2015–16 Top 14 season

The 2015–16 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).^[1] Two new teams from the 2014–15 Pro D2 season were promoted to Top 14 this year, Agen and Pau in place of the two relegated teams, Bayonne and Lyon. Home-and-away play began on 22 August 2015 and ended on 23 May 2016. This was followed by a playoff stage involving the top six teams, culminating in the final on 24 June 2016 at the Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain. The final was moved from its traditional site of the Stade de France in Saint-Denis because of a scheduling conflict with UEFA Euro 2016.^[2]

2015–16 Top 14
Countries	France
Date	22 August 2015 – 24 June 2016
Champions	Racing 92 (6th title)
Runners-up	Toulon
Relegated	Oyonnax, Agen
Matches played	187
Attendance	2,678,562 (average 14,324 per match)
Highest attendance	99,124 (play-offs) Toulon v Racing 92 24 June 2016 57,886 (league stage) Toulon v Clermont 3 April 2016
Lowest attendance	5,983 Racing 92 v Grenoble 12 September 2015
Tries scored	840 (average 4.5 per match)
Top point scorer	Gaëtan Germain (Brive) 319 points
Top try scorer	Timoci Nagusa (Montpellier) 16 tries
Official website
www.lnr.fr
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

Having defeated Toulouse and table-topping Clermont en route to the final, Racing 92 won their sixth French championship title, and first since 1990, with a 29–21 win over Toulon,^[3] despite playing over three-quarters of the game with 14 men after scrum-half Maxime Machenaud was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Matt Giteau.^[4][5]

Teams

Agen

Bordeaux

Brive

Castres

Clermont

Grenoble

Montpellier

Oyonnax

Pau

Racing

Stade Français

Toulon

Toulouse

La Rochelle

Locations of the 2015–16 Top 14 teams

Club	City (department)	Stadium	Capacity
Agen	Agen (Lot-et-Garonne)	Stade Armandie	14,000
Bordeaux Bègles	Bordeaux (Gironde)	Stade Chaban-Delmas (Bordeaux) Matmut Atlantique	34,700 41,458
Brive	Brive-la-Gaillarde (Corrèze)	Stade Amédée-Domenech	16,000
Castres	Castres (Tarn)	Stade Pierre-Antoine	11,500
Clermont	Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme)	Stade Marcel-Michelin	19,022[a 1]
Grenoble	Grenoble (Isère)	Stade des Alpes[a 2]	20,068
La Rochelle	La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime)	Stade Marcel-Deflandre	15,000
Montpellier	Montpellier (Hérault)	Altrad Stadium	14,700[a 3]
Oyonnax	Oyonnax (Ain)	Stade Charles-Mathon	12,400[a 4]
Pau	Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)	Stade du Hameau	13,800
Racing 92	Colombes (Hauts-de-Seine)	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir[a 5]	14,000
Stade Français	Paris, 16th arrondissement	Stade Jean-Bouin[a 6]	20,000
Toulon	Toulon (Var)	Stade Mayol[a 7]	15,400
Toulouse	Toulouse (Haute-Garonne)	Stade Ernest-Wallon Stadium Municipal[a 8]	19,500 33,150

Competition format

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 the Champions 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, held this season at Camp Nou because the traditional site of Stade de France was not available in 2015–16 due to conflict with UEFA Euro 2016.

The LNR uses a slightly different bonus 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,^[7] 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.^[8]

France's bonus point system operates as follows:^[8]

• 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 fewer). The margin had been 7 points until being changed prior to the 2014–15 season.

Table

2015–16 Top 14 table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Clermont (SF)	26	18	1	7	735	431	+304	77	33	10	4	88	Semi-final play-off place Berth in the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup
2	Toulon (RU)	26	16	0	10	764	446	+318	90	37	11	7	82
3	Montpellier (SF)	26	18	0	8	723	569	+154	77	50	7	2	81	Quarter-final play-off place Berths in the Champions Cup
4	Racing (CH)	26	18	1	7	614	522	+92	63	46	5	2	81
5	Toulouse (QF)	26	16	2	8	680	393	+287	80	35	7	4	79
6	Castres (QF)	26	15	0	11	650	496	+154	68	36	6	5	71
7	Bordeaux (CC)[a]	26	14	2	10	552	503	+49	44	44	3	4	67	Berth in the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup
8	Brive	26	13	1	12	540	545	−5	43	51	4	4	62
9	La Rochelle	26	11	0	15	553	656	−103	51	65	4	6	54
10	Grenoble	26	10	0	16	605	779	−174	60	91	4	3	47
11	Pau	26	10	1	15	420	675	−255	30	75	2	2	46
12	Stade Français	26	9	0	17	543	631	−88	50	62	2	3	41
13	Agen (R)	26	5	0	21	531	846	−315	50	94	1	5	26	Relegated to Rugby Pro D2
14	Oyonnax (R)	26	5	0	21	429	847	−418	41	96	2	2	24

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
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. As 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup winners Montpellier have qualified via their league position

Relegation

Normally, the teams that finish in 13th and 14th places in the table are relegated to Pro D2 at the end of the season. In certain circumstances, "financial reasons" may cause a higher placed team to be demoted instead. This last happened at the end of the 2009–10 season when 12th place Montauban were relegated thereby reprieving 13th place Bayonne.

