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Castres were one of the surprise packages of last season as they improved their league position from 12^th to fifth, but coaches Laurent Labit and Laurent Travers have recruited widely in the summer in an effort to build on that success. Again they have concentrated in bringing in squad players rather than star names, with the aim of improving their talent pool so they don’t run out of steam again at the season’s finale. The Heineken Cup will be a welcome distraction, but Top 14 remains their number one goal, with a top six finish their target again. Are likely to be taken more seriously this season after their fifth-placed finish, and will once more seek to build on an impressive home record at the Stade Pierre Antoine.

The club’s continuing financial struggles are again threatening to undermine their on-field ambitions, but if they can reproduce their battling spirit of 2009/10 then Bourgoin should be strong enough to stay afloat. It remains a big ‘if’ though, with several of their brightest young stars having been picked off by the cream of French rugby once more. Sylvain Nicolas (Toulouse), Jean-Philippe Genevois (Toulon) and Albert Vuli Vuli (Racing) will all be sorely missed, as will the reliable boot of experienced fly-half Benjamin Boyet (Bayonne), but Bourgoin look to have recruited soundly once more and will battle for every point – providing they can convince the DNACG of their financial viability and unblock four player licences that are currently being withheld. Survival alone will be their goal, but as with the previous two seasons they will also try and use the Amlin Challenge Cup as a springboard for league success.

Only Montauban’s financial woes prevented Bayonne from slipping ingloriously into ProD2 last season, but a major overhaul of the playing squad should ensure there is no repeat of their 2009/10 struggles. Three of Montauban’s decimated squad now find themselves in Bayonne’s colours for 2010/11, and the acquisition of class acts such as former All Black Troy Flavell and Bourgoin’s experienced fly-half Benjamin Boyet gives the Basques not only added quality, but also plenty of experience. Bayonne still managed plenty of tries despite their poor results last season – South African Sam Gerber was the league’s top scorer with nine – but the loss of Benjamin Fall to Racing is a blow. The Basques need a solid start to help banish last season’s demons, but should they manage that there is nothing to stop them pushing for a top seven slot.

Eight-time national champions SU Agen begin life back in Top 14 this season with the solitary aim of retaining their status come the end of the season. To that end they have considerably bolstered the squad which ran away with last season’s ProD2 title, with 16 new faces brought in to give added quality and experience. There is a truly cosmopolitan flavour to Agen’s new-look squad and, as with Toulon, it could be that their fortunes depend on how quickly the fresh arrivals can bed-in. Success would be Top 14 survival, although the club has much grander plans for their long-term future. As with any newly promoted team the other key to their success, or failure, will be picking up as many points as they can during the euphoric early season before other teams begin to work them out.

It’s hard to see anything but a season-long struggle for La Rochelle after the ‘Maritimers’ won belated promotion via the ProD2 play-offs. Sensibly, given their likely prospects, they have resisted the temptation to over invest and stretch themselves financially, preferring instead to largely keep faith with the squad of players which got them into Top 14. Like Albi last season they are unlikely to trouble the many teams on their travels so it will be essential for them to establish an over-my-dead-body attitude when they welcome teams to the Stade Marcel Deflandre. If that can be achieved then they will have a fighting chance of survival, but a budget of just €8m – a massive €9 less than Racing-Metro - underlines the degree to which the odds will be stacked against them in 2010/11. Squad togetherness will be crucial, but their limited resources are likely to be extended beyond their bounds when the season hits the hard yards around Christmas and the New Year.