Philippe Saint-Andre is expected to be
unveiled as Toulon’s new head coach by club president Mourad
Boudjellal on Monday.
The former French
captain has been tipped to join the Top 14 strugglers ever
since confirming he would quite Sale Sharks at the end of
the season.
Now, it seems,
Boudjellal is keen to give Toulon fans something to cheer
after a miserable first season back in the top flight, which
has been dogged by poor results, off-the-pitch controversy
and rumours of player unrest.
It is understood that
current head coach Tana Umaga will keep his job until the
end of the season, but will then be replaced by Saint-Andre
whether the club avoids relegation or not.
Boudjellal has spent
millions of euros investing in high profile star names –
mostly from overseas - but the capture of Saint-Andre is
likely to initiate a change of policy, with French players
now becoming being top of the club’s wanted list.
Foremost among those is
Sebastien Chabal, currently playing under Saint-Andre at
Sale but also set to return to France at the end of the
season. The experienced second row, or number eight, would
be an ideal choice for club captain owing to his
inspirational character both on and off the pitch.
If Saint-Andre is
confirmed as the new boss on Monday then it could spell the
end for some of Umaga’s current overseas crop, with rugby
league convert Sonny Bill Williams consistently linked with
a move back home to Australia.
Saint-Andre experienced
great success with Sale, leading them to the Guinness
Premiership title in 2006. He previously also had spells
with Gloucester, and before that in France with Bourgoin.
Meanwhile, it appears
that Clermont’s recruitment campaign for next season
continues apace with Perpignan’s Scottish scrum-half Chris
Cusiter the latest player set to sign according to French
sports daily L’Equipe.
Cusiter, 26, is out of contract at the end of this season
and is also interesting Scottish club Glasgow.
If he does sign for
Clermont he will become the second international scrum-half
to join them in a week, following
Morgan Parra’s switch from Bourgoin.
It is also likely to
precipitate the departure of current incumbent Pierre
Mignoni, 31, who has been with the club for six years.
Mignoni is now being
tipped to join the French revolution at Toulon, while
Cusiter’s current club rival David