Fixtures & Results

The outline fixtures schedule was announced in May 2015.

Round 1

21 August 2015 20:45

(1 BP) Toulon	22–27	Racing
	Report

Stade Mayol Attendance: 14,612[9] Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

22 August 2015 14:45

La Rochelle	6–44	Clermont (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Marcel-Deflandre Attendance: 15,000[10] Referee: Alexandre Ruiz

22 August 2015 18:30

Bordeaux Bègles	19–16	Castres (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Chaban-Delmas Attendance: 19,712[11] Referee: Romain Poite

22 August 2015 18:30

Toulouse	24–7	Brive
	Report

Stade Ernest-Wallon Attendance: 14,003[12] Referee: Thomas Charabas

22 August 2015 18:30

(1 BP) Montpellier	35–19	Oyonnax
	Report

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 9,850[13] Referee: Laurent Cardona

22 August 2015 18:30

(1 BP) Grenoble	38–23	Agen
	Report

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 12,000[14] Referee: Cédric Marchat

23 August 2015 16:15

Stade Français	34–18	Pau
	Report

Stade Jean-Bouin Attendance: 10,000[15] Referee: Salem Attalah

Round 2

28 August 2015 21:00

(1 BP) Clermont	25–6	Grenoble
	Report

Stade Marcel-Michelin Attendance: 15,987[16] Referee: Adrien Descottes

29 August 2015 14:45

Agen	9–20	Toulouse
	Report

Stade Armandie Attendance: 11,613[17] Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

29 August 2015 18:30

(1 BP) Oyonnax	37–19	Bordeaux Bègles
	Report

Stade Charles-Mathon Attendance: 11,000[18] Referee: Maxime Chalon

29 August 2015 18:30

Racing	20–19	La Rochelle (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir Attendance: 6,192[19] Referee: Tual Trainini

29 August 2015 18:30

Pau	26–16	Montpellier
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 12,500[20] Referee: Cyril Lafon

29 August 2015 20:45

Brive	22–13	Stade Français
	Report

Stade Amédée-Domenech Attendance: 11,224[21] Referee: Cédric Marchat

30 August 2015 17:00

(1 BP) Castres	24–9	Toulon
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 10,475[22] Referee: Alexandre Ruiz

Round 3

5 September 2015 14:35

Oyonnax	24–41	Clermont (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Charles-Mathon Attendance: 14,000[23] Referee: Cédric Marchat

5 September 2015 16:00

(1 BP) Grenoble	41–15	Pau
	Report

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 11,000[24] Referee: Maxime Chalon

5 September 2015 16:00

La Rochelle	21–18	Brive (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Marcel-Deflandre Attendance: 14,867[25] Referee: Salem Attalah

5 September 2015 16:00

Agen	30–18	Racing
	Report

Stade Armandie Attendance: 7,292[26] Referee: Adrien Descottes

5 September 2015 16:35

Toulouse	37–20	Castres
	Report

Stade Ernest-Wallon Attendance: 16,000[27] Referee: Laurent Cardona

6 September 2015 16:15

(1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles	22–24	Montpellier
	Report

Stade Chaban-Delmas Attendance: 20,131 Referee: Tual Trainini

6 September 2015 21:00

Stade Français	13–20	Toulon
	Report

Stade Jean-Bouin Attendance: 13,866[28] Referee: Thomas Charabas

Round 4

11 September 2015 20:45

Castres	35–26	Oyonnax
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 8,211 Referee: Tual Trainini

12 September 2015 14:45

(1 BP) Toulon	45–24	La Rochelle
	Report

Stade Mayol Attendance: 12,653 Referee: Cyril Lafon

12 September 2015 18:30

Racing	23–14	Grenoble
	Report

Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir Attendance: 5,983 Referee: Salem Attalah

12 September 2015 18:30

(1 BP) Montpellier	44–20	Stade Français
	Report

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 9,875[29] Referee: Maxime Chalon

12 September 2015 18:30

Clermont	26–26	Bordeaux Bègles
	Report

Stade Marcel-Michelin Attendance: 15,672[30] Referee: Thomas Charabas

13 September 2015 12:30

Brive	18–12	Agen
	Report

Stade Amédée-Domenech Attendance: 9,891[31] Referee: Laurent Cardona

13 September 2015 17:00

Pau	9–6	Toulouse (1 BP)
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 14,000[32] Referee: Adrien Descottes

Round 5

16 October 2015 19:45

Agen	16–31	Bordeaux Bègles
	Report

Stade Armandie Attendance: 8,052 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

16 October 2015 19:45

(1 BP) Clermont	35–10	Pau
	Report

Stade Marcel-Michelin Attendance: 14,622 Referee: Cédric Marchat

16 October 2015 19:45

Grenoble	19–30	Montpellier
	Report

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 12,100 Referee: Sébastien Minery

16 October 2015 19:45

Oyonnax	9–18	Racing
	Report

Stade Charles-Mathon Attendance: 10,500 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz

