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Ex-England forward Palmer wants to follow Alex King into Premiership coaching role from France
Tom Palmer, the former England, Wasps and Gloucester lock, completed a remarkable clean sweep of domestic and European titles and is hoping to be the latest player to launch an English coaching career from France. Fellow ex-Wasps player Alex King, the former Clermont and Montpellier assistant coach who helped Northampton win the 2013-14 Premiership, has just been appointed as Gloucester’s attack coach while in January, Ian Vass swapped the defence coach role with Montpellier to do the same job at Northampton.
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Also in France is Joe Worsley, the former England and Wasps World Cup winner, who has spent his coaching career in France and is currently with Castres after seven years with Bordeaux. Rory Teague, who has just been axed by Gloucester, also spent time at Bordeaux with former Bristol flanker Joe El-Abd coaching at Castres and Oyonnax while at the very top of the sport in France, Shaun Edwards is the national team’s defence coach having crossed the Channel after helping turn Wales into Europe’s top team.
Palmer is fluent in French having played for Stade Francais and Bordeaux and also spent a season in Italy having won 42 caps for England. He is currently the defence and assistant forwards coach at Rouen, working alongside head coach Richard Hill, the former England scrum-half and captain, who has enjoyed a long coaching career across the Channel.
While Hill appears happy to continue operating in France, Palmer admits following King back into English rugby would be his target after gaining more experience of life in the Pro D2, the second flight of the French professional rugby system. Rouen were facing the drop before the season was ended due to the pandemic but Palmer is confident of a better showing when next season gets underway thanks to the arrival of new players including Carl Fearns from Lyon, Phil Swainson (Harlequins), James Johnston (Brive) and Marvin Woki (Tarbes).
Palmer’s playing career brought a Powergen Cup win with Leeds, the Premiership and Heineken Cup in Wasps colours and the European Challenge Cup while at Gloucester and he keeps a close eye on the state of the Gallagher Premiership where King will be working with outside half Danny Cipriani, another ex-Wasps favourite.
The 41-year-old Palmer told RugbyPass: “I would love to come back and coach in England but there are certainly more opportunities in France because of the two full-time professional leagues and being bilingual is useful. I am doing my French coaching diploma which is similar to Level 4 in England and it is something you need in France. It is the equivalent of a degree.
“I am really enjoying my coaching at Rouen and when I signed for Treviso it was to run the line out, but I ended being the player coach and was sort of thrust into it. I really enjoyed the experience and decided that I wanted to coach after my playing career ended and then I went to Bordeaux and got more experience and then a year in Aurillac and this is my second year with Rouen.
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“We have signed some good players like Carl Fearns, James Johnston and Phil Swainson for next season. The problem coming up to Pro D2 into this season was the timing of play-off system.
“It means you don’t know if you are going to get promoted to Pro D2 until you win the final in the middle of June and then you have to go out and try to sign players.
“That was a really tough ask last summer but we have now added some real quality to our group. With the ending of the season due to the pandemic it has meant we have also been able to have a proper pre-season rather than finishing in June and then back into it at the end of August.
“The idea that training is broken up by a nice glass of wine is long gone in French rugby, however, being a Pro D2 team the infrastructure isn’t as good as say the Premiership but we have a great coaching staff and we are building quite well.
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“Richard Hill is the head coach and the coaching is bilingual because we have a number of players who speak English. We had a bad run in January and February losing matches by a point in the final minutes and so the break has helped.”
Comments on RugbyPass
It couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
77 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
1 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
44 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to comments