Top 14 – Defense, attack, discipline, occupation… The team rankings after nine days

No one will be surprised to find the UBB attack at the top of the rankings. With 304 points scored, Noel McNamara's men have almost 34 points scored per match. Behind them, Castres are at 271 points, closely followed by Toulouse and its 268 points. Note that the Girondins are also at the top of the teams which score the most tries (42) far ahead of their Toulouse pursuers (33).

The ranking:

1. Bordeaux Bègles: 304 points scored
2. Castres: 271
3. Toulouse : 268
4. Lyon : 245
5. Bayonne : 245
6. Racing 92 : 238
7. La Rochelle: 229
8. Valves: 226
9. Clermont : 214
10. Pau : 199
11. Toulon : 193
12. Montpellier : 191
13. French stadium: 185
14. Perpignan: 178

If they also shine in attack (see above), Toulouse mainly build their success on a solid defense. This year, they are well at the top of this ranking with only 145 points conceded, the second-placed Montpellier have 49 points more. Among the bad students we find the promoted Vannetais, Lyon and the Stade français.

The ranking:

1. Toulouse: 145 points conceded
2. Montpellier : 194
3. Toulon : 201
4. La Rochelle: 206
5. Bordeaux-Bègles: 209
6. Bayonne : 221
7. Perpignan: 222
8. Racing 92 : 228
9. Castres: 239
10. Pau : 244
11. Clermont : 245
12. French stadium: 252
13. Lyon : 261
14. Valves: 319

Also read:
Top 14 – The best scorers, the biggest defenders… All the rankings after 8 days

Possession or dispossession? That is the question. In Rugby, some teams prefer to keep the ball, others leave it to better counter. It's mostly a question of tactics and either one can work. Toulouse, first in the general ranking, comes at the top of this category with 55% possession while its runner-up Gironde is last and carries the ball only 45.3% of the time.

The ranking:

1. Toulouse: 55% possession on average
2. Pau : 53,3 %
3. Clermont : 53,3 %
4. Toulon : 51, 3 %
5. Castres: 50.3%
6. Valves: 50.3%
7. Perpignan: 50%
8. French stadium: 50%
9. La Rochelle: 50%
10. Bayonne : 49,3 %
11. Montpellier : 48,5 %
12. Racing 92 : 48,3 %
13. Lyon : 45,5 %
14. Bordeaux-Bègles: 45.3%

To score in rugby, it's better to have the ball, but it's even better to be in the opposing camp. A statistical field where the Bayonne residents dominate with 57.5% occupancy. Second, their neighbors Pau have the home advantage 56.5% of the time. At the bottom of the ranking we find the RCT which occupies the opposing field only 42% of the time, which above all means that the Var spend 58% of their meetings in their camp.

The ranking:

1. Bayonne: 57.5% occupancy
2. Pau : 56,5 %
3. Valves: 54.8%
4. Bordeaux-Bègles 53.3%
5. Toulouse : 52 %
6. La Rochelle: 51.8%
7. Castres: 51%
8. Racing 92 : 48,8 %
9. Clermont : 48,3 %
10. Lyon : 47 %
11. French stadium: 46.5%
12. Perpignan: 46%
13. Montpellier : 44,8 %
14. Toulon : 42 %

Also read:
Top 14 – Temo Matiu, Hacjivah Dayimani, Maël Moustin… Revelations from the start of the season

If we look at the number of cards received, it is the Perpignan team who are good students with only two yellow cards, but Franck Azéma's men also received a red. Behind them, the Toulouse people are four rusks but all yellow. Last in this ranking, Racing, in addition to its 13 yellow cards, received a red.

Ranking:

1. Perpignan: 2 yellow cards, 1 red card
2. Toulouse: 4 yellow cards
3. La Rochelle: 6 yellow cards
4. Valves: 6 yellow cards
5. French stadium: 7 yellow cards
6. Clermont: 8 yellow cards
7. Montpellier 9 yellow cards
8. Castres 8 yellow cards, 1 red card
9. Pau: 10 yellow cards
10. Lyon: 10 yellow cards
11. Bayonne: 10 yellow cards
12. Bordeaux-Bègles: 8 yellow cards, 2 red cards
13. Toulon: 11 yellow cards, 1 red card
14. Racing 92: 13 yellow cards, 1 red card