16 October 2015 19:45

Stade Français	22–9	Castres
	Report

Stade Jean-Bouin Attendance: 10,156 Referee: Cyril Lafon

16 October 2015 21:00

Toulouse	39–22	La Rochelle
	Report

Stade Ernest-Wallon Attendance: 13,129 Referee: Maxime Chalon

17 October 2015 14:45

Brive	29–26	Toulon (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Amédée-Domenech Attendance: 12,062 Referee: Salem Attalah

Round 6

23 October 2015 19:45

Racing	27–18	Stade Français
	Report

Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir Attendance: 9,051 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

24 October 2015 14:00

Castres	23–31	Grenoble
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 8,504 Referee: Laurent Cardona

24 October 2015 14:00

(1 BP) Pau	13–18	Brive
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 10,500 Referee: Tual Trainini

24 October 2015 14:00

(1 BP) Toulon	61–3	Oyonnax
	Report

Stade Mayol Attendance: 13,262 Referee: Sébastien Minery

24 October 2015 14:30

Bordeaux Bègles	12–10	Toulouse (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Chaban-Delmas Attendance: 31,189 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz

24 October 2015 20:45

Montpellier	24–19	Clermont (1 BP)
	Report

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 14,739 Referee: Cyril Lafon

25 October 2015 12:30

(1 BP) La Rochelle	23–6	Agen
	Report

Stade Marcel-Deflandre Attendance: 14,893 Referee: Adrien Descottes

Round 7

31 October 2015 14:00

Agen	28–23	Stade Français (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Armandie Attendance: 7,571 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz

31 October 2015 14:00

Bordeaux Bègles	21–16	La Rochelle (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Chaban-Delmas Attendance: 21,123 Referee: Cédric Marchat

31 October 2015 14:00

(1 BP) Oyonnax	42–23	Pau
	Report

Stade Charles-Mathon Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Thomas Charabas

31 October 2015 14:00

Racing	17–14	Brive (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Yves-du-Manoir Attendance: 6,257 Referee: Sébastien Minery

31 October 2015 14:30

Montpellier	25–33	Toulouse
	Report

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 13,015 Referee: Laurent Cardona

31 October 2015 20:45

(1 BP) Clermont	42–13	Castres
	Report

Stade Marcel-Michelin Attendance: 16,288 Referee: Maxime Chalon

1 November 2015 16:15

Grenoble	33–29	Toulon (1 BP)
	Report

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 16,700 Referee: Cyril Lafon

Round 8

7 November 2015 14:45

(1 BP) Toulon	52–8	Montpellier
	Report

Stade Mayol Attendance: 12,879 Referee: Juan Sylvestre (UAR)

7 November 2015 18:30

Brive	16–3	Bordeaux Bègles
	Report

Stade Amédée-Domenech Attendance: 11,779 Referee: Adrien Descottes

7 November 2015 18:30

(1 BP) La Rochelle	38–3	Oyonnax
	Report

Stade Marcel-Deflandre Attendance: 14,876 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

7 November 2015 18:30

Pau	33–31	Agen (1 BP)
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Salem Attalah

7 November 2015 20:45

(1 BP) Toulouse	52–12	Grenoble
	Report

Stade Ernest-Wallon Attendance: 16,122 Referee: Rasta Rasivhenge (SARU)

8 November 2015 12:15

(1 BP) Castres	34–8	Racing
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 9,012 Referee: Romain Poite

8 November 2015 16:15

Stade Français	14–9	Clermont (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Jean-Bouin Attendance: 18,395 Referee: Tual Trainini

Round 9

27 November 2015 20:45

Montpellier	25–20	La Rochelle (1 BP)
	Report

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Romain Poite

28 November 2015 14:45

Racing	28–13	Toulouse
	Report

Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir Attendance: 11,689 Referee: Cyril Lafon

28 November 2015 18:30

Oyonnax	9–34	Brive (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Charles-Mathon Attendance: 9,500 Referee: Cédric Marchat

28 November 2015 18:30

(1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles	46–10	Pau
	Report

Stade Chaban-Delmas Attendance: 20,663 Referee: Maxime Chalon

28 November 2015 18:30

(1 BP) Agen	18–23	Castres
	Report

Stade Armandie Attendance: 8,290 Referee: Jérôme Garcès

28 November 2015 20:45

Clermont	9–35	Toulon (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Marcel-Michelin Attendance: 18,095 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

29 November 2015 16:15

(1 BP) Grenoble	19–21	Stade Français
	Report

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

Round 10

4 December 2015 20:45

Pau	15–15	Racing
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 13,500 Referee: Sébastien Minery

5 December 2015 14:45

(1 BP) Toulon	53–23	Agen
	Report

Stade Mayol Attendance: 12,341 Referee: Laurent Cardona

5 December 2015 18:30

(1 BP) Castres	34–19	Montpellier
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 8,532 Referee: Thomas Charabas

