2008–09 Top 14 season
The 2008–09 Top 14 Competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). It ran from late August 2008 through the final at Stade de France on June 6, 2009, in which Perpignan lifted the Bouclier de Brennus with a 22–13 win over Clermont.
| 2008–09 Top 14 season | |
|---|---|
| Countries | France |
| Champions | Perpignan (7th title) |
| Runners-up | Clermont |
| Relegated | Mont-de-Marsan, Dax |
| Matches played | 185 |
| Attendance | 2,362,394 (average 12,770 per match) |
| Highest attendance | 79,842 Stade Français v Clermont 4 April 2009 |
| Lowest attendance | 4,428 Bourgoin v Mont-de-Marsan 13 September 2008 |
| Tries scored | 610 (average 3.3 per match) |
| Top point scorer | Brock James (324) |
| Top try scorer | Napolioni Nalaga (21) |
This year's edition of the Top 14 welcomed Toulon, winners of the 2008 title in the second-level Pro D2, and Mont-de-Marsan, victors in the 2008 promotion playoffs between the second- through fifth-place teams in Pro D2. They took the place of Auch and Albi, relegated at the end of the 2007–08 Top 14. Auch, which had been promoted to the Top 14 for 2007–08, finished bottom of the table and went down. The other newly promoted team in 2007–08, Dax, finished second-from-bottom, but were reprieved when French sporting authorities forcibly relegated 12th-place Albi to Pro D2 due to financial issues.