# 2021–22 Top 14 season

The 2021–22 Top 14 competition was the 123rd French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).

## Teams

| Club | City (department) | Stadium | Capacity | Previous season |
| Biarritz | Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) | Parc des Sports Aguiléra | 15,000 | Promoted from Pro D2 (play-off accession and 3rd in league) |
| Bordeaux Bègles | Bordeaux (Gironde) | Stade Chaban-Delmas | 33,500 | Semi-finals (4th in league) |
| Brive | Brive-la-Gaillarde (Corrèze) | Stade Amédée-Domenech | 13,979 | 11th |
| Castres | Castres (Tarn) | Stade Pierre-Fabre | 12,500 | 7th |
| Clermont | Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme) | Stade Marcel-Michelin | 19,022 | Quarter-finals (5th in league) |
| La Rochelle | La Rochelle (Charente-Maritime) | Stade Marcel-Deflandre | 16,000 | 2nd |
| Lyon | Lyon (Métropole de Lyon) | Matmut Stadium de Gerland | 25,000 | 9th |
| Montpellier | Montpellier (Hérault) | Altrad Stadium | 15,697 | 10th |
| Pau | Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) | Stade du Hameau | 18,324 | 12th |
| Perpignan | Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) | Stade Aimé Giral | 14,593 | Promoted from Pro D2 (champions and 1st in league) |
| Racing | Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) | Paris La Défense Arena | 30,681 | Semi-finals (3rd in league) |
| Stade Français | Paris, 16th arrondissement | Stade Jean-Bouin | 20,000 | Quarter-finals (6th in league) |
| Toulon | Toulon (Var) | Stade Mayol | 18,200 | 8th |
| Toulouse | Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) | Stade Ernest-Wallon | 18,784 | 1st |

## Number of teams by region

| Teams | Region or country | Team(s) |
| 5 | Nouvelle-Aquitaine | Biarritz, Bordeaux Bègles, Brive, La Rochelle, Pau |
| 4 | Occitanie | Castres, Montpellier, Perpignan, Toulouse |
| 2 | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | Clermont, Lyon |
| 2 | Île-de-France | Racing, Stade Français |
| 1 | Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur | Toulon |

## 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 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.
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, 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.
France's bonus point system operates as follows:
* 4 points for a win.
* 2 points for a draw.
* 1 bonus point for scoring at least 3 more tries than the opponent. This replaces the standard bonus point for scoring 4 tries regardless of the opponent scoring.
* 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

2021–22 Top 14 table :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Castres (RU) | 26 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 565 | 529 | +36 | 5 | 1 | 76 | Semi-final play-off places and qualified for the Champions Cup |
| 2 | Montpellier (CH) | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 619 | 503 | +116 | 4 | 6 | 74 | Semi-final play-off places and qualified for the Champions Cup |
| 3 | Bordeaux Bègles (SF) | 26 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 610 | 484 | +126 | 5 | 5 | 72 | Quarter-final play-off places and qualified for the Champions Cup |
| 4 | Toulouse (SF) | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 638 | 432 | +206 | 6 | 5 | 71 | Quarter-final play-off places and qualified for the Champions Cup |
| 5 | La Rochelle (QF) | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 640 | 466 | +174 | 6 | 5 | 71 | Quarter-final play-off places and qualified for the Champions Cup |
| 6 | Racing (QF) | 26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 661 | 568 | +93 | 4 | 2 | 70 | Quarter-final play-off places and qualified for the Champions Cup |
| 7 | Clermont | 26 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 649 | 557 | +92 | 6 | 4 | 66 | Qualified for the Champions Cup |
| 8 | Toulon | 26 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 572 | 504 | +68 | 4 | 5 | 65 | |
| 9 | Lyon | 26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 637 | 558 | +79 | 6 | 6 | 64 | Qualified for the Champions Cup |
| 10 | Pau | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 568 | 664 | −96 | 1 | 3 | 50 | |
| 11 | Stade Français | 26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 544 | 651 | −107 | 2 | 4 | 50 | |
| 12 | Brive | 26 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 453 | 631 | −178 | 4 | 4 | 46 | |
| 13 | Perpignan | 26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 491 | 664 | −173 | 2 | 5 | 43 | Relegation play-off |
| 14 | Biarritz (R) | 26 | 5 | 0 | 21 | 449 | 885 | −436 | 1 | 3 | 24 | Relegated to Rugby Pro D2 |
* Competition points earned in head-to-head matches
* Points difference in head-to-head matches
* Try differential in head-to-head matches
* Points difference in all matches
* Try differential in all matches
* Points scored in all matches
* Tries scored in all matches
* Fewer matches forfeited
* Classification in the previous Top 14 season Notes:
* ↑ Lyon received a berth for winning the 2021–22 European Rugby Challenge Cup
* ↑ Contest a play-off with the runners-up of the 2020–21 Rugby Pro D2 season for a place in the 2022–23 Top 14 season

## Relegation

From the 2017–18 season, only the 14th placed team is automatically relegated to the Pro D2. The 13th placed team play the runner-up of the Pro D2 play-off, with the winner taking up the final place in the Top 14 for the following season.