5 December 2015 18:30

La Rochelle	33–16	Grenoble
	Report

Stade Marcel-Deflandre Attendance: 14,537 Referee: Tual Trainini

5 December 2015 18:30

(1 BP) Stade Français	21–24	Bordeaux Bègles
	Report

Stade Jean-Bouin Attendance: 11,273 Referee: Romain Poite

5 December 2015 20:45

(1 BP) Toulouse	27–3	Oyonnax
	Report

Stade Ernest-Wallon Attendance: 10,503 Referee: Adrien Descottes

6 December 2015 16:15

(1 BP) Brive	21–26	Clermont
	Report

Stade Amédée-Domenech Attendance: 13,543 Referee: Jérôme Garcès

Round 11

27 December 2015 14:00

Oyonnax	25–12	Stade Français
	Report

Stade Charles-Mathon Attendance: 10,500 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

27 December 2015 16:00

Pau	15–11	La Rochelle (1 BP)
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 13,500 Referee: Cédric Marchat

27 December 2015 16:00

(1 BP) Montpellier	45–20	Agen
	Report

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 10,128 Referee: Tual Trainini

27 December 2015 16:00

Castres	23–8	Brive
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 10,280 Referee: Adrien Descottes

27 December 2015 16:00

Bordeaux Bègles	25–19	Grenoble
	Report

Stade Chaban-Delmas Attendance: 25,238 Referee: Salem Attalah

27 December 2015 18:00

(1 BP) Clermont	16–20	Racing
	Report

Stade Marcel-Michelin Attendance: 17,995 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz

27 December 2015 21:00

(1 BP) Toulouse	31–8	Toulon
	Report

Stadium Municipal Attendance: 32,479 Referee: Maxime Chalon

Round 12

2 January 2016 14:30

Agen	16–33	Clermont
	Report

Stade Armandie Attendance: 8,647 Referee: Romain Poite

2 January 2016 15:00

La Rochelle	25–21	Castres (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Marcel-Deflandre Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Sébastien Minery

2 January 2016 15:00

(1 BP) Grenoble	42–17	Oyonnax
	Report

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Jérôme Garcès

2 January 2016 16:30

Racing	23–18	Bordeaux Bègles (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Yves-du-Manoir Attendance: 7,765 Referee: Thomas Charabas

2 January 2016 20:45

Brive	19–18	Montpellier (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Amédée-Domenech Attendance: 10,852 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

3 January 2016 17:45

Toulon	21–17	Pau (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Mayol Attendance: 12,135 Referee: Cyril Lafon

3 January 2016 21:00

Stade Français	18–17	Toulouse (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Jean-Bouin Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Laurent Cardona

Round 13

Due to the terrorist attacks that took place in Paris on 13 November 2015, matches in the European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup were postponed to a later date – later announced to take place on the weekend of 8–10 January 2016. This meant the fixtures that featured those teams in their respective domestic leagues, were postponed to a later date.^[33] This meant that the entire Round 13 schedule was postponed: one match was moved to mid-February, and the remaining six matches were moved to mid-March.^[34]

Round 14

29 January 2016 20:45

Brive	28–6	La Rochelle
	Report

Stade Amédée-Domenech Attendance: 10,586 Referee: Romain Poite

30 January 2016 14:45

(1 BP) Clermont	15–19	Montpellier
	Report

Stade Marcel-Michelin Attendance: 16,514 Referee: Salem Attalah

30 January 2016 18:30

Agen	27–33	Grenoble
	Report

Stade Armandie Attendance: 7,174 Referee: Cyril Lafon

30 January 2016 18:30

Castres	19–9	Bordeaux Bègles
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 8,608 Referee: Maxime Chalon

30 January 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Racing	26–3	Oyonnax
	Report

Stade Yves-du-Manoir Attendance: 7,109 Referee: Sébastien Minery

30 January 2016 20:45

(1 BP) Toulouse	54–3	Pau
	Report

Stade Ernest-Wallon Attendance: 14,027 Referee: Adrien Descottes

31 January 2016 16:15

Toulon	23–16	Stade Français
	Report

Allianz Riviera Attendance: 29,414 Referee: Jérôme Garcès

Round 13 rescheduled match

14 February 2016 16:15

Bordeaux Bègles	15–12	Toulon (1 BP)
	Report

Matmut Atlantique Attendance: 38,416 Referee: Romain Poite

Round 15

19 February 2016 20:45

Stade Français	32–17	Brive
	Report

Stade Jean-Bouin Attendance: 10,290 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz

20 February 2016 14:45

Castres	17–28	Clermont
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 9,622 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

20 February 2016 18:30

Bordeaux Bègles	24–19	Agen (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Chaban-Delmas Attendance: 21,233 Referee: Cédric Marchat

20 February 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Montpellier	16–19	Pau
	Report

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 10,525 Referee: Thomas Charabas

20 February 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Grenoble	35–39	Racing (1 BP)
	Report

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Laurent Cardona

20 February 2016 20:45

La Rochelle	28–8	Toulouse
	Report

Stade Marcel-Deflandre Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Tual Trainini

21 February 2016 16:15

Oyonnax	13–44	Toulon (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Charles-Mathon Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

Round 16

27 February 2016 14:30

(1 BP) Toulon	44–15	Brive
	Report

Stade Mayol Attendance: 12,519 Referee: Cédric Marchat

27 February 2016 18:30

Stade Français	18–33	Grenoble
	Report

Stade Jean-Bouin Attendance: 8,652 Referee: Sébastien Minery

27 February 2016 18:30

Agen	31–27	La Rochelle (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Armandie Attendance: 7,767 Referee: Maxime Chalon

