Pro D2: schedules, locations, channel, accession barrier, potential Béziers-Montpellier… instructions for the final phases

Béziers va disputer les demi-finales de Pro D2 cette année. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

Les demi-finales de Pro D2 démarrent ce jeudi 30 mai. Le lendemain, Béziers se déplace à Vannes pour aller chercher la finale. Mode d’emploi de ce qui attend la deuxième division française pour cette fin de saison.

The final stages of Pro D2

Semi-finals

– Thursday May 30 : Provence Rugby – Grenoble, 9 p.m., Maurice-David stadium (Canal +  Sport).
– Friday May 31: Vannes – Béziers, 9 p.m., Stade de la Rabine (Canal + Sport).

Finale

– Saturday June 8: 5:30 p.m., Ernest-Wallon stadium (Toulouse, Canal + and France Télévisions).

Accession Dam

– Sunday June 16: the loser of the Pro D2 final welcomes the 13th of the Top 14, à 6 p.m. (Canal +).

The sunny days are here. The scent of the final stages has settled in, embalming and captivating all sports fans.

Rugby is no exception. This Thursday, May 30, marks the start of the final phases of Pro D2, the second French division. Provence Rugby welcomes Grenoble to secure its ticket to the final. The next day, it will be Béziers’ turn. The Hérault club, absent from the playoffs for ages, will attempt the feat in Vannes, seven days after its crazy barrage against Brive (33-31).

The Pro D2 final will be played on Saturday June 8 in Toulouse. The winner will go directly to the Top 14, the first division, for the following year. The loser will have a second opportunity to move up to the next level. He will host the 13th in the Top 14 at home the following week, on Sunday June 16 (6 p.m.), for "the’access match". The winner will move up to the elite championship, or stay there.

#PROD2 #DemiesPROD2 #PROD2AccessMatch
Le tableau de la phase finale se dessine ✏️
Place au dernier carré et à l'Access Match le week-end prochain pour un nouveau tournant décisif 📅 pic.twitter.com/MtkdMQrIYk

— Rugby PRO D2 (@rugbyprod2) May 24, 2024

And if ASBH received the MHR at "l’access match"

A Béziers-Montpellier play-off scenario is still possible. ASBH is the underdog in the final stages of Pro D2 but it is inhabited by an unfailing state of mind. Quite the opposite of MHR, in Top 14. Mohed Altrad's club is almost certain to finish 13th in the championship and therefore play this play-off match against the losing finalist of Pro D2.

Even if the odds are colossal, a fratricidal duel between the two Hérault clubs would be historic. No story links the two teams. An "access match" would be the first official confrontation between the ASBH and the MHR. On the one hand, a historic club, with 11 French championship titles. On the other, a young club, created in 1986, in eternal search for an identity.