mens
top-14
Pierre Mignoni stepped down from his role Toulon head coach with immediate effect after a poor start Top 14 season in which the team is languishing in 13th place.
The three-time European champions won just one of their first five matches of the campaign, against newcomers and bottom-placed Vannes, and suffered a 28-0 drubbing by Montpellier on Sunday.
Franck Azéma, who arrived at Stade Mayol in the summer as an assistant coach, will take over as head coach, taking over the role he held between 2021 and 2023.
Although their results this season have been damning, Toulon’s first two defeats were solitary and their third defeat was by just two points.
Although they are in 13th place, they are just two points behind eighth-placed ASM Clermont-Auvergne, but the decision has been made to ensure that the gap does not widen.
A statement from Toulon read: “Pierre Mignoni has informed Toulon management of his decision to end his role as director of rugby, which the club has accepted.
“This decision comes in the context of insufficient sports results since the beginning of the season.
“Faced with this situation, Pierre Mignoni has decided to fully assume his responsibilities. After exhausting all available resources, he has determined that a change is now needed to revitalize the professional team. With this decision, he hopes to enable the team to quickly return to winning ways.”
“Franck Azéma takes responsibility for the professional group from today and will take over the sports leadership of the team until further notice.
“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.
“He especially contributed to the reconstruction and structuring of the sports project, around the professional sector and the training program in Toulon, during these last seasons.”
