Irishman Prendergast the big winner in Racing's coaching reshuffle
Racing 92’s coaching staff will have a continental feel to it next season after boss Laurent Travers confirmed the reshuffle that will take place when his co-coach Laurent Labit moves on to work with the France nations team under Fabien Galthie.
Travers and Labit had been joined at the hip for more than decade, the pair winning Top 14 championships for Castres and Racing, but their partnership will now cease with Travers ready to embrace a staff with an Irish, Argentine and Kiwi influence.
Supporting Travers will be four assistants: Mike Prendergast (backs/attack), Patricio Noriega (forwards), Chris Masoe (defence) and Philippe Doussy (skills and footwork).
Travers’ recruitment of Prendergast will be viewed as something of a coup. The former Munster scrum-half has been working at Parisian rivals Stade Francais and had been courted by Toulon, whom he had signed a pre-contract with, as well as being linked with a vacancy at his province in Ireland.
? Découvrez le Communiqué de Presse relatant la nouvelle organisation du Racing 92 pour la saison 2019-2020.
?? https://t.co/lo9IRNiNLB#RacingFamily pic.twitter.com/3poDFYpsoA
— Racing 92 (@racing92) May 22, 2019
Prendergast first moved to France from All-Ireland League club level, swopping Young Munster for Grenoble and then working at Oyonnax before switching to Paris last summer.
Stade recently defeated Racing in a gripping derby, a victory that would have helped Prendergast get the nudge on his rival for the job, the Jaguars boss Gonzalo Quesada. England’s Rory Teague had also been linked to the Racing role.
“I was able to talk with him [Prendergast] for a long time in terms of the system of offensive play in three-quarters. That corresponded to my expectations, just as Gonzalo Quesada also met my expectations. This was played between the two and it is Mike who won.”
Insightful read on how difficult 2019 really is for rugby in a grieving France ??? https://t.co/QIgEBXeaQk
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 14, 2019
Doussy, who has been working with Jacques Brunel’s French national team, will not be going to the World Cup so he will be available for an immediate start, while Travers opted to maintain confidence in Noriega and Masoe rather than seek out replacements.
In other developments, Dimitri Szarzewski will work with the Racing academy while Casey Laulala, a close friend of Labit, is leaving.
WATCH: The RugbyPass video from the day Jim Hamilton met Finn Russell in Paris
Comments on RugbyPass
Yeah nah he comes across as a funny bloke, but that stopped abruptly after the Nutcracker Prince debacle✋
1 Go to commentsAt this point I can’t watch him without thinking he’s a dirty slimebag. He should have been banned for the same amount of time that Quinn was out. It took Tupaea near on a fricking year to get fit enough to play again and his leg will never be the same. The other crap thing is that he was at ABs level and now he has to claw his way back there when he could have had several games under his belt.
4 Go to commentsThe Black Ferns 7’s have been without Captain Sarah Hirini now since Dec 23 in Dubai where she suffered a bad ACL injury - hopefully she is on the road to recovery for Madrid and Paris. Now also have Tyler King and Shiray kaka on the Injured List but the Team still found a way to win in Singapore and claim the overall Title.
1 Go to commentsUtter grub, hope he gets his leg broken. Shocking he is still playing after intentionally breaking quinn tupaeas knee
4 Go to commentsGreat to see NZ 7s teams finally coming into form and playing at the level that is expected of them.
2 Go to commentsChief Cheapshot on the market again.
4 Go to commentsCrusaders went all in to buy Hotham and Kemara staight from Hamilton Boys. Then they picked up Reihana and Hohepa; all have been dropped for superstar Havili, who is a very good fullback, that’s it. Ennor and Goodhue were schoolboy stars too but went backwards at the Crusaders. Maybe they have finally decided to give another poach Levi Aumua the ball?
13 Go to commentsJoe S has some talent to pick from. The Reds loosies look the best in Super? Aus might just give Razor a headache this year. Int. experience v Cantab greenhorn:) Should be fun.
13 Go to commentsEnd to end play, “THE FANS” this game was entertainment of the best. The conditions added to the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsSorry to say, but sadly the sadas were just ordinary and havilli at 10 as an abs selection just won’t cut it. He’s better suited in the centre’s and is a victim of past charge down kicks, he’s too slow under pressure. There’s better talent further north and I don’t mean dmac however I believe razor will sort him out. A feature of his presents on the park is the fact that the guys will follow him.
13 Go to commentsMarler was brilliant throughout both in the scrum and open play. His slap made virtually no contact with Ramos who milked it for a penalty when he could have been a decent sportsman and laughed it off, it was non-violent and shouldn't have been penalised. Smith failed repeatedly to kick when necessary and put up a couple of bombs into the TLS 22 that just handed back possession at key moments to the other side.
3 Go to commentsCros was outstanding and rightly awarded France TVs player of the match award. Mallia was brilliant as usual (the y is below the 6 on a UK keyboard and he deserves better than that). Level also seems to have been scored harshly as he walked the ball into touch under pressure from a Lynagh kick from well outside his own half which should never have led to a 50-22. Agree with BullShark that Dupont, while class at times, seemed to go missing for patches in the second half with props, hookers and wings frequently filling in at 9 as he couldn't get off the deck and up to the next ruck on time. A 7 by his standards at best, his kicking was also too long, too often. Kinghorn's overall contribution was worth well more than a five.
4 Go to commentsThe Harlequins team must be in minus figures. Did the reporter actually watch the game?
4 Go to commentsHow on earth did Walker escape a red card? Not dangerous? Dupont has his face in a mask earlier this season. Shocking decision. What is the point of TMOs? We had the Fassi ‘non-penalty try’ yesterday and now this.
2 Go to commentsCould have been a different result but yet again French tv able to affect the result by not showing the very clear high shot on harlequin centre if this would have been on a French player would have been on screen at least five times
3 Go to commentsAmazing. The losing team’s ratings are higher than the winning team’s. Mallia definitely didn’t deserve a y. What game were you watching? Should have got a w or an x. ADP hardly featured in that second half. At one point I wondered when he’d been subbed. Seems to me as if he gets an automatic 9 just for getting onto the team sheet.
4 Go to commentsI’m sorry. That second half was far from enthralling. It was painful to watch.
2 Go to commentsVery generous! If you’d missed the game, reading this you’d conclude that it was the Quins front row that cost them the game. Marler getting a blanket 6 for his demented contribution to the game. Puzzling.
3 Go to commentsCan’t see Toulouse beating Leinster at this rate.
7 Go to commentsADP was having a very average game until winning that penalty for Toulouse, sticking his big head in the way. “The head of God”?
7 Go to comments