Bourgoin might have escaped the drop, but there's no stopping the DNACG today as our Federale 1 favourites Le Bugue and ambitious Marseille-Vitrolles are both demoted to Fed2

There'll be some overtime claims going in at the DNACG. Fresh from relegating, then reinstating, Bourgoin, French Rugby's Financial Watchdogs™ have turned their attentions towards the lower leagues. And first to fall are our Federale 1 favourites Le Bugue, for whom the good news of winning their appeal against demotion to Federale 3 has been only slightly tempered by the bad news of still finding themselves relegated to Federale 2.

The DNACG's beef seems not to be with the current management of the club but its previous directors, and once the dust has settled, co-president Louis Neisen has promised to name names.

"These criticisms of the DNAGC concern certain aspects of everyday life in the club over the previous seasons but does not affect transfers and player contracts. The club management had to act quickly in hiring an accountant," he said.

"As soon as we saw there was a problem, we acted. We are not thieves. Soon the whole truth will come out, warns the manager. People have not done their jobs. "

The decision will inevitably spark a player exodus from Stade Renaud-Cruveiller, with winger Aloisio Butonidualevu already bound for Pro D2 Auch, and captain and scrum-half Francois Bourgeois telling local paper Sud Ouest last week that if Le Bugue were to drop down, there would be a 'hemorrhage' of players.

Le Bugue will be joined in Federale 2 by Marseille-Vitrolles. The club made the headlines last year by signing All Black legend Jonah Lomu. Lomu played seven games - including four at No.8 - in the club's unsuccessful promotion campaign, and while the management floated the club on the Paris stock exchange and promised to bring top-flight rugby to the southern metropolis, the FFR's bean-counters clearly weren't happy with matters behind the scenes and have demoted them to the fourth tier of French club rugby.