On-field disaster is being aped by off-field catastrophe at Stade Francais, with the capital club currently showing an operating loss of €2.5m for the 2009/10 season.

The alarming budget shortfall has caught the ever-eager eye of the DNACG - French rugby's financial watchdog - and Stade Francais are one of six clubs that have been summoned to appear before it's high council on Tuesday, according to Midi Olympique.

Stade Francais' unfolding season of woe

Montauban and Bourgoin are the other two Top 14 sides to have been called in, along with three others from ProD2.

But it is Stade's plight that will set alarm bells ringing throughout French rugby as they one of the country's acknowledged giants, and have long been held up as a template for off-field expansion.

Failure to cover the €2.5m debt would almost certainly result in administrative relegation, but that is an unlikely scenario given their resources. They can dip into their reserve fund (of €2m) and club sponsors are expected to be able to meet the remaining debt.

But the mere fact they find themselves in this uncomfortable situation is a warning to other clubs at a time when the global financial downturn is having ramifications throughout the sporting world.

Stade's main problem is their ongoing battle to get their 12,000 capacity Stade Jean Bouin redeveloped. Plans have been on the table for months now but president Max Guazzini is pushing for the Paris council to help finance the deal and there has also been widespread opposition from other political groups.

Stade's financial problems have been exacerbated by their poor on-field performances - they are currently ninth and look set to miss the play-offs for the first time in a decade - and also by having to switch their Heineken Cup match against Ulster from Brussels to Paris at 24 hours' notice due to snow.

They may be able to sell out the 80,000-seater Stade de France - they play Clermont there at the weekend - but the potential loss of further revenue next season is very real if they fail to gain entry to the Heineken Cup. Doing so via the league - where they must finish in the top six - now looks forlorn, so they must try and overcome Stade Toulousain away in the upcoming quarter-finals to keep that dream alive.

News of their financial plight adds yet more woe to a collapsing season; one which has seen two players (Julien Dupuy and David Attoub) pick up massive playing bans; has witnessed two changes of head coach and even an unseemly scrap with the RFU over the eligibility of England flanker James Haskell.

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Only already-relegated SCA Albi have won fewer league games than Stade's eight, and the club was hit by further bad news following their weekend trouncing by Perpignan with confirmation that winger Djibril Camara will not play again this season (after rupturing cruciate ligaments), while influential Argentine international Juan Manuel Leguizamon will be out for three weeks with a sprained knee.

Of the other two Top 14 sides hauled before the DNACG, Bourgoin are reportedly in position to cover their €600,000 shortfall - thanks to the generosity of president Gaston Maulin - but Montauban are faced with a far more daunting task of finding €1.7m. The prospect of bankruptcy is not being excluded at this time, while Marc Raynaud's team remain perilously placed just three points off the drop zone.

Meanwhile, on the transfer front, it seems that England centre Mathew Tait could be the latest Red Rose international to cross 'Le Channel' with Top 14 champions Perpignan and Heineken Cp quarter-finalists Biarritz both reportedly interested.

The Sale Sharks player recently said he would have no problem crossing to play in France and the Manchester club remain deep in the relegation mire after their 38-0 weekend trouncing by London Irish in the Guinness Premiership.

One player set to go the other way is Perpignan prop Sébastien Chobet, who is out of the contract in the summer. The 28-year-old is currently being tracked by Northampton Saints and Saracens after being told he will no longer be required by the Catalans following their capture of Bourgoin's Arnaud Tchougong.

In other transfer news Bayonne have reportedly agreed a deal with SU Agen winger Yoan Huget (23) as a direct replacement for Benjamin Fall - who will join Racing-Métro in the summer - while the Basques also continue to wait on a decision by Bourgoin fly-half Benjamin Boyet.

Fall's long-anticipated departure has apparently stalled for the time being after Racing baulked at Bayonne's €500,000 transfer fee for the 21-year-old who only renewed his contract last summer. 

Veteran Kiwi lock Mikaera Tewhata (33) looks set to leave after entering negotiations with ProD2 side Dax, while coach Christian Gajan is reportedly close to a three-year deal that will finally banish the spectre of former Albi boss Eric Béchu joining in the close season.

Speculation continues to swirl around the future of Montpellier's current coaching set-up, with the Hérault club currently languishing in 13th spot and facing up to the prospect of relegation down to ProD2.

A last-day winner-takes-all battle against Bourgoin looks set to bring their season to a dramatic climax, with Montpellier president refusing to rule out the possibility that Bourgoin duo Eric Catinot and Xavier Pemeja could yet be in charge for 2010/11.

One person he has definitely said won't be joining, however, is former Bayonne head coach Richard Dourthe.