## Fixtures and results
### Round 1

* 4 September 2021 14:00
| Biarritz | 27–15 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| | Report | |
* Parc des Sports Aguiléra Referee: Mathieu Raynal
* 4 September 2021 14:05
| (1 BP) Brive | 36–15 | Perpignan |
| | Report | |
* Stade Amédée-Domenech Referee: Adrien Marbot
* 4 September 2021 14:05
| Castres | 16–12 | Pau (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Stade Pierre-Fabre Referee: Pierre Brousset
* 4 September 2021 18:15
| Stade Français | 21–36 | Racing |
| | Report | |
* Stade Jean-Bouin Referee: Romain Poite
* 4 September 2021 21:05
| Toulon | 24–24 | Montpellier |
| | Report | |
* Stade Mayol Referee: Adrien Descottes
* 5 September 2021 17:45
| Lyon | 28–19 | Clermont |
| | Report | |
* Matmut Stadium de Gerland Referee: Ludovic Cayre
* 5 September 2021 21:05
| (1 BP) La Rochelle | 16–20 | Toulouse |
| | Report | |
* Stade Marcel-Deflandre Referee: Jonathan Dufort

### Round 2

* 11 September 2021 15:00
| Montpellier | 37–19 | Brive |
| | Report | |
* Altrad Stadium Referee: Benoit Rousselet
* 11 September 2021 15:00
| Perpignan | 33–20 | Biarritz |
| | Report | |
* Stade Aimé Giral Referee: Laurent Cardona
* 11 September 2021 15:00
| (1 BP) Clermont | 30–34 | Castres |
| | Report | |
* Stade Marcel-Michelin Referee: Cedric Marchat
* 11 September 2021 15:00
| Pau | 21–17 | Lyon (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Stade du Hameau Referee: Vincent Blasco Basque
* 11 September 2021 15:15
| (1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles | 37–10 | Stade Français |
| | Report | |
* Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Maxime Chalon
* 11 September 2021 21:05
| Racing | 23–10 | La Rochelle |
| | Report | |
* Paris La Défense Arena Referee: Tual Trainini
* 12 September 2021 21:05
| (1 BP) Toulouse | 41–10 | Toulon |
| | Report | |
* Stade Ernest-Wallon Referee: Luc Ramos

### Round 3

* 18 September 2021 15:00
| (1 BP) Brive | 30–13 | Pau |
| | Report | |
* Stade Amédée-Domenech Referee: Vivien Praderie
* 18 September 2021 15:00
| Biarritz | 28–19 | Racing |
| | Report | |
* Parc des Sports Aguiléra Referee: Jonathan Gasnier
* 18 September 2021 15:00
| Castres | 23–23 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| | Report | |
* Stade Pierre-Fabre Referee: Romain Poite
* 18 September 2021 15:00
| (1 BP) Lyon | 47–3 | Perpignan |
| | Report | |
* Matmut Stadium de Gerland Referee: Sebastien Minery
* 18 September 2021 17:00
| (1 BP) Montpellier | 15–17 | Toulouse |
| | Report | |
* Altrad Stadium Referee: Ludovic Cayre
* 18 September 2021 21:05
| Clermont | 23–22 | La Rochelle (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Stade Marcel-Michelin Referee: Pierre Brousset
* 19 September 2021 19:05
| (1 BP) Toulon | 38–5 | Stade Français |
| | Report | |
* Stade Mayol Referee: Mathieu Raynal

### Round 4

* 25 September 2021 15:00
| Stade Français | 34–10 | Castres |
| | Report | |
* Stade Jean-Bouin Referee: Luc Ramos
* 25 September 2021 15:00
| Pau | 23–22 | Montpellier (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Stade du Hameau Referee: Pierre Baptiste Nuchy
* 25 September 2021 15:00
| Bordeaux Bègles | 29–10 | Brive |
| | Report | |
* Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Cedric Marchat
* 25 September 2021 15:00
| (1 BP) La Rochelle | 59–17 | Biarritz |
| | Report | |
* Stade Marcel-Deflandre Referee: Vincent Blasco Basque
* 25 September 2021 17:00
| Racing | 24–20 | Lyon (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Paris La Défense Arena Referee: Adrien Descottes
* 25 September 2021 21:00
| Perpignan | 12–9 | Toulon (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Stade Aimé Giral Referee: Pierre Brousset
* 26 September 2021 21:05
| Toulouse | 27–15 | Clermont |
| | Report | |
* Stade Ernest-Wallon Referee: Maxime Chalon

