Noves retires 'nauseated' by France firing

Toulouse (France) (AFP) – Guy Noves, the most succesful French club rugby coach, said on Monday that he is ending his career, in part because he still feels disgust at being fired by France.

“I’d rather put my coaching career on hold,” Noves said. “I have a kind of nausea that leads me to think that I should take my foot off the gas.” 

As France, coached by Jacques Brunel, prepare to face Wales in a World Cup quarterfinal in Japan on Sunday, Noves made clear he is still angry with the French Rugby Federation (FFR), which fired him on 27 December 2017, and also with “one or two people” in the media who were not, in his view, honest. 

“I took so many blows,” said Noves.

After winning the Top 14 10 times and the European Cup four times with Toulouse, Noves became France coach in May 2015. 

Under Noves, France won just seven of 21 matches.

When he became the first ever France rugby coach to be fired while still under contract, he lodged a complaint with the labour tribunal in Toulouse. 

It found in his favour and ordered the FFR to pay €1 million in damages for “early termination of the employment contract without serious misconduct” and “damage to reputation”. 

Noves said he also wants to stop because of his age and the difficulty of building a squad.

“I’m not sure I have the time it takes to build and especially to succeed in a project,” he said. 

“It is at the end that we look to see if we have succeeded.”