Relegation threatened Toulon have a familiar face lined-up as head coach

Once the biggest spenders in the Top 14, Toulon are now battling potential relegation from the French top-flight – but they may have found a saviour in a former coach.

Toulon currently sit bottom of the Top 14, a position that would have been laughable just a few seasons ago.

According to reports from RugbyRama and Midi Olympique, outgoing Lyon head coach Pierre Mignoni could be set for a dramatic return to RCT. The former France scrumhalf was backs coach at the Stade Mayol between 2011 – 2015, but it looks like the desperate club are now eager to re-heat this particular cabbage.

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It was confirmed last week that Mignoni is set to leave Lyon after seven years with the French Top 14 side. He’s now been rumoured to be linked with a return to struggling Toulon, a rumor that the Toulon President Bernard Lemaître has confirmed.

He is at Lyon until the end of the season but he is one of the options we are discussing. With several possible formulas. The only interesting thing for me is to have Pierre and Franck (Azéma) work together. We are working on it,” Lemaître confirmed to L’Equippe.

The 83-year-old was asked if such a move would spell doom for Franck Azéma, but he believe a dual coaching set-up could work.

“No, because this option was developed at Franck. Getting two first-class coaches to work together, I was already thinking about it with Patrice Collazo. He had asked me for a little time. He was so grounded that he had trouble finding time to think about the club project as a whole. I am not only on the first team but attached to building a club project, on rugby in the south-east of France. A collaboration with some sixty clubs in the region. Pierre Mignoni also initiated a project of this scale in the Lyon region.”

“The idea of ??bringing in Pierre Mignoni is far from being materialized but remains exciting: to potentiate the resources of the locker room by doubling the skills, provided that they are exercised well in the said locker room”