BORDEAUX, June 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Five-times national champions Biarritz 
said on Friday their demotion to the third tier of French rugby had been 
over-turned but they will start the Pro D2 campaign with a three-point 
deduction.

France's national rugby league announced the relegation in May because of the 
club's "worsening financial situation and the uncertainties surrounding their 
ability to continue operating". 

On Friday, the Basque club said in a statement that it "recognises the facts 
of which it is accused" and "is fully aware of the sporting challenge this 
sanction represents. It accepts its responsibility, with the aim of doing 
everything in its power to quickly overcome this handicap".

The club was taken over in 2024 by a trio of former players led by Shaun 
Hegarty, who chairs the board.

They have attempted to attract financial partners and were kept afloat last 
season by money from billionaire Pierre-Edouard Sterin.

Biarritz, who won the last of their Top 14 titles in 2006 and reached the 
second of their two European Cup finals in 2010, finished last season ninth 
in the 16-team Pro D2.

Their season started well but unravelled, not helped by the disruption in 
January after Masivesi Dakuwaqa, a 105kg wing, bit team-mate Pierre Pages in 
the cheek during a night out.