Top 14 News

The Top 14 is a professional rugby competition that’s contested in France. This annual league is renowned for its high level of competition and is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe, alongside the English Premiership and the United Rugby Championship.

Established in 1892, this tournament’s history is marked by memorable matches. This includes the inaugural season, which consisted of just one game: Racing Club de France versus Stade Français. Racing won the match 4-3 and claimed the first French Championship.

From 1892 to 1898, the league was open to Parisian teams only. Over the next 100 years, the Top 14 underwent numerous changes, growing in size and prestige.

Top 14 Format & Winners

Today, the Top 14 operates a round-robin structure, whereby each of the 14 teams plays all of the other teams at home and away. The season runs from August to June and culminates in a play-off series.

The top six teams progress to the knock-out stage; the top two advance straight to the semi-finals while the remaining four compete in semi-final qualifiers.

Promotion and relegation are key features of the Top 14. The team that finishes at the bottom of the table is relegated to the Pro D2 (the second division), while the Pro D2 Champion is promoted to the Top 14. Similarly, the team that finishes second bottom of the Top 14 plays against the losing finalist from the Pro D2 in a relegation play-off. Additionally, teams also compete to earn their place at the European Rugby Champions Cup.

With such a long history, many Top 14 rugby teams have amassed impressive records. The top-performing team is Stade Toulousain with 22 wins. They are followed by Stade Français (14), AS Béziers (11), SU Agen (8) and FC Lourdes (8).

Want to be the first to know about French Championship results, lineups and announcements? Save this page for the latest Top 14 news and predictions.