### Round 5

* 2 October 2021 15:00
| Brive | 19–12 | Stade Français |
| | Report | |
* Stade Amédée-Domenech Referee: Ludovic Cayre
* 2 October 2021 15:00
| Montpellier | 21–11 | La Rochelle |
| | Report | |
* Altrad Stadium Referee: Mathieu Raynal
* 2 October 2021 15:00
| Perpignan | 14–29 | Pau |
| | Report | |
* Stade Aimé Giral Referee: Romain Poite
* 2 October 2021 15:00
| (1 BP) Lyon | 15–20 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| | Report | |
* Matmut Stadium de Gerland Referee: Vivien Praderie
* 2 October 2021 17:00
| Biarritz | 11–17 | Toulouse |
| | Report | |
* Parc des Sports Aguiléra Referee: Pierre Baptiste Nuchy
* 2 October 2021 21:05
| Castres | 27–16 | Toulon |
| | Report | |
* Stade Pierre-Fabre Referee: Adrien Descottes
* 3 October 2021 21:05
| Clermont | 26–17 | Racing |
| | Report | |
* Stade Marcel-Michelin Referee: Laurent Cardona

### Round 6

* 9 October 2021 15:00
| Biarritz | 5–40 | Lyon (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Parc des Sports Aguiléra Referee: Cedric Marchat
* 9 October 2021 15:00
| Bordeaux Bègles | 27–23 | Montpellier (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Pierre Brousset
* 9 October 2021 15:00
| La Rochelle | 29–10 | Castres |
| | Report | |
* Stade Marcel-Deflandre Referee: Ludovic Cayre
* 9 October 2021 15:00
| Racing | 17–14 | Perpignan (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Paris La Défense Arena Referee: Pierre Baptiste Nuchy
* 9 October 2021 17:00
| (1 BP) Toulouse | 38–10 | Pau |
| | Report | |
* Stade Ernest-Wallon Referee: Adrien Marbot
* 9 October 2021 21:05
| Toulon | 13–9 | Brive (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Stade Mayol Referee: Jonathan Dufort
* 10 October 2021 21:05
| Stade Français | 22–14 | Clermont |
| | Report | |
* Stade Jean-Bouin Referee: Romain Poite

### Round 7

* 16 October 2021 15:00
| (1 BP) Perpignan | 22–23 | Stade Français |
| | Report | |
* Stade Aimé Giral Referee: Laurent Cordona
* 16 October 2021 15:00
| (1 BP) Pau | 33–37 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| | Report | |
* Stade du Hameau Referee: Mathieu Raynal
* 16 October 2021 15:00
| (1 BP) Castres | 38–20 | Biarritz |
| | Report | |
* Stade Pierre-Fabre Referee: Maxime Chalon
* 16 October 2021 15:00
| (1 BP) Brive | 6–8 | La Rochelle |
| | Report | |
* Stade Amédée-Domenech Referee: Romain Poite
* 16 October 2021 17:00
| (1 BP) Montpellier | 20–22 | Clermont |
| | Report | |
* Altrad Stadium Referee: Sebastien Minery
* 16 October 2021 21:05
| Toulon | 20–27 | Racing |
| | Report | |
* Stade Mayol Referee: Vincent Blasco Basque
* 17 October 2021 21:05
| Lyon | 25–19 | Toulouse |
| | Report | |
* Matmut Stadium de Gerland Referee: Luc Ramos

### Round 8

* 23 October 2021 15:00
| (1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles | 39–13 | Perpignan |
| | Report | |
* Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Benoit Rousselet
* 23 October 2021 15:00
| Stade Français | 23–18 | Lyon (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Stade Jean-Bouin Referee: Jonathan Dufort
* 23 October 2021 15:00
| (1 BP) Biarritz | 37–9 | Brive |
| | Report | |
* Parc des Sports Aguiléra Referee: Luc Ramos
* 23 October 2021 15:00
| (1 BP) Clermont | 42–20 | Pau |
| | Report | |
* Stade Marcel-Michelin Referee: Ludovic Cayre
* 23 October 2021 17:00
| Racing | 21–32 | Montpellier |
| | Report | |
* Paris La Défense Arena Referee: Vivien Praderie
* 23 October 2021 21:00
| (1 BP) Toulouse | 41–0 | Castres |
| | Report | |
* Stade Ernest-Wallon Referee: Mathieu Raynal
* 24 October 2021 21:05
| (1 BP) La Rochelle | 39–6 | Toulon |
| | Report | |
* Stade Marcel-Deflandre Referee: Pierre Brousset

