Top 14: Montpellier
president Philippe Deffins
resigns after less than a month
14 January 2009
Montpellier president Philippe Deffins has resigned less
than a month after taking over from Thierry Perez at the Top
14 club.
Deffins
stepped down after Montpellier crashed to successive heavy
defeats – losing 34-0 away to Toulouse and then 3-30 at home
to Clermont.
He had
swept into office on a wave of optimism in the week before
Christmas, with talk of major signings and a three-year plan
to turn Montpellier into French champions, but now it seems
that his overt ambition didn’t sit well with all concerned.
Deffins,
who succeeded Perez after the latter took up a role with the
Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), admitted to the French press
that his verbose sabre rattling might have backfired.
“Perhaps
I’m responsible for the pressure that is weighing on the
players’ shoulders,” he said. “I admit my part of the
responsibility at the same time as the players and the
management. I admit my guilt.”
During
his month in office Deffins managed to persuade the cream of
Montpellier’s young talent to sign contract extensions, with
French internationals Fulgence Ouedraogo, Louis Picamoles,
Julien Tomas and Francois Trinh-Duc all committing to the
club.
He also
spoke openly about courting French hero Sebastien Chabal and
Les Bleus’ captain Lionel Nallet, while one of his last acts
as president was to convince Biarritz full-back Benjamin
Thiery to sign for two years.
But now, for whatever reason, it appears the
ambitious president bit off more than he could chew and has
decided to step aside with immediate effect. What impact
that will have on the possible capture of Chabal and Nallet
remains to be seen, but boardroom instability will hardly
prove an attractive selling point.
The club
had to discipline former All Black scrum-half Justin
Marshall last week after he refused to go on as a late
substitute against Toulouse and they are currently
languishing in eighth position, five points off Heineken Cup
qualification, after an indifferent season to date.
Elsewhere in France injuries were the main talking point as
another round of European action beckons.
Heineken
Cup runners-up Toulouse confirmed that neither Maxime
Medard nor Thierry Dusautoir would play against Glasgow
Warriors on Saturday, with William Servat, Yannick Nyanga
and Fabien Pelous also being rested from full training for a
variety of knocks and ailments.
The
defending French champions will secure their quarter-final
passage with a home win against Glasgow as they seek their
16th straight victory in all competitions.
European
Challenge Cup hopefuls Brive are looking to sign prop
Petru Balan as cover for the injured Pablo Henn, with the
Saint-Jean-de-Luz player expected to complete the move later
this week.
Mont-de-Marsan’s ECC preparations have also been
hampered by injury after Marc Giraud broke a jaw in
training.
Giraud is expected to be
out of action for two months following an operation at
Purpan Hospital in Toulouse on Tuesday.
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