Dax supporters woke up on Tuesday morning with a serious hangover. On Monday, US Dax were hit with a firm nine-point deduction, on top of the five points already taken off them at the start of the season.

French rugby’s regulatory authority punished the red and white club on the following grounds: “delay in submitting documents”, “failure to declare an Urssaf audit” and a “budget discrepancy” between the one presented in the summer and the one examined in October.

A harsh and unprecedented sanction for one of the bastions of French rugby, a club whose ranks have included giants such as Pierre Albaladejo, Jean-Pierre Lux, Jean-Pierre Bastiat, Jean-Louis Bérot, Claude Dourthe, Laurent Rodriguez, Jean-Patrick Lescarboura, Olivier Roumat, Thierry Lacroix, Richard Dourthe, Raphaël Ibanez and Fabien Pelous. No less.

As a result of the sanction, Dax drop from 12th to 14th in the table, behind Béziers and Biarritz, who have also been docked two points in murky cases of their own. In truth, the Dax camp thought they would – at worst – lose the four points that had been suspended since the start of the season. But 14 points in all – counting the five already removed before the season began – have gone up in smoke. Close to three bonus-point wins…

Strike threat

Already shaken during the last close season by the sacking of Jeff Dubois and his assistants Hervé Durquety and Eric Artiguste, as well as by two off-field affairs (Nacika under an OQTF deportation order and accusations of domestic violence against Singer), USD find themselves in turmoil. And it is not over.

On Facebook, the supporters’ forum “AllezDax” called for the resignation of president Benjamin Gufflet, in post since 2023. The same goes for the supporters’ association “Cœur à jamais rouge et blanc”. At training on Monday, the mood was therefore far from good, according to our information.

Manager Vincent Etcheto, captain Jean-Baptiste Barrère and other stakeholders came out to greet the handful of faithful who had turned up to back them. A meeting was then held with the club’s main shareholders, as first reported by Rugbyrama and as we can confirm.

“A controlled economic situation”

Several options are being studied. A definitive answer could come late on Wednesday. Will Benjamin Gufflet stay at the head of the club? Is a joint presidency possible? Will the club’s old guard step up? So many questions and so few answers as things stand.

Worse still, the US Dax players’ association has issued a statement to voice its anger at the leadership of the spa town’s club. They are also threatening to strike and could therefore refuse to play Grenoble this Friday (7.30pm), the last match of the block before the break.

“The players are denouncing a persistent absence of internal communication, a lack of transparency, as well as a clear failure of presence and leadership on the part of the presidency, held by Mr Benjamin Gufflet and Mr Adrien Asteggiano. Many promises made to the squad have not been kept, reinforcing a climate of uncertainty and mistrust“, the Red and Whites’ players said in a statement that was widely relayed and shared.

It should be noted that general manager Adrien Asteggiano was removed from his post earlier in the week. He will remain a shareholder in the club.

In response, president Gufflet reacted immediately with a statement relayed on social media. “The sporting sanctions recently handed down are in no way linked to financial difficulties at the club. The economic situation of US DAX Rugby Landes is under control. Contractual commitments have always been honoured : all players’ and staff salaries have been paid in full and on time throughout“.

At the start of the season, captain Jean-Baptiste Barrère and his team-mates had turned the five-point deduction into a strength. The proof: despite a limited budget (6.7 million euros, 14th in Pro D2) and the tremors of the summer, the Landes club had been putting together very good results in the league. Notably bonus-point wins over Béziers and Carcassonne, a hammering of neighbours Mont-de-Marsan (68-14), a win at Biarritz and a benchmark victory over Colomiers.

The situation should become clearer in the coming hours. Contacted by us, USD old boys said they “will not abandon the staff, the players and the supporters“.