### Round 9

* 30 October 2021 15:00
| Toulon | 13–9 | Biarritz (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Stade Mayol Referee: Laurent Cardona
* 30 October 2021 15:00
| Castres | 23–22 | Brive (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Stade Pierre-Fabre Referee: Adrien Marbot
* 30 October 2021 15:00
| Pau | 18–9 | Stade Français |
| | Report | |
* Stade de Hameau Referee: Maxime Chalon
* 30 October 2021 15:00
| Perpignan | 22–13 | La Rochelle |
| | Report | |
* Stade Aimé Giral Referee: Vincent Blasco Basque
* 30 October 2021 17:00
| Montpellier | 30–8 | Lyon |
| | Report | |
* Altrad Stadium Referee: Romain Poite
* 30 October 2021 21:00
| (1 BP) Bordeaux Bègles | 25–9 | Clermont |
| | Report | |
* Stade Chaban-Delmas Referee: Jonathan Dufort
* 31 October 2021 21:05
| Racing | 27–19 | Toulouse |
| | Report | |
* Paris La Défense Arena Referee: Ludovic Cayre

### Round 10

* 5 November 2021 21:00
| La Rochelle | 26–3 | Bordeaux Bègles |
| | Report | |
* Stade Marcel-Deflandre Referee: Adrien Descottes
* 6 November 2021 14:45
| Lyon | 30–23 | Castres |
| | Report | |
* Matmut Stadium de Gerland Referee: Sebastien Minery
* 6 November 2021 14:45
| Pau | 33–21 | Biarritz |
| | Report | |
* Stade du Hameau Referee: Mathieu Raynal
* 6 November 2021 14:45
| (1 BP) Stade Français | 27–31 | Montpellier |
| | Report | |
* Stade Jean-Bouin Referee: Pierre Baptiste Nuchy
* 6 November 2021 14:45
| (1 BP) Toulouse | 37–15 | Perpignan |
| | Report | |
* Stade Ernest-Wallon Referee: Maxime Chalon
* 6 November 2021 17:00
| Brive | 12–10 | Racing (1 BP) |
| | Report | |
* Stade Amédée-Domenech Referee: Cedric Marchat
* 7 November 2021 21:05
| Clermont | 31–16 | Toulon |
| | Report | |
* Stade Marcel-Michelin Referee: Vivien Praderie

## Relegation playoff

The team finishing in 13th place faces the runner-up of the Pro D2, with the winner of this match playing in the 2022–23 Top 14 and the loser in the 2022–23 Pro D2.
* 12 June 2022 17:45
| Mont-de-Marsan | 16–41 | Perpignan |
| Try: Laousse Azpiazu 4' c Con: Coly (1/1) 4' Pen: Coly (3/3) 11', 31', 40+2' | Report | Try: Jaminet 18' c de la Fuente 56' c Dubois 68' c Tedder 75' m Con: Jaminet (3/4) 18', 56', 68' Pen: Jaminet (5/5) 8', 22', 36', 51', 54' |
* Stade Guy Boniface, Mont-de-Marsan Referee: Thomas Charabas

## Playoffs

| Semi-final Qualifiers | Semi-final Qualifiers | Semi-final Qualifiers | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | 1 | Castres | 24 | | | |
| 4 | Toulouse | 33 | 4 | Toulouse | 18 | | | |
| 5 | La Rochelle | 28 | | | | 1 | Castres | 10 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Montpellier | 29 |
| | | | 2 | Montpellier | 19 | | | |
| 3 | Bordeaux Bègles | 36 | 3 | Bordeaux Bègles | 10 | | | |
| 6 | Racing 92 | 16 | | | | | | |

