French giants Toulon’s difficult start to the Top 14 campaign has claimed its first major casualty.
Head coach Pierre Mignoni has stepped down from his role with immediate effect.
The three-time European champions sit 13th on the log after winning just one of their opening five matches, which was against bottom-placed newcomers Vannes. This past Sunday, they were thrashed 28-0 by Montpellier.
Franck Azéma, who joined the club as an assistant, steps back into the top job he previously held between 2021 and 2023.
The numbers paint a complicated picture. Toulon’s first two defeats of the season were by a single point, and their third by only two, yet results have remained elusive.
They sit just two points adrift of eighth-placed Clermont, but the club moved decisively to prevent that gap from widening further.
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A Toulon statement read: “Pierre Mignoni informed the management of Toulon of his decision to end his mission as director of rugby, which the club accepted.
“This decision comes in the context of insufficient sporting results since the start of the season.
“Faced with this situation, Pierre Mignoni chose to fully assume his responsibilities. After exhausting all available resources, he determined that a change was now necessary to revitalise the professional team. With this decision, he hopes to enable the squad to quickly return to winning ways.
“Franck Azéma takes over responsibility for the professional group from today and will assume the sporting direction of the team until further notice.”
The club was quick to acknowledge Mignoni’s contribution.
“Toulon would like to thank Pierre Mignoni for his commitment and for all the work he has done since returning to the club in 2022. In particular, he contributed to the reconstruction and structuring of the sporting project, around the professional sector and the Toulon training program, during these last seasons.”
Photo: Federico Pestellini/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
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French giants Toulon’s difficult start to the Top 14 campaign has claimed its first major casualty.
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