What will you be doing on Saturday 10th March? Other than it being the fourth weekend of the Six Nations it's a pretty nondescript date for most of us. However, it’s a vital weekend in Pro D2 as our lower league correspondent Terry Oubliée explains...

The battle for promotion to the Top 14 no doubt still has plenty of twists and turns, although Grenoble seem to have stolen a march on their rivals and look set for automatic promotion glory come May. Of the others, Dax, Mont-de-Marsan, Pau and La Rochelle appear likely play-off candidates, all looking for a relatively quick return to the big time.

It’s the relegation dogfight that attracts our attention though. If we assume that League of Nations Aurillac, who started last weekend’s clash at La Rochelle with only five Frenchmen, are safe thanks to the six-point cushion between them and the bottom three, it’s any two from three for the drop.

Périgueux are in the most danger. A famous club with a proud tradition, they’re currently six points adrift in 16th and last place. This is their first crack at the second division since being relegated to Fédérale 1 in 2005, and they’ve really struggled to adapt. Although they’re still only a couple of wins away from safety, they’ve only racked up a couple of wins all season. It’s unlikely they’ll endure as poor a season as recent Pro D2 canard morts Saint-Étienne (last season) and Lannemezan (2009-10), but they still have the look of relegation fodder about them.

Bitter rivalry

In reality, it seems like a straight fight between bitter rivals Beziers and Narbonne, who meet in what could be an absolute humdinger of a clash on the Saturday 10th March. Beziers currently occupy the second relegation spot, and have done so all season.

When it comes to gloried pasts, there are few that can match that of the Stade de la Méditerranée outfit. A once great rugby giant, their roll of honour in the 1970s and 1980s is second to none, with no less than 10 championship titles making their way back to the Languedoc. Their list of ex-players is equally as impressive. Past and present internationals such as Didier Camberabero, Richard Dourthe, Alain Estève, Dimitri Szarzewski, Yannick Nyanga, Andrew Mehrtens and Derwyn Jones have all worn the famous maillot rouge et bleu. OK, we have to admit that not every player in that list is a great. Mehrtens was massively over-rated.

Ups and downs

In recent years, however, it’s been a sad tale. They were relegated from the Top 14 in 2005 and then suffered the ignominy of the drop to Fédérale 1 in 2009. It took them two seasons to get back into Pro D2, but much like fellow promotees Perigueux, they’ve found the going hard.

There is a glimmer of light for Beziers though. They’re only two points away from bitter rivals Narbonne, and have the better recent form, having won two of their last eight games. They’ve not lost a game by more than 10 points since mid-October and are slowly finding their feet again at this level. Ultimately, their survival hopes could rest with experienced outside half Anthony Lagardère. The 31-year-old former Dax, Auch and Castres pivot has racked up over 1,200 Top 14, Heineken Cup, European Challenge Cup and Pro D2 points. He’s almost at the 100-point mark this season and could kick les Bitterois to some crucial wins.

Narbonne, on the other hand, are on a terrible run of form. Despite the recent arrival of World Cup-winning coach Bob Dwyer as owner, and fellow Wallabies Matt Williams (ex-Scotland and Leinster head honchio) and Justin Harrison as coaches, the men from the Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié are well and truly dans le merde, having lost their last eight games and only won one of their last thirteen.

Much like Beziers, this is a club with a proud history. Indeed, as recently as 2001 they came within a whisker of clinching the European Challenge Cup, and were only relegated from the top flight - for the first time ever - in their 2007 centenary season.

Velentine's day?

Dwyer’s much needed cash injection of around €450,000 has begun to be unloaded. Already through the door on a six-month contract is 28-year-old ACT Brumbies and Wallaby international Josh Valentine. The fly-half’s arrival has raised a few eyebrows as his talents would surely be more at home in the Top 14. He should therefore go well at this level of rugby and will no doubt be handsomely rewarded for his efforts.

Indeed, Narbonne’s best chance of surviving the drop could be to buy their way to safety, with Dwyer promising more arrivals. This policy will doubtless do nothing for Narbonne’s quota of overseas players though, with the squad already top-heavy with dubious, mercenary Southern Hemisphere recruits (only five of Saturday’s starting XV at home to Mont-de-Marsan were French).

The next few games look more favourable to Beziers, who play three of their next four matches at home and who could grab a win or two and with it some much-needed momentum. Narbonne’s next two matches are sur la route, with the clash at Aurillac on the 21st January already looking a biggie. However, both teams’ fates could rest on that key clash at the Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié in mid-March. What price the winner to stay up?  Don’t bet against it!