### Semi-final Qualifiers

* 11 June 2022 21:05
| Toulouse (4) | 33–28 | La Rochelle (5) |
| Try: Fouyssac 9' c Dupont 13' m Mallía 62' m Ntamack 69' c Con: Ramos (2/4) 8', 70' Pen: Ramos (3/3) 18', 29', 36' | Report | Try: Liebenberg 25' c Alldritt 56' c Bourgarit 79' c Favre 80' c Con: West (4/4) 26', 57', 80', 80+1' |
* Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse Attendance: 18,784 Referee: Romain Poite
* 12 June 2022 21:05
| Bordeaux Bègles (3) | 36–16 | Racing 92 (6) |
| Try: Cordero (2) 20' m, 54' c Seuteni 47' c Woki 58' c Lam 80' c Con: Lucu (3/4) 48', 55', 60' Trinh-Duc (1/1) 80+1' Pen: Lucu (1/2) 5' | Report | Try: Spring 39' c Con: Le Garrec (1/1) 40' Pen: Le Garrec (2/3) 7', 43' Machenaud (1/1) 57' |
* Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux Attendance: 27,279 Referee: Mathieu Raynal

### Semi-finals

* 17 June 2022 21:05
| Castres (1) | 24–18 | Toulouse (4) |
| Try: Arata 43' c Dumora 77' m Con: Urdapilleta (1/2) 44' Pen: Urdapilleta (4/4) 21', 27', 40+1', 70' | Report | Try: Lebel 2' c Ntamack 47' m Con: Ramos (1/2) 3' Pen: Ramos (2/4) 17', 60' |
* Allianz Riviera, Nice Attendance: 35,114 Referee: Ludovic Cayre
* 18 June 2022 21:05
| Montpellier (2) | 19–10 | Bordeaux Bègles (3) |
| Try: Rattez 6' c Con: Paillaugue (1/1) 7' Pen: Aprasidze (2/2) 70', 79' Drop: Garbisi (1/1) 13' Bouthier (1/1) 40' | Report | Try: Jalibert 16' c Con: Lucu (1/1) 17' Pen: Lucu (1/1) 6' |
* Allianz Riviera, Nice Attendance: 34,844 Referee: Pierre Brousset

### Final

* 24 June 2022 20:45
| Castres (1) | 10–29 | Montpellier (2) |
| Try: Botitu 75' c Con: Dumora (1/1) 75' Pen: Dumora (1/2) 34' | Report | Try: Vincent 6' m Verhaeghe 10' c Bouthier 12' m Con: Paillaugue (1/3) 10' Pen: Paillaugue (2/2) 21', 39' Garbisi (1/1) 68' Pollard (1/1) 77' |
* Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 78,245 Referee: Tual Trainini
| FB | 15 | Julien Dumora |
| RW | 14 | Geoffrey Palis |
| OC | 13 | Thomas Combezou |
| IC | 12 | Vilimoni Botitu |
| LW | 11 | Filipo Nakosi |
| FH | 10 | Benjamín Urdapilleta |
| SH | 9 | Santiago Arata |
| N8 | 8 | Teariki Ben-Nicholas |
| OF | 7 | Nick Champion de Crespigny |
| BF | 6 | Mathieu Babillot (c) |
| RL | 5 | Tom Staniforth |
| LL | 4 | Florent Vanverberghe |
| TP | 3 | Wilfrid Hounkpatin |
| HK | 2 | Gaëtan Barlot |
| LP | 1 | Quentin Walcker |
| Substitutions: ||
| HK | 16 | Paul Ngauamo |
| PR | 17 | Wayan De Bendittis |
| LK | 18 | Loïc Jacquet |
| BR | 19 | Baptiste Delaporte |
| SH | 20 | Jérémy Fernandez |
| CE | 21 | Adrea Cocagi |
| CE | 22 | Antoine Zeghdar |
| PR | 23 | Levan Chilachava |
| Coach: ||
| Pierre-Henry Broncan ||
| FB | 15 | Anthony Bouthier |
| RW | 14 | Arthur Vincent |
| OC | 13 | Geoffrey Doumayrou |
| IC | 12 | Jan Serfontein |
| LW | 11 | Vincent Rattez |
| FH | 10 | Paolo Garbisi |
| SH | 9 | Benoît Paillaugue |
| N8 | 8 | Zach Mercer |
| OF | 7 | Yacouba Camara (c) |
| BF | 6 | Alexandre Bécognée |
| RL | 5 | Bastien Chalureau |
| LL | 4 | Florian Verhaeghe |
| TP | 3 | Mohamed Haouas |
| HK | 2 | Guilhem Guirado |
| LP | 1 | Titi Lamositele |
| Substitutions: ||
| HK | 16 | Brandon Paenga-Amosa |
| PR | 17 | Robert Rodgers |
| LK | 18 | Mickaël Capelli |
| LK | 19 | Nico Janse van Rensburg |
| SH | 20 | Gela Aprasidze |
| WG | 21 | Gabriel N'Gandebe |
| FH | 22 | Handré Pollard |
| PR | 23 | Henry Thomas |
| Coach: ||
| Philippe Saint-André ||