27 February 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Clermont	44–16	Oyonnax
	Report

Stade Marcel-Michelin Attendance: 14,791 Referee: Laurent Cardona

27 February 2016 18:30

Pau	3–15	Bordeaux Bègles
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Cyril Lafon

27 February 2016 20:45

(1 BP) Racing	9–13	Castres
	Report

Stade Yves-du-Manoir Attendance: 6,433 Referee: Salem Attalah

28 February 2016 16:15

(1 BP) Toulouse	29–31	Montpellier
	Report

Stade Ernest-Wallon Attendance: 12,831 Referee: Jérôme Garcès

Round 17

4 March 2016 20:45

Grenoble	12–45	Clermont (1 BP)
	Report

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 15,500 Referee: Jérôme Garcès

5 March 2016 14:45

Brive	21–21	Toulouse
	Report

Stade Amédée-Domenech Attendance: 12,703 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

5 March 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles	48–20	Oyonnax
	Report

Stade Chaban-Delmas Attendance: 22,127 Referee: Tual Trainini

5 March 2016 18:30

Pau	19–12	Stade Français
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 11,000 Referee: Romain Poite

5 March 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Racing	38–13	Agen
	Report

Stade Yves-du-Manoir Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Adrien Descottes

5 March 2016 20:45

Montpellier	22–19	Castres (1 BP)
	Report

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 10,943 Referee: Laurent Cardona

6 March 2016 16:15

La Rochelle	19–14	Toulon (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Marcel-Deflandre Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

Round 18

11 March 2016 20:45

Toulouse	13–13	Bordeaux Bègles
	Report

Stade Ernest-Wallon Attendance: 16,500 Referee: Salem Attalah

12 March 2016 14:30

Stade Français	16–34	Racing (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Jean-Bouin Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

12 March 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Castres	50–6	Agen
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 8,660 Referee: Thomas Charabas

12 March 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Clermont	25–6	Brive
	Report

Stade Marcel-Michelin Attendance: 18,100 Referee: Adrien Descottes

12 March 2016 18:30

(1 BP) La Rochelle	35–16	Pau
	Report

Stade Marcel-Deflandre Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Sébastien Minery

12 March 2016 20:45

(1 BP) Toulon	38–8	Grenoble
	Report

Stade Mayol Attendance: 12,832 Referee: Maxime Chalon

13 March 2016 12:00

Oyonnax	10–31	Montpellier (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Charles-Mathon Attendance: 8,500 Referee: Cédric Marchat

Round 13 rescheduled matches

19 March 2016 14:00

(1 BP) Stade Français	33–20	La Rochelle
	Report

Stade Jean-Bouin Attendance: 9,654 Referee: Salem Attalah

19 March 2016 14:30

(1 BP) Montpellier	60–7	Racing
	Report

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 13,158 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

19 March 2016 18:00

Oyonnax	30–28	Agen (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Charles-Mathon Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Jérôme Garcès

19 March 2016 18:00

Pau	21–16	Castres (1 BP)
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 11,067 Referee: Maxime Chalon

20 March 2016 14:00

Grenoble	26–22	Brive (1 BP)
	Report

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Sébastien Minery

20 March 2016 16:15

Clermont	32–23	Toulouse
	Report

Stade Marcel-Michelin Attendance: 18,730 Referee: Cyril Lafon

Round 19

26 March 2016 14:45

(1 BP) Racing	20–21	Toulon
	Report

Stade Pierre-Mauroy Attendance: 40,500 Referee: Laurent Cardona

26 March 2016 18:30

Agen	21–45	Montpellier (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Armandie Attendance: 8,150 Referee: Maxime Chalon

26 March 2016 18:30

Brive	23–22	Castres (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Amédée-Domenech Attendance: 10,892 Referee: Jérôme Garcès

26 March 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Grenoble	39–23	La Rochelle
	Report

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 13,500 Referee: Tual Trainini

26 March 2016 20:45

(1 BP) Pau	25–6	Oyonnax
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 11,834 Referee: Adrien Descottes

27 March 2016 16:15

(1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles	19–24	Clermont
	Report

Stade Chaban-Delmas Attendance: 28,332 Referee: Romain Poite

27 March 2016 21:00

(1 BP) Toulouse	36–3	Stade Français
	Report

Stadium Municipal Attendance: 21,048 Referee: Thomas Charabas

Round 20

1 April 2016 20:45

Montpellier	19–3	Brive
	Report

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 10,542 Referee: Salem Attalah

2 April 2016 14:45

Castres	15–9	Toulouse
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 10,500 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz

2 April 2016 18:30

Agen	26–33	Pau
	Report

Stade Armandie Attendance: 7,828 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

2 April 2016 18:30

La Rochelle	21–18	Stade Français (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Marcel-Deflandre Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Cyril Lafon

