# 2015–16 Rugby Pro D2 season

The 2015–16 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2015–16 season. It ran alongside the 2015–16 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR).

## Teams

| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| Aviron Bayonnais | Bayonne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) | Stade Jean Dauger | 16,900 |
| SC Albi | Albi (Tarn) | Stadium Municipal d'Albi | 13,000 |
| Stade Aurillacois | Aurillac (Cantal) | Stade Jean Alric | 9,000 |
| AS Béziers Hérault | Béziers (Hérault) | Stade de la Méditerranée | 18,500 |
| Biarritz Olympique | Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) | Parc des Sports Aguiléra | 15,000 |
| CS Bourgoin-Jallieu | Bourgoin-Jallieu (Isère) | Stade Pierre Rajon | 10,000 |
| US Carcassonne | Carcassonne (Aude) | Stade Albert Domec | 10,000 |
| US Colomiers | Colomiers (Haute-Garonne) | Stade Michel Bendichou | 11,400 |
| US Dax | Dax (Landes) | Stade Maurice Boyau | 16,170 |
| Lyon OU | Lyon (Rhône) | Matmut Stadium | 11,800 |
| US Montauban | Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) | Stade Sapiac | 12,600 |
| Stade Montois | Mont-de-Marsan (Landes) | Stade Guy Boniface | 22,000 |
| RC Narbonne | Narbonne (Aude) | Parc des Sports Et de l'Amitié | 12,000 |
| USA Perpignan | Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) | Stade Aimé Giral | 16,600 |
| Provence Rugby | Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône) | Stade Maurice David | 4,000 |
| Tarbes Pyrénées Rugby | Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées) | Stade Maurice Trélut | 16,400 |
Changes in the lineup from 2014–15 were:
* Pau won the 2014–15 Pro D2 title and were thereby automatically promoted to the Top 14. Agen won the promotion playoffs to secure the second promotion place.
* The bottom finisher in 2014–15, Massy was relegated from Pro D2 to Fédérale 1.
* The two bottom finishers in the 2014–15 Top 14 season, Bayonne and Lyon OU, were relegated to Pro D2.
* The Fédérale 1 champion Provence Rugby earned promotion.

## Competition format

The top team at the end of the regular season (after all the teams played one another twice, once at home, once away), is declared champion and earns a spot in the next Top 14 season. Teams ranked second to fifth compete in promotion playoffs, with the semifinals being played at the home ground of the higher-ranked team. The final is then played on neutral ground, and the winner earns the second ticket to the next Top 14.
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 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 less). This is a change from previous seasons, in which the margin was 7 points or less.

## Table

2015–16 Rugby Pro D2 table :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Lyon | 30 | 25 | 0 | 5 | 971 | 493 | +478 | 13 | 4 | 117 | Champions automatically promoted to Top 14 |
| 2 | Bayonne | 30 | 19 | 1 | 10 | 658 | 602 | +56 | 4 | 4 | 86 | Winner of the promotion play-offs |
| 3 | Aurillac | 30 | 18 | 0 | 12 | 724 | 613 | +111 | 7 | 2 | 81 | Qualify for the promotion play-offs |
| 4 | Mont De Marsan | 30 | 17 | 1 | 12 | 655 | 611 | +44 | 5 | 3 | 78 | Qualify for the promotion play-offs |
| 5 | Colomiers | 30 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 629 | 590 | +39 | 4 | 4 | 78 | Qualify for the promotion play-offs |
| 6 | Béziers | 30 | 17 | 1 | 12 | 745 | 662 | +83 | 4 | 3 | 77 | |
| 7 | Perpignan | 30 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 676 | 615 | +61 | 5 | 6 | 73 | |
| 8 | Biarritz | 30 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 674 | 656 | +18 | 3 | 5 | 64 | |
| 9 | Bourgoin | 30 | 12 | 0 | 18 | 595 | 642 | −47 | 5 | 9 | 62 | |
| 10 | Albi | 30 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 591 | 643 | −52 | 2 | 4 | 62 | |
| 11 | Narbonne | 30 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 602 | 653 | −51 | 2 | 6 | 60 | |
| 12 | Montauban | 30 | 12 | 0 | 18 | 570 | 624 | −54 | 1 | 9 | 58 | |
| 13 | Tarbes | 30 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 543 | 630 | −87 | 0 | 9 | 53 | Relegation to Fédérale 1 |
| 14 | Carcassonne | 30 | 11 | 0 | 19 | 484 | 741 | −257 | 0 | 5 | 49 | |
| 15 | Dax | 30 | 10 | 1 | 19 | 538 | 713 | −175 | 1 | 5 | 48 | |
| 16 | Provence Rugby | 30 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 549 | 716 | −167 | 1 | 5 | 46 | Relegation to Fédérale 1 |
* ↑ Tarbes had 8 points deducted and were automatically relegated at the end of the season.

## Relegation

Normally, the teams that finish in 15th and 16th places in the table are relegated to Fédérale 1 at the end of the season. In certain circumstances, "financial reasons" may cause a higher-placed team to be demoted instead, or prevent one of the two finalists in Fédérale 1 from promotion.
This season saw an example of the latter situation. Following the 2015–16 season, 15th-place Dax was spared relegation after Pro D2 side Tarbes was relegated due to excessive debt and failed in an appeal of the decision.

## Play–offs

The highest ranked team at the end of the regular season, Lyon OU, earned automatic promotion to the Top 14 as champion de France de PRO D2 2016.

### Semi–finals

The semi–finals followed a 2 v 5, 3 v 4 system, with the higher ranked team playing at home.
* 28 May 2016 18:00
| Stade Aurillacois | 28 – 13 | Mont-de-Marsan |
| | Report | |
* Stade Jean Alric Referee: Salem Attalah
* 29 May 2016 14:00
| Bayonne | 28 – 16 | Colomiers |
| | Report | |
* Stade Jean Dauger Referee: Maxime Chalon
* Under LNR rules, if a playoff match ends level after full-time, the first tiebreaker is try count. Agen advanced with 4 tries to Perpignan's 2.

### Final

The winners of the semi–finals played off for the second promotion spot to the Top 14.
* 4 June 2016 16:15
| Bayonne | 21 – 16 | Stade Aurillacois |
| Pen: Moyano (7) 5', 11', 13', 22', 30', 37', 63' | Report | Try: McPhee 78' c Con: Petitjean (1/1) Pen: Petitjean (3) 16', 34', 52' |
* Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse Referee: Cyril Lafon