The Top 14 is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the France National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism of LNR. There is promotion and relegation between the Top 14 and the next level down, the Rugby Pro D2. The fourteen best rugby teams in France participate in the competition, hence the name Top 14. The competition was previously known as the Top 16.
Leinster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Castres Olympique is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the top level of the French league system.
The Football Club de Grenoble Rugby (FCG) is a French rugby union club based in Grenoble and founded in 1892.
Montpellier Hérault Rugby (MHR) is a French professional rugby union club, based in Montpellier, Occitanie and named after the Hérault river. The club competes in the top level of the French league system, the Top 14. They originally played at Stade Sabathé but moved to the Stade Yves-du-Manoir, later known as Altrad Stadium, and since renamed the GGL Stadium, in 2007. They wear white and blue.
Rugby union in France is a popular team sport. Rugby union was first introduced in the early 1870s by British residents, which makes the country one of the few early exponents of the sport. Elite French clubs participate in the professional domestic club league, the Top 14. Clubs also compete in the European knock-out competition, the European Rugby Champions Cup, which replaced the Heineken Cup from 2014 to 2015.
Petru Vladimir Bălan is a Romanian retired rugby union footballer who played as a prop.
François Philippus Lodewyk Steyn is a South African former professional rugby union player. A utility back who represented his country, he was able to play as a centre, fly-half, full-back and wing.
Anthony Tuitavake is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays as a centre or on the wing. Tuitavake, of Tongan descent, is a fast attacking centre.
Timoci Nagusa is a Fijian rugby union footballer. He plays as a wing. He played his rugby for French club, Montpelier for 10 years before leaving for ProD2 club Grenoble in 2020. He is 1.88m (6'2) and weighs 88 kg. He worked as a Police constable in Fiji before his rugby career took off.
Benjamin Fall is a French rugby player who currently plays for Montpellier in the Top 14 club competition. He plays as a wing. He was part of the 2008 IRB Junior World Championship playing for France playing 4 games and scoring 2 tries. He then played for Union Bordeaux Bègles in the 2007–08 Rugby Pro D2 season, playing 12 games and scoring 3 tries before being moving to Bayonne. He was selected for the French national team for the 2009 Autumn Internationals after his performances in the Top 14.
Jesse Mogg is an Australian rugby union player who plays for the French Top 14 club Montpellier. His usual position is at full-back, though he can also play as a winger. Mogg previously played four seasons with the Brumbies in Super Rugby. He was capped for the Australian national team in 2013.
Benoît Paillaugue is a French rugby union player. His position is fly-half or scrum-half and he currently plays for Toulon in the Top 14. He began his professional career with Stade Français in 2008 playing only 2 games before moving to FC Auch Gers in the second division. After only six months with Auch he was signed by Montpellier Hérault in January 2009.
Mathieu Raynal is a professional rugby union referee. He officiates at the highest level in the Top 14, European club rugby, and is on the World Rugby referee panel. In 2013, he broke his two legs in two places after getting too close to the action.
Shane Patrick O'Leary is an Irish-born professional rugby union player who represents Canada at the international level. He primarily plays at fly-half, but has also played as a centre. O'Leary currently plays for Pro D2 side Rouen, and for the Toronto Arrows in Major League Rugby (MLR).
Titi Lamositele is an American-Samoan rugby union player who plays at prop for Montpellier. He formerly played for the United States national team, before switching to play for Samoa in 2023.
The 2015–16 European Rugby Challenge Cup was the second edition of the European Rugby Challenge Cup, an annual pan-European rugby union competition for professional clubs. It is also the 20th season of the Challenge Cup competition in all forms, following on from the now defunct European Challenge Cup. Due to the 2015 Rugby World Cup taking place during September and October 2015, the competition began slightly later than usual, with the first round of the group stage, on the weekend of 12/13/14/15 November 2015, and ended with the final on 13 May 2016 in Lyon.
The 2015–16 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). 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.
Florian Verhaeghe is a French rugby union player, who plays for Montpellier Hérault Rugby. His regular playing position is Lock.
Mickaël Capelli is a French rugby union player who plays as a lock for Pau in the Top 14 competition and the France national under-20 team. He made his Top 14 debut with his club in October 2016.