2 April 2016 18:30

Oyonnax	20–27	Grenoble
	Report

Stade Charles-Mathon Attendance: 8,500 Referee: Romain Poite

2 April 2016 20:45

Bordeaux Bègles	20–28	Racing
	Report

Matmut Atlantique Attendance: 33,000 Referee: Cédric Marchat

3 April 2016 16:15

(1 BP) Toulon	18–19	Clermont
	Report

Stade Vélodrome Attendance: 57,886 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

Round 21

15 April 2016 20:45

(1 BP) Grenoble	28–33	Castres
	Report

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 14,700 Referee: Cyril Lafon

16 April 2016 14:45

Pau	9–25	Toulon (1 BP)
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 13,800 Referee: Thomas Charabas

16 April 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Brive	31–13	Oyonnax
	Report

Stade Amédée-Domenech Attendance: 10,352 Referee: Sébastien Minery

16 April 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Clermont	38–10	Agen
	Report

Stade Marcel-Michelin Attendance: 17,465 Referee: Tual Trainini

16 April 2016 20:45

La Rochelle	22–15	Bordeaux Bègles
	Report

Stade Marcel-Deflandre Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

17 April 2016 14:30

Stade Français	20–26	Montpellier
	Report

Stade Jean-Bouin Attendance: 11,893 Referee: Romain Poite

17 April 2016 16:15

Toulouse	14–3	Racing
	Report

Stadium Municipal Attendance: 28,583 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

Round 22

30 April 2016 14:45

(1 BP) Toulon	10–12	Toulouse
	Report

Allianz Riviera Attendance: 27,549 Referee: Jérôme Garcès

30 April 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Agen	37–19	Brive
	Report

Stade Armandie Attendance: 7,828 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

30 April 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Castres	37–6	Pau
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 9,300 Referee: Adrien Descottes

30 April 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Montpellier	51–10	Grenoble
	Report

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 10,702 Referee: Cédric Marchat

30 April 2016 18:30

Oyonnax	17–16	La Rochelle (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Charles-Mathon Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Maxime Chalon

30 April 2016 20:45

Bordeaux Bègles	35–25	Stade Français
	Report

Matmut Atlantique Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Laurent Cardona

1 May 2016 16:15

Racing	26–20	Clermont
	Report

Stade Yves-du-Manoir Attendance: 13,518 Referee: Salem Attalah

Round 23

6 May 2016 20:45

Grenoble	14–20	Bordeaux Bègles
	Report

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz

7 May 2016 15:00

(1 BP) La Rochelle	36–10	Montpellier
	Report

Stade Marcel-Deflandre Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

7 May 2016 15:00

Pau	10–16	Clermont
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 13,355 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

7 May 2016 15:00

(1 BP) Stade Français	69–8	Oyonnax
	Report

Stade Jean-Bouin Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Thomas Charabas

7 May 2016 16:30

Brive	33–27	Racing
	Report

Stade Amédée-Domenech Attendance: 11,754 Referee: Tual Trainini

8 May 2016 16:15

(1 BP) Toulouse	52–19	Agen
	Report

Stade Ernest-Wallon Attendance: 12,576 Referee: Laurent Cardona

8 May 2016 21:00

Toulon	17–7	Castres
	Report

Stade Mayol Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Romain Poite

Round 24

21 May 2016 14:30

Agen	13–52	Toulon (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Armandie Attendance: 9,728 Referee: Cyril Lafon

21 May 2016 15:00

(1 BP) Brive	45–24	Grenoble
	Report

Stade Amédée-Domenech Attendance: 10,048 Referee: Salem Attalah

21 May 2016 15:00

(1 BP) Castres	67–20	La Rochelle
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 8,800 Referee: Sébastien Minery

21 May 2016 15:00

Oyonnax	17–25	Toulouse
	Report

Stade Charles-Mathon Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Adrien Descottes

21 May 2016 15:00

(1 BP) Racing	43–13	Pau
	Report

Stade Yves-du-Manoir Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Maxime Chalon

21 May 2016 16:35

Montpellier	19–16	Bordeaux Bègles (1 BP)
	Report

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 11,707 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

22 May 2016 16:15

Clermont	36–10	Stade Français
	Report

Stade Marcel-Michelin Attendance: 18,676 Referee: Cédric Marchat

Round 25

27 May 2016 20:45

La Rochelle	14–30	Racing
	Report

Stade Marcel-Deflandre Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Thomas Charabas

28 May 2016 15:30

(1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles	34–7	Brive
	Report

Stade Chaban-Delmas Attendance: 26,273 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz

28 May 2016 18:30

(1 BP) Pau	29–12	Grenoble
	Report

Stade du Hameau Attendance: 10,863 Referee: Tual Trainini

28 May 2016 18:30

Stade Français	28–26	Agen (1 BP)
	Report

MMArena Attendance: 9,014 Referee: Adrien Descottes

28 May 2016 20:45

(1 BP) Oyonnax	20–25	Castres
	Report

Stade Charles-Mathon Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Laurent Cardona

29 May 2016 16:30

Toulouse	22–11	Clermont
	Report

Stade Ernest-Wallon Attendance: 18,831 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

29 May 2016 20:45

Montpellier	36–21	Toulon
	Report

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Romain Poite

Round 26

5 June 2016 20:45

Agen	23–19	Oyonnax (1 BP)
	Report

Stade Armandie Attendance: 7,409 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

