Oyonnax and Grenoble will fight one last battle in the Pro D2 final this Saturday evening. With two successes against Grenoble this season, Joe El Abd’s men have the advantage on the form of the moment while the FCG can remember the crushing victory during the access match 2018… Projection on this shock in figures !
24 points difference between Oyonnax and Grenoble in the standings
Oyonnax literally walked on this Pro D2 season. Joe El Abd’s men finished the regular phase in first place in the standings with 111 points. This is 24 points more than Grenoble, his runner-up and future opponent in the final. The record for points scored at the end of the regular phase is currently held by Montauban with 117 points during the 2005-2006 season as well as Lyon during the 2013-2014 and 2015-2016 seasons.
14 tries for Karim Qadiri
He is the second best scorer in the championship tied with Christian Ambadiang (Nevers) behind Nathanael Hulleu (17 tries including a double). At 27, Karim Qadiri is one of the best wingers in the league but never forgets his own: “I really don’t want the credit to go to me alone, we must not forget that if I score it is that I have been put in the right conditions to finish.”he explained at the start of the season.
Karim Qadiri dives into the goal on the lawn of Provence Rugby.
2 successes in the regular phase for Oyonnax
If Oyonnax is favorite by its status as leader, it is also by its two successes against Grenoble during the regular phase. In the first leg the Aindinois won 46-13 in their lair. In the return match, Joe El Abd’s men snatched a 28-24 success on the lawn of the Stade des Alpes.
2018: the last Grenoble final
It’s been five years since the FCG played in the final. The last took place on May 6, 2018 against Perpignan. A match won 38-13 by the Catalans. But the dream of finding the elite did not stop there for the Grenoble residents who were still going to play the access match, the first in history.
47-22: FCG victory in the first access match
It was therefore in 2018 that the Grenoble residents won 47-22 in the access match against… Oyonnax. An air of reunion will therefore hover over the lawn of Ernest-Wallon this Saturday evening.
2 out of 2: advantage to the dolphin
Since the transition to Pro D2 in 2001, the formula has often changed to access the first division. Indeed, the first two in the standings for the regular phase were first qualified, then the leader was promoted but played in the finals. The formula then evolved: the first in the standings no longer played in the finals, and since 2018, the latter concern six teams with a leader who is not guaranteed to climb to the Top 14. All this to say that in history of Pro D2, two finals concerned the first against the second. With each time a victory for the dolphin. This was the case during the 2003-2004 season and Auch’s victory against Bayonne. And last season in 2021-2022, and Bayonne’s success against Stade Montois.
