Latest news with #StadeFrancais
BBC News
05-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Intimidating but personable' O'Connell takes next coaching step
Summer Test: Georgia v IrelandDate: Saturday, 5 July Kick-off: 18:00 BST Venue: Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, TbilisiCoverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app Paul O'Connell has always been strikingly honest about his coaching career. As a player, he was revered and feared, his iconic 'manic aggression' speech in the bowels of Croke Park ensured the latter. Over the past eight years, the former lock has been coaching at various levels after his injury-enforced retirement in February 2016. But despite a distinguished playing career that yielded three Six Nations titles with Ireland and three British and Irish Lions tours, he has carefully progressed his coaching education, which arrives at an important juncture this summer as he leads Ireland into Tests against Georgia and Portugal. After roles with the Munster academy and Ireland under-20s, O'Connell spent a year at Top 14 club Stade Francais as Heyneke Meyer's forwards coach. He found the going tough, later saying it was "too full-on for me". But when Ireland head coach Andy Farrell came calling before the 2021 Six Nations, he considered the chance to work with Ireland's current pack too good to turn down. Naturally, when other opportunities have arisen, his name has been put forward with haste. A Munster icon, he won two European Cups and three league titles during his 14 years in the red jersey. But when Johann van Graan announced he would vacate his role as Munster head coach for Bath at the end of the 2021-22 season, O'Connell admitted he "wouldn't be qualified to do it".Again, when Graham Rowntree left the province last year, O'Connell said he had "no interest" in replacing the Englishman. The 45-year-old is also a Lions great. Three tours, 2009 tour captain, seven Tests, his CV is admirable, so admitting last year that he did not feel ready to assist Farrell would not have been easy. Compare O'Connell's perspective to that of his contemporaries. Ronan O'Gara, his long-time Munster and Ireland team-mate, took the La Rochelle job in 2019, six years into his coaching career. With two European Cups tucked away, it has worked out well for the former fly-half, who has also boldly outlined his desire to break into Test Sexton, another former Irish fly-half of unchallenged stature, has enjoyed a swifter move through the ranks. After less than a year coaching Ireland on a part-time basis, he accepted Farrell's invitation to join the Lions tour as a kicking coach. With Simon Easterby, who was interim Ireland boss during this year's Six Nations, also assisting Farrell in Australia, the time has come for 'Paulie' to lead national team matters. 'A natural leader' As forwards coach, O'Connell may often have had his head buried in his laptop, poring over plans for the Irish line-out and maul in forensic detail. Over the next couple of weeks, however, his remit is extended to all 33 players in his squad. The Limerick native will not be immune to nerves, but he can at least feel uplifted by the shining endorsements he's received from coaches and players in the build-up to Saturday's Test against Georgia in Tbilisi. "Paul's a natural leader, he's a brilliant leader," said his former Munster team-mate Denis Leamy, who has been drafted in from the province as O'Connell's defence coach."His presence alone is a great starting point. Look, he understands the game inside out, he has great knowledge and his way of imparting that knowledge with the players is hugely impressive."O'Connell's standing among the other coaches is clear. As for the players, Stuart McCloskey - the only member of Ireland's squad to have played with or against O'Connell - believes the former second row has absorbed valuable skills from working closely with Farrell. "Intimidating as a player, as a coach he has that intimidation factor, but I think he's very personable," said the Ulster centre. "He lets the young guys come out of their shell, a bit like what Faz is like. He's watched Faz over the past three, four years and learned a lot from that." With 13 uncapped players and just one - McCloskey - in his thirties, O'Connell's squad is inexperienced, so he has consciously avoided information overloads in training. "I think short, sharp meetings are probably the best because there's probably fewer messages and you can take them all in, write down a few notes and he'll only say the main messages," observed Leinster centre Jamie Osborne. "And if there's a couple of main messages that focus going in for a match, you know, your mind is pretty clear, you know exactly what you're focusing on and it's easier to bring that in."When Easterby stepped up to temporarily fill Farrell's shoes, he was charged with leading Ireland to a third successive Six Nations title. O'Connell's task may not carry such championship-level intensity, but he has still shrewdly downplayed expectations this week. "We've had three very fast sessions where we've put them under a little bit of pressure and they've enjoyed that, but it hasn't been perfect, and I don't expect it to be perfect on Saturday," he warned. Perfection may be unattainable, but O'Connell can add another proud achievement in a rugby career full of them by leading a youthful Ireland to victory in his first run-out as head coach.
