Guy Noves is the new French head coach. The long time Toulouse coach will leave the French giants after 22 years. The former longest serving head coach in world rugby will take up his post with the French national team in November.
Officiel : Guy Noves sera le futur manager-sélectionneur du #XVdeFrance. Il prendra ses fonctions début novembre. pic.twitter.com/WS7LUzIZBy
— FF Rugby (@FFRugby) May 31, 2015
Noves will be taking over a struggling side from Phillipe Saint Andre. After Saint Andre took over the World Cup runners up, they have dropped from third in the world to their current ranking of seventh. They've finished fourth in the Six Nations three times in the past four years, winning the wooden spoon for last place in 2012.
France have an abundance of talent in the shape of players like captain Theirry Dusautoir, Morgan Parra and Teddy Thomas, but Phillipe Saint Andre was never able to get the talent to gel, and there has always been talk of the players being unhappy with things. Not since Bernard Laporte left in 2007 have the French team played with the typical flair expected of them.
Noves will be tasked with improving things, but he has been on the wane as a coach in recent seasons. The emergence of Toulon and Clermont have left Toulouse in the distance a bit. Like the French team, Toulouse have gone away from the wonderful attacking rugby that won them multiple Heineken Cup titles, and rely on a heavy power based game, that is susceptible to a fast based attack. This had lead to unexpected defeats including one to Connacht in Decemeber 2013.
Some think that Noves is getting this job just as his undoubted powers are waning, but the results will speak for themselves.
See Also: It Looks Like French Rugby Have Made A Decision On Their Next Coach
Photo Credit Brendan Moran
