutions: HK 16 Jean-Charles Orioli  47' PR 17 Xavier Chiocci  66' LK 18 Jocelino Suta N8 19 Steffon Armitage  70' FL 20 Joe van Niekerk  58' CE 21 Maxime Mermoz  65' FH 22 Sébastien Tillous-Borde  50' PR 23 Davit Kubriashvili  19'  28' Coach: Bernard Laporte

FB 15 Brice Dulin RW 14 Romain Martial OC 13 Romain Cabannes IC 12 Seremaia Bai LW 11 Marc Andreu FH 10 Rémi Talès (c)  78' SH 9 Rory Kockott N8 8 Antonie Claassen OF 7 Yannick Caballero BF 6 Ibrahim Diarra  73' RL 5 Rodrigo Capó Ortega  59' LL 4 Christophe Samson TP 3 Karena Wihongi  80' HK 2 Brice Mach LP 1 Saimone Taumoepeau  75' Substitutions: HK 16 Mathieu Bonello PR 17 Yannick Forestier  75' LK 18 Joe Tekori  59' FL 19 Jannie Bornman  73' FB 20 Romain Teulet FH 21 Daniel Kirkpatrick  78' CE 22 Paul Bonnefond PR 23 Mihaita Lazăr  80' Coaches: Laurent Travers Laurent Labit

Touch judges: Pascal Gaüzère Sébastien Clouté Television match official: Philippe Bonhoure

Statistics

Top points scorers

Updated 11 June 2013

• 
  Rory Kockott
  (Castres Olympique)
• 
  Jonny Wilkinson
  (RC Toulon)
• 
  James Hook
  (USA Perpignan)
• 
  Jérome Porical
  (Stade Français)
• 
  Luke McAlister
  (Stade Toulousain)

Table of top points scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Position	Points	Tries	Conversions	Penalties	Drop goals
1	Rory Kockott	Castres Olympique	Scrum-half	376	8	33	90	0
2	Jonny Wilkinson	RC Toulon	Fly-half	373	0	47	85	8
3	James Hook	USA Perpignan	Fly-half	262	2	21	68	2
4	Camille Lopez	Union Bordeaux Bègles	Fly-half	232	2	33	49	3
5	Jérôme Porical	Stade Français	Fullback	224	0	13	66	0
6	Luke McAlister	Stade Toulousain	Fly-half	222	3	33	47	0
7	Jonathan Wisniewski	Racing Metro 92	Fly-half	191	2	14	49	2
8	Morgan Parra	ASM Clermont Auvergne	Scrum-half	186	1	35	37	0
9	Conrad Barnard	SU Agen	Fly-half	179	0	10	51	2
10	Benoît Paillaugue	Stade Toulousain	Fly-half	179	3	13	46	0

Top try scorers

Updated 11 June 2013

• 
  Napolioni Nalaga
  (ASM Clermont)
• 
  Wesley Fofana
  (ASM Clermont)
• 
  Vincent Clerc
  (Stade Toulousain)
• 
  Metuisela Talebula
  (Bordeaux Bègles)
• 
  Timoci Matanavou
  (Stade Toulousain)

Table of top try scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Position	Tries
1	Napolioni Nalaga	ASM Clermont Auvergne	Wing	13
2	Wesley Fofana	ASM Clermont Auvergne	Centre	10
3	Vincent Clerc	Stade Toulousain	Wing	9
	David Smith	RC Toulon	Wing
5	Rory Kockott	Castres Olympique	Scrum-half	8
	Timoci Matanavou	Stade Toulousain	Wing
	Noa Nakaitaci	ASM Clermont Auvergne	Wing
	Metuisela Talebula	Union Bordeaux Bègles	Fullback
9	Marc Andreu	Castres Olympique	Wing	7
	Steffon Armitage	RC Toulon	Flanker
	Matt Giteau	RC Toulon	Centre
	Romain Martial	Castres Olympique	Wing
	Timoci Nagusa	Montpellier HR	Wing
	Alexis Palisson	RC Toulon	Wing
	Sitiveni Sivivatu	ASM Clermont Auvergne	Wing

See also

• 2012–13 Rugby Pro D2 season
• List of 2013-2014 Top 14 transfers