2016–17 Rugby Pro D2 season
The 2016–17 Rugby Pro D2 was the second-level French rugby union club competition, behind the Top 14, for the 2016–17 season. It ran alongside the 2016–17 Top 14 competition; both competitions are operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby.
Teams
| Club | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne | Agen | Stade Armandie | 14,000 |
| SC Albi | Albi | Stadium Municipal d'Albi | 13,000 |
| Stade Aurillacois Cantal Auvergne | Aurillac | Stade Jean Alric | 9,000 |
| AS Béziers Hérault | Béziers | Stade de la Méditerranée | 18,500 |
| Biarritz Olympique | Biarritz | Parc des Sports Aguiléra | 15,000 |
| CS Bourgoin-Jallieu | Bourgoin-Jallieu | Stade Pierre Rajon | 10,000 |
| US Carcassonne | Carcassonne | Stade Albert Domec | 10,000 |
| US Colomiers | Colomiers | Stade Michel Bendichou | 11,400 |
| US Dax | Dax | Stade Maurice Boyau | 16,170 |
| US Montauban | Montauban | Stade Sapiac | 12,600 |
| Stade Montois | Mont-de-Marsan | Stade Guy Boniface | 22,000 |
| RC Narbonne | Narbonne | Parc des Sports Et de l'Amitié | 12,000 |
| Oyonnax Rugby | Oyonnax | Stade Charles-Mathon | 11,400 |
| USA Perpignan | Perpignan | Stade Aimé Giral | 16,600 |
| Soyaux Angoulême XV Charente | Angoulême | Stade Chanzy | 6,000 |
| Rugby Club Vannes | Vannes | Stade de la Rabine | 9,500 |
Changes in the lineup from 2015–16 were:
- Lyon won the 2015–16 Pro D2 title and were thereby automatically promoted to the Top 14. Bayonne won the promotion playoffs to secure the second promotion place.
- The bottom finisher in 2015–16, Provence Rugby was relegated from Pro D2 to Fédérale 1. Tarbes was also relegated for financial reasons.
- The two bottom finishers in the 2015–16 Top 14 season, Oyonnax and Agen, were relegated to Pro D2.
- Soyaux Angoulême and Vannes won the Fédérale 1 promotion playoffs. The 2015–16 season was the first in which the promotion playoffs were separated from those for the traditional Fédérale 1 championship prize, Trophée Jean-Prat.
Competition format
The LNR uses a slightly different bonus points system from that used in most other rugby competitions. It trialled a new system in 2007–08 explicitly designed to prevent a losing team from earning more than one bonus point in a match, a system that also made it impossible for either team to earn a bonus point in a drawn match. LNR chose to continue with this system for subsequent seasons.
France's bonus point system operates as follows:
- 4 points for a win.
- 2 points for a draw.
- 1 bonus point for winning while scoring at least 3 more tries than the opponent. This replaces the standard bonus point for scoring 4 tries regardless of the match result.
- 1 bonus point for losing by 5 points. The required margin had been 7 points or less until being changed in advance of the 2014–15 season.
Table
Relegation
Normally, the teams that finish in 15th and 16th places in the table are relegated to Fédérale 1 at the end of the season. In certain circumstances, "financial reasons" may cause a higher-placed team to be demoted instead, or prevent one of the two finalists in Fédérale 1 from promotion.Fixtures
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Round 20
Round 21
Round 22
Round 23
Round 24
Round 25
Round 26
Round 27
Round 28
Round 29
Round 30
Play–offs
The highest ranked team at the end of the regular season, Oyonnax Rugby, earned automatic promotion to the Top 14 as champion de France de PRO D2 2017.Semi–finals
The semi–finals followed a 2 v 5, 3 v 4 system, with the higher ranked team playing at home.----
Final
The winners of the semi–finals played off for the second promotion spot to the Top 14.Leading scorers
Note: Flags to the left of player names indicate national team as has been defined under World Rugby eligibility rules, or primary nationality for players who have not yet earned international senior caps. Players may hold one or more non-WR nationalities.Top points scorers
Top try scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Tries |
| 1 |  Benoit Lazzarotto | Carcassonne | 8 |
| 1 |  George Tilsley | Agen | 8 |
| 3 |  Conor Trainor | Vannes | 7 |
| 4 |  Sakiusa Bureitakiyaca | Dax | 6 |
| 4 | Jean-François Coux | Bourgoin | 6 |
| 4 | Adriu Delai | Biarritz | 6 |
| 4 | Tom Giresse | Biarritz | 6 |
| 4 | Nasoni Naqiri | Albi | 6 |
| 4 | Nacani Wakaya | Mont-de-Marsan | 6 |
| 4 |  Nicholas Zane Price | Bourgoin | 6 |