Last weekend saw the opening round of matches in Fédérale 1, French rugby's third tier. Famous old names like Beziers, Perigeux and Lourdes are plugging away for a return to Pro D2, while a few wealthy upstarts are trying to buy themselves a place higher up the chain. Le Rugby’s lower league correspondent Terry Oubliée enlightens us further.

If you thought the race to get into the Top 14 was competitive, the 48-team dogfight for the two places in France's Pro D2 second tier makes the battle between Dax, Agen, La Rochelle and the rest look like a game of whist at your local Women's Institute.

The rules
The semi-pro league works like this: the 48 teams are grouped into six regional pools of eight teams. After everyone has played each other home and away once, the top four teams in each pool are placed in six new pools of four clubs, where they'll face teams from the other pools.

After another round of home and away fixtures, the four group winners with the most points proceed to the quarter-finals, where they play the winners of the play-off round between the remaining two group winners and the six group runners-up. The winners of the two-leg quarter-finals meet in the similarly bipedal semis. The finalists then meet at a neutral venue to determine the winner of the Jean Prat Trophy, although both clubs are already winners as they can bid farewell to the Feds for at least one term.

At the other end, the bottom four clubs in each group (are you still with us?) are placed in their own six new pools of four, and also play the other three teams home and away in a phase imaginatively titled 'les play-downs'. This time however, the teams keep the points they earned from the first phase. After six matches, the bottom two in each pool are relegated to Federale 2, while the 12 group winners and runners-up enter a futile knockout competition which presumably earns the winners the right to declare themselves the 55th Best Team in France. On which note, congratulations to Lavaur!

The players
Thankfully such organisational gymnastics are months away yet, and for now the league's pot-pourri of former champions, moneyed upstarts, eager hopefuls and the just plain hopeless can all dream of a place at the second-to-top table. And the players are a right mish-mash too, ranging from former Top 14 and international stars through Pro D2 veterans all the way down to lower-league journeymen and one-club stalwarts.

A world away
As well as the usual Southern Hemisphere, South Sea Island and South American suspects, Fédérale 1 pulls its players from such lits froids de rugby as Poland, Belgium, Morocco, Senegal, Chile, Germany, Tunisia, Algeria, Switzerland, Greece and Cameroon.

Celtic cousins
There are several ex-Magners League players now plying their trade in Fédérale 1, including the likes of Limoges full back Peter Durcan (Connacht), Bourg-en-Bresse No.8 Nic Fitisemanu (Gwent Dragons), Nice back rower Ross Beattie (Gwent Dragons), Saint Etienne lock Inoke Afeaki (Scaaaalets) and Nice full back Mark McHugh (Connacht).

Of these, Afeaki is a 19-cap former Tongan captain. McHugh played 21 Top 14 and European games for Montpellier last season, scoring 122 points – it doesn’t take a genius to work out why he’s been lured down this far. Kerching. His fellow Irishman Durcan scored all his team’s points in their 24-14 opening day win over Orléans.

How old?!
Some grizzly warriors just never know when to hang up their size twelves. Top of the arthritic pile is 44-year-old Mazamet full back Jean-Bernard Berges. Romans lock Raphael Reynet lock (42) and Mauleon lock Philippe Charme (41) are mere spring poulets in comparison. Who says the French diet of salade de geziers, steak frites, mousse de chocolat and vin rouge is bad for you?

Journeyman's journeyman
All rise for the arrival of Steve Sparks. The 35-year-old Morlaas prop offers serious competition for Le Rugby’s favourite journeymen, Martin Worthington, Guy Jeannard and Ramiro Pez. Since 2001 he’s played for La Rochelle (01/02), Castres (02/03), Saracens (03/04), Worcester (04/05), Pau (05/06), Morlaas (06/07) and Lourdes (07/08) before returning to Morlaas last season. He’s only made 36 starts in those preceding eight seasons. What a way to make a living and see a bit of France!

Ex-internationals
Some ex-internationals bow out of the game at the very top. Some find it harder to walk away from the game, preferring to drop down the leagues squeezing every drop out of their careers. Franck Tournaire has propped at the very highest level with club (Toulouse, USAP, Leicester and Narbonne) and country (25 caps). He's now packing down with big-spending Carcassonne. Powerful former Narbonne, Castres and Montpellier centre Alessandro Stoica is another veteran of top flight rugby, but this year the 51-cap Italian will be playing for Mazamet.

Another ex-international still turning out on a Saturday is 35-year-old Samoan centre Terry Fanolua. The ex-Gloucester and Brive man can be seen playing for Le Rugby's favourites Le Bugue. Dan Luger, full name Daniel Darko Luger, has been in France since 2003. Following spells with USAP and Toulon, the English winger is now plying his trade further along the Cote d'Azur with Nice (France's 56th best club, for the record). Veteran All Black international flanker Isitolo Maka has five seasons of top class rugby under Toulouse under his belt, and is now packing down for Marseilles-Vitrolles. Veteran Uruguayan prop Pablo Lemoine, who spent six seasons as the cornerstone of the Paris pack until 2006, will add some steel to the Valence d’Agen pack this year.

Oh aye, and there's some bloke called Lomu playing for Marseilles-Vitrolles.

Top 14 to Fédérale 1
As well as Mark McHugh, there are several other players who've dropped down from the Top 14 to French rugby's third tier during the close season. Big spending Carcassonne lead the way with two new recruits. South African centre Rickus Lubbe spent nine seasons in the top flight with Grenoble and Montpellier, while Australian flanker 8 Lei Tomiki is an even more impressive recruit from Castres. The 26-year-old has played 98 Top 14 and European games for Narbonne and Castres since 2005, scoring an incredible 27 tries. He played 20 times for les Castrais last season, so has obviously moved to the Stade Albert-Domec for on€ r€ason, and on€ r€ason only.

Others who graced the Top 14 last season were 39-year-old Chambery prop Pascal Peyron, the former Dax, Montauban and Bourgoin warhorse, Marseille-Vitrolles' Samoan international centre Kiri Mariner, who spent the last three seasons at Toulon, and Saint Medard's Kiwi centre Duncan Bell, a first choice at Dax the last two seasons. French international prop Alessio Galassio, who’s done the rounds in the Top 14 with Clermont, Castres, Agen and Toulon, leaves the latter for La Seyne. Another prop to drop down is experienced Samoan international Kas Lealamanu'a. He joins St Jean de Luz from near neighbours Dax, after a similarly productive spell with Biarritz.

Great names
If for nothing else, Fédérale 1 is a haven of humorous names. Chateaurenard lock Davis Fuchs is always good for a giggle, as is Chalon-sur-Saone winger Petrisor Crap. Chasing hard on their heels are the Chambery duo of flanker Gaylord Boulud and winger Baptiste Bruncher. Marmande-Casteljaloux fly half Rambo Morrison Faaletino has also been a longstanding favourite of us here at Le Rugby Towers.

So let’s raise a glass to Fédérale 1, with the help of Carcassonne’s Spanish hooker Mathieu Cidre!