Bourgoin's seemingly endless roller-coaster ride has taken an upward turn following confirmation the DNACG has now unblocked four player licences.

The Top 14 club has been beset by financial struggles for two seasons now but has always managed to bounce back from whatever is thrown at them.

Last season they began the league campaign with 12 player licences blocked and also had to endure talk of a possible merger with Lyon OU. Despite that the Isere club took heart from their obstacles and put in enough winning performances to avoid relegation.

Top 14 Fixtures 2010/11

But their troubles re-emerged this summer when the DNACG briefly sent them down to ProD2 due to financial worries, only for the club to successful appeal against the decision.

That was then followed by the blocking of four player licences, but once more Bourgoin has emerged victorious after convincing the DNACG they can cover their budget for 2010/11. That means new signings Silvere Tian, Alec Tulou, Ruaan De Preez and Brando Va'aulu can all now strap on their boots and prepare for the new season in earnest.

Their opening game is against Stade Francais on August 13, but they continued their build up with a 17-7 loss against Stade Toulousain on Thursday night as Maxime Médard, Yann David and Nicolas Bézy all scored tries for the Heineken Cup champions. Coenie Basson grabbed Bourgoin's lone reply.

Stade Francais, meanwhile, went down narrowly away to Toulon as they were beaten 25-22 on the Cote d'Azur.

The two sides shared six tries apiece, with Toulon's coming from captain for the night Fabien Cibray, former Stade Francais centre Geoffroy Messina and Argentine fly-half Felipe Contepomi. The Parisians' try-scorers were lock Julien Flanquart, fly-half Lionel Beauxis and Gurruchaga.

Toulon's latest win - their fourth in as many friendlies - was only blighted by injuries to Australian centre Malifeo Kefu and English lock Dean Schofield, although both still hope to be fit for next weekend's league opener.

Elsewhere in France, Castres continued their preparation for the new season with a convincing 23-6 win against Montpellier in the Challenge Vaquerin, with Iosefa Tekori and Romain Martial both scoring for the victors.

To compound Montpellier's misery second row Mickael De Marco was sent for an MRI scan after the match after picking up an injury. Bayonne's Troy Flavell also picked up an injury this week - in the club's 27-17 win over Saracens - and the former All Black now looks very doubtful for their league opener after tweaking a hamstring.

Jonny Wilkinson sat out Thursday's win against Stade Francais with a shoulder injury but he still managed to hit the headlines after team-mate Contepomi claimed the fly-half was happier playing for Toulon than for England.

Contepomi spoke out after Toulon opted not to release the injured Wilkinson for England's EPS training camp this weekend.

Argentine Contepomi compared Wilkinson's differing club and national form with that of footballer Lionel Messi.

"He had a great year last season with Toulon and you can see Jonny's happy here. He plays with a smile on his face and I'm not sure he's that happy with England," said Contepomi.

"If you have a great player like Jonny you have to adapt your game to him, the system should suit him," added the Puma's international. "Maybe he's not having much of an input on what England should do. It's the same in football. People criticise Lionel Messi for playing well for Barcelona and not playing well for Argentina, but it's not that he's a different player - it's maybe that he's badly used for Argentina."

Top 14 Transfers 2010/11

Wilkinson, for his part, confirmed his contentedness within Toulon's star-studded club environs. "I've never felt as good in a team environment as I do here in Toulon," he told reporters this week. "The team spirit is amazing and everyone gets on so well. Nothing against my old club, but I probably should have investigated this move earlier in my career. I can't see myself ever going to another club.

"At this stage of my career it's about being fulfilled on the rugby pitch. It's great being here with guys who are so experienced. There's Felipe Contepomi, Carl Hayman, Joe van Niekerk and George Smith, and it's brilliant to both learn off these guys and teach them a few things as well," added Wilkinson.

The 31-year-old said he felt "indebted" to Toulon for their support both on and off the field, and that the move to France had freed him up to enjoy his rugby once more. 

Finally, the FFR has announced that France's November 20th international against Argentina will be played at the Stade Mosson in Montpellier. It had originally been scheduled to be held at the Stade Gerland in Lyon.

The late relocation will hit the FFR in the pocket as the Montpellier football ground holds 9,000 fewer seats that Lyon's, and they will additionally have to refund the 10,000 tickets already sold for the original venue.

The late switch was apparently due to uncertainty around Lyon's football commitments as they await the Champions League draw.

Pre-Season friendlies:

July 23
Bayonne 43 Bourgoin 24

July 24
Aurillac 7 Brive 33
Toulon 30 Lyon OU 18
SU Agen 26 RC Narbonne 5

July 25
La Rochelle 17 Grenoble 17

July 29
Lyon OU 13 Stade Francais 12

July 30
La Rochelle 10 Stade Toulousain 29
SU Agen 17 Brive 12
Bourgoin 20 Clermont Auvergne 40
Toulon 39 Racing-Métro 10
Pau 28 Castres 33
Montpellier 56 Carcassonne 17
Perpignan 32 RC Narbonne 21
Aix-en-Provence v Nice

August 1
SCA Albi v Béziers
Rovigo v Colomiers

August 2
Mont-de-Marsan v Bordeaux

August 3
Bourgoin v Sale Sharks

August 4
Bayonne 27 Saracens 17
Montpellier v Aurillac

August 5
Toulon 25 Stade Francais 22
Stade Toulousain 17 Bourgoin 7
SCA Albi 13 Tarbes 3

August 6
Biarritz Olympic v La Rochelle (Aguiléra, 19.00)
Brive v Leicester Tigers (Stade Amédée Domenech, 20.00)
Grenoble v Bourgoin (Grenoble, 19.00)
Perpignan v Racing-Métro 92 (Aimé Giral, 19.45)
Lyon OU v Oyonnax (Issoire, 18.30)
Clermont Auvergne v Sale Sharks (Issoire, 20,00)
SU Agen v Leeds (Agen, 19.00)

August 7
Castres v Colomiers (Lavaur, 18.30)
Montpellier v Sale Sharks (Camares, 18.30)
FC Auch Gers v Pau (Mourenx, 17.00)
Aurillac v Provale Select XV (Kamares, 16.30)

August 11
Béziers v Carcassonne (Béziers, 18.00)

August 13
Pau v RC Narbonne (Castets, 18.00)
Oyonnax v Macon (Nantau, 18.00)
Lyon OU v Saint Etienne (Lyon, 18.00)
Aurillac v SCA Albi (Aurillac, 19.30)

August 20
Carcassonne v Mont-de-Marsan (Carcassonne, 18.30)
Grenoble v Oyonnax (Grenoble, 19.00)