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Northampton sign South African lock Van der Mescht
Northampton Saints have signed South African lock Juan John 'JJ' van der Mescht Gardens from French club Stade 26-year-old made 75 appearances for the Top 14 side in his four seasons in der Mescht, who is a former South Africa Under-20 international, started his career on home soil with the Durban-based was there that he worked with Northampton scrum coach Jaco Pienaar."JJ's potential is through the roof," Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson told the club website., external"As well as his obvious physical attributes, he can really play ball – Jaco joked that JJ is a fly-half trapped in a second-row's body. He's also capable of making big plays which can turn matches, like charging down a kick and sprinting in for a 50-metre try when we played them in January, for example." Van der Mescht said that he is "hungry to keep improving" and hopes to now take his "game to the next level"."I have ambitions to play for the Springboks one day, but I know that starts with improving and performing well for Saints – and that's a challenge I'm really excited about," he said.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stade Francais owner backs Gustard after relegation scare
Stade Francais' billionaire owner Hans-Peter Wild on Sunday gave his full backing to Englishman Paul Gustard as head coach after the Parisians staved off the threat of relegation from the Top 14 in the last game of the regular season. The 14-time French champions needed a win over Castres on Saturday to confirm their top-flight status after a sluggish campaign Advertisement Their 21-10 win saw them finish in 12th spot, nine points ahead of bottom side Vannes, who are relegated automatically, but just one point clear of Perpignan. The Catalans will face a play-off with Grenoble, who finished runners-up in ProD2, to see which will play in next season's Top 14. Gustard, who was England's defence coach under Eddie Jones, joined the Parisians in 2022 in the same role. After the sacking of Karim Ghezal in February of this year and the subsequent sidelining of Laurent Labit, the director of rugby, Gustard moved up to head coach. The 49-year-old was linked with a return to Leicester, where he won the Champions Cup as a player, but has now signed a new deal until 2028. Advertisement "Paul would have stayed even if we had gone down," Wild told French media. "He's an excellent coach. He studied psychology, so he understands the mindset needed," the 83-year-old added. Stade Francais, who have the second highest budget in the Top 14 of 38 million euros ($43 million), won just 10 league games this season, having reached the playoff semi-finals barely 12 months ago. "It was not a good season," Wild said. "This is why we're meeting again on Wednesday to really work on the strategy for next year and what we have to change. "We clearly made mistakes in hiring, we let five or six very good people go, and what we got is nothing, absolutely nothing," he added without naming individual players. Advertisement - 'Flexible' - German-born Wild, who is reportedly worth 3.6 billion euros ($4.11 billion) thanks to his soft drinks company Capri-Sun, bought the club in 2017 but said in March he was looking for someone in France to invest in the outfit with him. "I'm too old. That's the problem. I'll be 84 this month. So how long can I do it? "This is a very expensive hobby," he added. Wild denied reports claiming Bernard Arnault, CEO of the LVMH luxury goods conglomerate and France's richest man, was interested in adding the rugby club to Paris FC, the football club he owns. Advertisement "We have interested people, but they need money," Wild said. "It depends on who it is. You have to be flexible. For next season, Wild, who was present for eight games this campaign, admitted the goal was qualifying for the Champions Cup. There will be changes in Gustard's coaching staff, with ex-France scrum-half Rory Kockott and former England prop Perry Freshwater arriving as his assistants. On the playing squad, they have been strongly linked by the rugby press with former New Zealand scrum-half Tawera Kerr-Barlow and French prop Thierry Paiva, both at La Rochelle, as they look to avoid a repeat of this season's calamity. Advertisement "If we had signed someone, we're not going to talk about it, yet," Wild said. "Most of the names in the press are wrong. "Whatever you read is all talk, by an agent," he added. Whoever comes in will need to settle quickly if Gustard is to restore Stade Francais to the top end of French rugby. iwd/bsp/pb
France 24
31-05-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Clermont boost Top 14 play-off bid with Stade Francais win
Simone crossed for his third try of the season to move the two-time French champions into fifth place in the table with one round of the regular season to play. The Parisians remain in 12th place, one point above Perpignan in the relegation play-off spot, before hosting Castres next weekend in their final game of the campaign. Stade Francais led 17-6 at half-time thanks to a try from ex-England centre Joe Marchant and points from his compatriot Zack Henry. Simone sparked Clermont's comeback with his score after 46 minutes before six further tries as well as the points from the tee added by veteran Argentina fly-half Benjamin Urdapilleta. Urdapilleta's contribtutions moved the 39-year-old to second in the Top 14's all-time scorers list on 2,491 points. Former Castres full-back Romain Teulet leads the standings on 2,612. Perpignan can go above 14-time champions Stade Francais later with a win at La Rochelle. Bottom-placed Vannes host Pau also aiming to improve their chances of safety. On Sunday, newly-crowned Champions Cup winners Bordeaux-Begles head to Toulon and Top 14 holders and league leaders Toulouse host Lyon.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Who was Roland Garros?
The French Open is often referred to as simply 'Roland Garros' - but who was he?Eugene Adrien Roland Georges Garros is regarded as a French war was a pioneering self-taught pilot, who made the world's first flight across the Mediterranean Sea before becoming a World War One fighter French aviator also developed the first single-seater fighter plane with on-board machine guns. When Garros was taken prisoner by German soldiers, they used his ideas to adapt their own aircraft. He managed to escape in 1918 but was shot dead later that year - a day before his 30th birthday. A decade later, Paris' newly built tennis stadium was named in Garros' honour. Why was the French Open named in Garros' honour? The French Open is officially called Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros - translating to the 'French Internationals of Roland Garros'.The stadium it is played in was built - in part - because of the success of 'The Four Mousquetaires (Musketeers)'. They won the Davis Cup in was named after Garros following request from Stade Francais president Emile Lesueur - a former classmate of his. When Lesueur ran to be the chair of the Stade Francais, Garros had been among those to show their support for article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team. What is Ask Me Anything? Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world's biggest sporting coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio. More questions answered... When does it get too hot to play tennis?Why do tennis players do on-court interviews?Match of the Day - your questions answeredHow does F1 measure photo finishes?
