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England World Cup winner joins Top 14 strugglers' staff
By Josh Raisey
After losing their opening nine matches of the Top 14 season, Perpignan have named their new coaching team, which includes 2003 World Cup winner Joe Worsley.
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The Catalan club parted ways with head coach Franck Azema last week, a month after letting assistant coaches David Marty and Gérald Bastide go.
Laurent Labit, winner of the Top 14 with Castres and Racing 92, has been announced as Azema’s successor as Perpignan look to close a six-point gap with fellow strugglers Montauban ahead of them.
Worsley, who is no stranger to the Top 14, having previously coached Bordeaux-Begles, Castres and Brive, has arrived with Labit as defence coach, while Grenoble’s recently departed backs coach Nicolas Nadau will take on the same role at the Stade Aimé Giral.
They will team up with forwards coach Mathieu Cidre, scrum coach Nicolas Mas and kicking coach Jacques-Louis Potgieter, with a three-week break before the league resumes.
“Dear friends, supporters and partners of USAP,” Perpignan president François Riviere wrote to the fans (translated by Google).
“The past few weeks have been particularly difficult for our club, and I couldn’t remain inactive in the face of this situation.
“That’s why Franck Azema’s withdrawal from the role was decided after the defeat in Montauban. It was a very difficult and painful decision, as you know the relationship the club and I had built with his manager.
“Several options were studied and calmly considered to implement a new sports organisation capable of reviving our season.
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“Following these discussions, the Board of Directors decided, at my suggestion, to propose that Laurent Labit, Nicolas Nadau, and Joe Worsley strengthen our sports staff alongside Mathieu Cidre, Nicolas Mas, and Jacques Louis Potgieter.
“I wanted to give our club all the resources and strength available to work together to turn things around. This reinforcement of the staff will be complemented in the coming days by the arrival of one or two additional players to compensate for the current injuries.
“Let us give our full support to the USAP staff and players to ensure our survival and success in the Top 14 season.
“Visca Usap ”