5 June 2016 20:45

(1 BP) Brive	46–10	Pau
	Report

Stade Amédée-Domenech Attendance: 9,586 Referee: Sébastien Minery

5 June 2016 20:45

Castres	35–14	Stade Français
	Report

Stade Pierre-Antoine Attendance: 10,200 Referee: Tual Trainini

5 June 2016 20:45

(1 BP) Clermont	57–8	La Rochelle
	Report

Stade Marcel-Michelin Attendance: 18,679 Referee: Maxime Chalon

5 June 2016 20:45

Grenoble	14–53	Toulouse (1 BP)
	Report

Stade des Alpes Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

5 June 2016 20:45

Racing	40–25	Montpellier
	Report

Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir Attendance: 10,064 Referee: Salem Attalah

5 June 2016 20:45

(1 BP) Toulon	44–3	Bordeaux Bègles
	Report

Stade Mayol Attendance: 13,821 Referee: Cédric Marchat

Playoffs

	Quarterfinals					Semifinals					Final
						1	Clermont	33
	4	Racing	21			4	Racing	34
	5	Toulouse	16								4	Racing	29
											2	Toulon	21
						2	Toulon	27
	3	Montpellier	28			3	Montpellier	18
	6	Castres	9

Semi-final Qualifiers

11 June 2016 20:45

Racing	21–16	Toulouse
Pen: Carter (6/6) 5', 13', 17', 21', 64', 75' Goosen (1/3) 48'	Report	Try: Fickou 67' c Con: Bézy (1/1) Pen: Bézy (3/4) 10', 26', 43'

Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir Attendance: 9,891 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère

---

12 June 2016 16:15

Montpellier	28–9	Castres
Try: Nagusa 13' m Willemse 52' c Spies 75' c Con: Catrakilis (2/3) Pen: Catrakilis (3/3) 9', 34', 74'	Report	Pen: Urdapilleta (1/2) 37' Kockott (2/3) 49', 65'

Altrad Stadium Attendance: 11,656 Referee: Laurent Cardona

Semi-finals

17 June 2016 20:45

Clermont	33–34 (a.e.t.)	Racing
Try: Chouly 40' m Fofana 62' c Con: Lopez (1/1) Pen: Parra (1/2) 33' Lopez (3/3) 42', 46', 53' Spedding (1/2) 87' Drop: Lopez (1/1) 4' James (1/1) 92'	Report	Try: Goosen 27' c Rokocoko 47' m Imhoff 98' c Con: Carter (2/3) Pen: Carter (5/6) 16', 22', 25', 50', 58'

Roazhon Park, Rennes Attendance: 29,013 Referee: Alexandre Ruiz

---

18 June 2016 20:45

Toulon	27–18	Montpellier
Try: Tuisova 32' m Nonu 43' c Con: Halfpenny (1/2) Pen: Halfpenny (5/6) 3', 11', 19', 50', 64'	Report	Try: Mogg (2) 54' m, 59' c Con: Catrakilis (1/2) Pen: Catrakilis (2/3) 8', 14'

Roazhon Park, Rennes Attendance: 28,937 Referee: Romain Poite

Final

The final took place on 24 June 2016 at the Camp Nou in Barcelona, Spain. The final was moved from its traditional site of the Stade de France in Saint-Denis because of a scheduling conflict with UEFA Euro 2016.^[2]

24 June 2016 20:45

Toulon	21–29	Racing 92
Try: Gorgodze 29' m Mermoz 71' c Con: Halfpenny (1/2) Pen: Halfpenny (3/3) 2', 19', 23'	Report	Try: Rokocoko 59' m Pen: Carter (5/5) 7', 25', 40', 58', 80' Goosen (3/4) 33', 48', 51'

Camp Nou, Barcelona Attendance: 99,124 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

FB 15 Leigh Halfpenny  74' RW 14 Josua Tuisova  63' OC 13 Mathieu Bastareaud IC 12 Maxime Mermoz LW 11 Bryan Habana FH 10 Matt Giteau  63' SH 9 Jonathan Pélissié N8 8 Steffon Armitage  52'  52' OF 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe BF 6 Mamuka Gorgodze  65' RL 5 Konstantin Mikautadze  57' LL 4 Samu Manoa TP 3 Levan Chilachava  63' HK 2 Guilhem Guirado (c)  57' LP 1 Xavier Chiocci 50' to 60'  74' Substitutions: HK 16 Jean-Charles Orioli  57' PR 17 Florian Fresia  52'  52'  74' LK 18 Romain Taofifénua  57' FL 19 Virgile Bruni  65' CE 20 Théo Belan  74' FB 21 Delon Armitage  63' FH 22 Frédéric Michalak  63' PR 23 Manasa Saulo  63' Coach: Bernard Laporte

FB 15 Brice Dulin RW 14 Joe Rokocoko OC 13 Johan Goosen IC 12 Henry Chavancy LW 11 Juan Imhoff FH 10 Dan Carter SH 9 Maxime Machenaud  19' N8 8 Chris Masoe  74' OF 7 Yannick Nyanga BF 6 Wenceslas Lauret RL 5 Manuel Carizza  69' LL 4 Bernard Le Roux TP 3 Ben Tameifuna  63'  75' HK 2 Dimitri Szarzewski (c)  63' LP 1 Eddy Ben Arous  71' Substitutions: HK 16 Camille Chat  63' PR 17 Khatchik Vartan  71'  75' LK 18 Juandré Kruger  69' N8 19 Antonie Claassen  74' SH 20 Xavier Chauveau WG 21 Marc Andreu CE 22 Albert Vulivuli PR 23 Luc Ducalcon  63' Coach: Laurent Travers Laurent Labit

• The attendance was a new record for any domestic club match in the sport.^[3]

Leading scorers

Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.

