A seven-try rout of Epernay put Le Bugue three points clear, but les Chevaliers still need a point at Orthez to ensure Federale 1 survival

Le Bugue 47 Epernay 17: Les Chevaliers d'Albuga did all that was asked of them against Epernay, scoring seven tries to pick up a bonus point and move three points clear at the top of Pool E.

Safety isn't quite guaranteed though, as Le Bugue still need a point from their last match away at Orthez on May 2 to keep Saint-Médard - who will surely pick up a bonus at Epernay - at bay.

Les Buguois wasted no time in getting off the mark, centre Aloisio Butonidualevu scoring two tries in the first five minutes. The Fijian spent two days on trial at Auch in the run-up to the game, and will certainly have impressed officials at the Pro D2 club with his rapid-fire brace, which brought his season's tally to 10.

Butoni and winger Morgan Souply have been enjoying a personal try race all season, and it didn't take the former Stade Francais player long to catch up with the Fijian as he added a third try four minutes before half-time and made it 10 for the season with Le Bugue's fourth just before the interval.

The teams changed round with Le Bugue 26-3 up, and although Julien Beraut pulled a try back for the hosts on 55 minutes, Tomas Marks restored the four-try margin with his second try of the season on the hour, converting it himself to add to his three successful first-half kicks.

Epernay flanker Jerome Werle scored his second try of the season on 66 minutes before Le Bugue's front row took over, prop Naisake Tarogi proving that Butoni isn't the only Fijian try hero around with his second of the season 12 minutes from time, and hooker Amédée Domenech completing the rout with the seventh try two minutes from time.

Also in Pool E: Saint-Médard 21 Orthez 20. Le Bugue's Pool E rivals scored three tries each at Stade Robert-Monseau, Saint-Médard coming back from 10-0 down after 20 minutes to earn four valuable points, hooker Alban Rieger scoring a try in each half for les Poudriers.

Next up: Orthez vs Le Bugue, Stade Municipal, Sunday 2 May. And so it all comes down to this. Have we said that before? Possibly, but this time we really mean it. Le Bugue need just one point to stay in Federale 1 for another season, and a trip to Orthez bodes well for that one point. Les Orthesiens have won their last seven home games, but the good news is that only hapless Epernay and not-so-hapless Morlaas have come away without earning a bonus point.

The teams' meeting in March ended in a 41-5 win for Le Bugue, but you can't read too much into that as Orthez bounced back with a win over Epernay and fought dent-et-ongle at Saint-Médard this weekend before losing to the odd point. Basically, we're not daring to say anything, other than "Bon courage les bleus et blancs!"

Of course, if Saint-Médard don't get their bonus point at Epernay, it won't matter what happens at Orthez, where the local team is bidding to stay in Federale 1 for a second season. "Saint-Médard had better be careful if they don't want to leave Stade Chandon drinking anything other than sparkling wine," said Champagne region rag L'Union, which clearly hasn't seen much of the played-19, lost-19 locals this term.

As for Orthez, Le Bugue's players and supporters can look forward to an afternoon in the historic former capital of the Béarn region. According to its Wikipedia entry, the town has a thriving trade in leather, hams and lime, and was the site of two famous battles, one during the French wars of religion, the other a victory for the Duke of Wellington in the Napoleonic wars. The town was also the birthplace of physicist Gaston Planté, who in 1859 invented the car battery, and presumably sat around for another 30 years waiting for someone to invent the car.

The news Fed-lines: One of the Trophée Jean-Prat's six pool leaders finally came unstuck this week as Le Bugue's local rivals Perigueux lost 15-13 at home to Montlucon. Perigueux flanker Stéphane Labrousse scored the only try of the game on the hour, but Hendrik Gherardus "Can you guess where I'm from" Oosthuizen did the damage for the visitors with five penalties. The unlikely win sets Montlucon up for a winner-takes-second-place showdown with Vannes in a fortnight.

Although they had already won the pool, the defeat probably condemns Perigueux (now on 19 points) to the pre-quarter-final play-off round, as the other five pool leaders are comfortable on 22 or 23 points. Of the five, only Pool 1's Bourg-en-Bresse have yet to secure top spot, and they face a tricky trip to second-placed Limoges in the final round. Like everyone else, Bourg had little trouble disposing of winless Aubenas-Vals 44-10, while Limoges passed a difficult test at Chateaurenard to win 29-20.

In Pool 3, Marseille-Vitrolles, for whom Jonah Lomu played his third successive game at No.8, will probably need a last-day win at Beziers to proceed to the knock-out rounds, as third-place Graulhet welcome whipping boys Lavaur to Stade Noel-Pélissou like a vampire might welcome a self-harming haemophiliac to supper. It's even tighter in Pool 4, where Valence d'Agen's second-round inconsistency looks set to deny them further progress; Langon, just a point behind, visit Paris side Bobigny while Valence face a trip to runaway pool winners and likely semi-finalists Carcassonne.

You can find all the latest Federale 1 Play-off results at ItsRugby.fr

Half the pools in the play-downs are done and dusted: Orleans, Lille, Dijon, Tournefeuille, Romans and Morlaas live to fight another Federale 1 season, while Monteux, Montmelian, Mauleon, Mazamet, Chambery and Vallée du Girou have already descended into the Federale 2 bear pit. Poitiers, Bedarrives and of course Epernay also face the drop, while Pool F Niort's 65-20 win over Bedarrides confirmed their Fed1 survival.

All of which leaves eight teams fighting over five places on May 2. We've covered the Pool E permutations above, and in Pool D, Saint-Jean-de-Luz (46pts), Lourdes and La Seyne (both 43pts) face a similarly nervous final afternoon of rugby. Lourdes have hit their form at the right time, and followed up their superb win at Saint-Jean with a 22-3 home win over La Seyne. They go to Poitiers needing a bonus-point win to guarantee survival, while La Seyne and St-Jean meet to decide who else stays up. Of course, they could all end the season on 47 points, at which point your guess is as good as ours.

With Niort up from Pool F, Oloron (45pts) and Tours (41pts) will be vying to join them. Oloron must be in the siege de boite though as they host Niort, while Tours have to travel to Bedarrides hoping Niort do them a favour.

Get all the latest Federale 1 Play-down results at ItsRugby.fr

Fédérale 1 Play-Down Pool E: