Le Rugby's search for a Federale 1 favourite for 2011/12 has ended in the most unlikely location. Prepare to travel round France's lower leagues with the Great Bretons of Vannes...

When it comes to French rugby heartlands, and despite the recent best efforts of the Parisians, the south-west leads the way. But up in a far corner of France, one small group of indomitable gauls are holding out against the odds - bienvenue à Vannes, or as they say in Breton, Degemer mat Gwened!

Founded in 1950, Rugby Club Vannetais in embarking on its sixth season in Federale 1 after becoming the first club from Brittany to reach that level in 2006. After four years of consolidation, they reached the last eight of the play-offs in 2010/11, losing out to fancied Tyrosse after finishing third in a strong pool that also contained eventual promotees Perigueux and this year's richest Fed1 club, Limoges.

Vannes - with Le Rugby in tow - can expect to chalk up a few miles over the course of this season. Their pool 3 rivals include Toulouse-based Colomiers and third-best Basques St-Jean-du-Luz; that particular outing to the Spanish border is, at 666km, a real devil of a trip!

They won't have to travel so far to face local rivals Sporting Nazairien. Saint-Nazaire, a short hop over the Loire, was part of Brittany until the French Revolution, and les Vannetais will want to retain recent dominance over their neighbours - the four places that separated the teams last year was the widest margin since Vannes joined Federale 1.

Directors at Stade Jo Courtel have made their intentions known - to become to first Breton club to reach Pro D2. Even as their most ardent supporters we doubt les bleus et blancs can manage it this season but maybe soon...

First up: Hagetmau vs Vannes, Stade Georges Dumartin, September 25, 2011

Seven-hour, 619km journey aside, Vannes couldn't have it much easier for an opening fixture than the trip to newly promoted Hagetmau. SA Hagetmautien, based in the Landes area that is home to Pro D2 clubs Dax and Mont-de-Marsan, are back in Fed1 after two years in the second Federale division.

Les rouges et bleus spent seven years in French rugby's top flight, their Jour de Gloire coming in 1990 when they beat an Agen side boasting legends Philippe Sella, Philippe Benetton, Pierre Berbizier and Abdelatif Benazzi in a Division 1 pool game. Agen went on to reach the final that year, while Hagetmau were soon facing up to life in the lower leagues, where they have stayed since 1993.

They can boast an international of their own these days in the shape of outside-half Andoni Jorajuria, who earned his one and only cap for Spain last November playing the last 25 minutes of los Leones' victory over Namibia. We can only hope that the namecheck in Le Rugby earns him a second run-out very soon.

Other current Hagetmau players (and their nicknames, according to Wikipedia) include fullback Julien Langlade (l'arbalette - the crossbow), hooker Remi Fuset (la fuse - the fuse) and flanker Denis Lazaret, AKA pénis.