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What Paul O'Connell told Stade players suggests a rumoured Toulon move is off the table - reports
Paul O’Connell will not be at Stade Français next season and he will not be coaching at another Top 14 club – according to reports from Midi Olympique.
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The former Ireland great arrived at Stade last summer after a stint with the Ireland U20s. Despite impressing at the club O’Connell is now set to leave with reports emerging last week that a decision had been made.
It has been a difficult campaign this season for Stade. The club suffered a tragic bereavement in December when academy player Nicolas Chauvin passed away following injuries sustained on the pitch, while there was also upheaval in the coaching team with former France scrum-half Julian Dupuy forced out of his job.
The reports that O’Connell will now also leave follow the revelation that his colleague and good friend from Limerick, Stade backs coach Mike Prendergast, has recently met Toulon head coach Patrice Collazo with a view to an end-of-season switch.
Rumours that Prendergast and O’Connell might link up at Toulon now seem inaccurate however, at least according to Midi’s report of how O’Connell announced his departure to the club.
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The 115 times capped lock told head coach Heyneke Meyer and club director Fabien Grobon, before gathering the players to inform them of his decision to leave at the end of the season, and that crucially, according to the report, that he would not be switching to Toulon or any other Top 14 club.
That would appear to put pay to an O’Connell/Prendergast ticket at Toulon next season. O’Connell famously signed a two-year contract with Toulon in 2015 before an effective career ending injury brought his 2015 Rugby World Cup – and any chance of playing for the then dominant Top 14 club – to an abrupt halt.
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There is little doubt O’Connell’s skills would be in high demand back in Ireland. Current Ireland forwards coach Simon Easterby’s contract runs comes to an end in 2020, while any number of roles could be opened up at a province by the IRFU – who will eager to retain his remarkable rugby IP.
Fellow Stade coach Prendergast recently told RugbyPass that he was enjoying the experience under the former South African 2015 World Cup coach – Heyneke Meyer, even if O’Connell wasn’t.
“He’s brilliant, a very passionate coach. He’s a very approachable coach as well, which is great. He wants coaches to express themselves and trusts his coaches in what they are trying to do. He has been great to work with,” said Prendergast, whose time at Stade coincided with O’Connell as forwards coach. “There was a couple of changes before Christmas, but we’re working away, keeping the head down and trying to do our best.”
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Meanwhile Crusaders assistant coach and fellow former Munster player Ronan O’Gara is set to sign a short-term deal as a defence coach for the French national team ahead of their World Cup campaign, according to reports out of France.
Midi Olympique is indicating the 42-year-old former Ireland and British and Irish Lions international has been identified as a backroom staff target following France’s poor showing in the recent Six Nations, and is reportedly close to finalising the move.
France finished the Six Nations in fourth place after winning just two of their five fixtures, leaving head coach Jacques Brunel under intense pressure with just five wins from 16 outings since taking the reigns from Guy Noves in late 2017.
The addition of O’Gara would be a welcome boost to a side that has had a strained relationship between players and management in recent history.
Ex-head coach Marc Lievremont publicly fell out with his squad during the 2011 World Cup after branding a section of his players as “spoilt brats”, while others such as Noves and Philippe Saint-Andre have had their own issues as a result of their time at the helm of the French side following Lievremont’s departure.
O’Gara, a 130-test veteran, is a well-respected figure within the global rugby fraternity, and spent four years coaching in France with Top 14 club Racing Metro before signing on with the Crusaders in 2018.
After claiming a Super Rugby title last year, O’Gara has helped steer the reigning champions to the top of the current standings after six rounds.
His contract with the Christchurch-based franchise expires at the end of the season, however, making him free to sign on with France from mid-July.
France have been grouped with England, Argentina, the USA and Tonga in Pool C in what is widely regarded as the ‘Pool of Death’ at this year’s World Cup.
Les Bleus kick-off their campaign against Argentina at Ajinomoto Stadium in Tokyo on September 21.
Comments on RugbyPass
The Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
8 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
34 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
34 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
8 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
34 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
8 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
8 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
11 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
11 Go to comments