The 2025-2026 Pro D2 season starts on Friday. And unless they can hope for a big bonus-point win away at Valence-Romans, US Dax will still be alone at the bottom after the first round. The CNOSF, the French national olympic and sports committee, did indeed uphold on Tuesday the five-point deduction – plus four suspended – applied at the start of the coming season, handed down last June by the LNR’s financial watchdog for failing to comply with the regulations.

It is a decision US Dax refuse to accept, having announced in a statement their intention to go to the civil courts, and more precisely to the administrative court, to win their case. Their very future in this tightly packed Pro D2 is at stake. Last year, Dax finished 11th on 61 points. Had the Landes side had to make do with five points fewer, they would have finished 15th and would have had to fight for survival in a play-off against the beaten Nationale finalist.