Former France winger Jean-Baptiste Lafond has claimed Racing 92 head coach Stuart Lancaster would make a "clown who had just won the lottery cry" in a bizarre diatribe after the latest round of Top 14 action.
After hitting rock-bottom in 2017, Europe's most successful club have rediscovered their élan.
Watch France’s best rugby union teams collide in the Top 14, which is one of Europe’s three major rugby union leagues. Contested by the best rugby teams in France, this annual competition is known for delivering thrilling gameplay, with clubs vying for a place in the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Excited for this year’s Top 14? Explore the entire league here at RugbyPass. From player updates and news stories to upcoming matches, standings and results, scroll below for all of the latest Top 14 action.
The Top 14 was created way back in 1892 and it’s the top division of the French national league system. The league is home to France’s 14 best teams and sits just above the Pro D2. Promotion and relegation occur between the two tiers.
With a history that spans more than a century, the Top 14 has undergone numerous format changes over the years. For example, only two teams took part in the inaugural year of competition, while the league was replaced by the Coupe de l'Espérance during World War I. Additionally, for many years, 16 teams competed for the title and the competition was known as the Top 16 (1995-2005).
Every Top 14 team plays all of the others twice (once at home and once away) in a round-robin format. Following this, a knockout format is used to decide the winner of the tournament.
The club that finishes bottom of the Top 14 is automatically relegated to Pro D2 and is replaced by the Pro D2 champion. The second-from-bottom team then enters a promotion/relegation play-off with the Pro D2 runner-up and the winner of this game takes a place in the Top 14 for the next season.
Teams that finish in the top eight places of the Top 14 represent France in the European Rugby Champions Cup. The remaining Top 14 teams automatically qualify for the European Rugby Challenge Cup. This means all of the Top 14 teams represent France in European competitions.