Top points scorers As of matches played on 5 June 2016. Rank Player Club Points[35] 1 Gaëtan Germain Brive 319 2 Zack Holmes La Rochelle 251 3 Burton Francis Agen 246 4 Jonathan Wisniewski Grenoble 237 5 Jules Plisson Stade Français 208 6 Jonathan Pélissié Toulon 199 7 Demetri Catrakilis Montpellier 185 8 Sébastien Bézy Toulouse 178 9 Morgan Parra Clermont 166 10 Nicky Robinson Oyonnax 153

Top try scorers Rank Player Club Tries 1 Timoci Nagusa Montpellier 16 2 Josua Tuisova Toulon 12 3 David Smith Castres 11 4 Gaël Fickou Toulouse 9 Marvin O'Connor Montpellier David Strettle Clermont Alex Tulou Castres 8 Delon Armitage Toulon 8 Djibril Camara Stade Français Bismarck du Plessis Montpellier James O'Connor Toulon Alivereti Raka Clermont George Tilsley Agen

Attendances

By club

• Attendances do not include the semi-finals or final as these are at neutral venues.

Club	Home Games	Total	Average	Highest	Lowest	% Capacity
Agen	13	107,349	8,258	11,613	7,174	59%
Bordeaux Bègles	13	332,437	25,572	38,416	19,712	70%
Brive	13	145,272	11,175	13,543	9,586	70%
Castres	13	120,704	9,285	10,500	8,211	81%
Clermont	13	221,614	17,047	18,730	14,622	90%
Grenoble	13	176,500	13,577	18,000	10,000	68%
La Rochelle	13	194,173	14,936	15,000	14,537	100%
Montpellier[a 9]	14	159,840	11,417	15,000	8,000	78%
Oyonnax	13	126,500	9,731	14,000	7,000	77%
Pau	13	158,919	12,225	14,000	10,500	88%
Racing 92[a 10]	14	146,452	10,461	40,500	5,983	60%
Stade Francais	13	158,193	12,169	20,000	8,652	60%
Toulon	13	246,903	18,993	57,886	12,135	85%
Toulouse	13	226,632	17,433	32,479	10,503	76%

Highest attendances

Home club	Away club	Stadium	Attendance
Toulon	Clermont	Stade Vélodrome de Marseille	57,886
Bordeaux	Toulon	Matmut Atlantique	38,416
Bordeaux	Racing	Matmut Atlantique	33,000
Bordeaux	Stade Français	Matmut Atlantique	25,000
Toulouse	Toulon	Stadium Municipal de Toulouse	32,479
Bordeaux	Toulouse	Stade Chaban-Delmas	31,189
Toulon	Stade Français	Allianz Riviera	29,414
Toulouse	Racing	Stadium Municipal de Toulouse	28,583
Bordeaux	Clermont	Stade Chaban-Delmas	28,332
Toulon	Toulouse	Allianz Riviera	27,549

Notes

1. Clermont's ground capacity is up to 19,022 from 18,030 the previous season.
2. Grenoble's traditional home is Stade Lesdiguières; however, beginning in 2012–13, they moved high-demand home matches to the larger Stade des Alpes.^[6] Starting in 2014–15, they became the primary tenants of Stade des Alpes.
3. Montpellier's stadium capacity is currently 15,697 which was in effect from the 2016-17 season. However, Montpellier did achieve a crowd of 15,000 in their game against Toulon on 29 May 2016 so the capacity change could have occurred some time during the 2015-16 season.
4. Although Oyonnax's home ground of Stade-Charles capacity is listed as 11,400, it was increased for the 2015-16 season by at least 1,000 due to the creation of the north-stand (which was removed the following season). The club also achieved a crowd of 14,000 during their game against Clermont on 5 September 2015, which suggests capacity may have been even more, although this may be due to temporary space being created for what was in effect, a derby game.
5. In recent years, Racing has taken occasional home matches to Stade de France, MMArena in Le Mans, and Stade Océane in Le Havre.
6. Stade Français also played one home game at the 25,000 capacity MMArena in Le Mans.
7. In recent years, Toulon has taken occasional home matches to Stade Vélodrome in Marseille and Allianz Riviera in Nice.
8. Toulouse often takes high-demand home matches to the city's largest sporting venue, Stadium Municipal. The 2015–16 season was the first since 2013 in which the stadium was available, following renovations for UEFA Euro 2016.
9. Montpellier's attendance figure includes home semi-final qualifier.
10. Racing 92's attendance figure includes home semi-final qualifier.