Cockerill goes out, Collazo comes in

TIME was very firmly called on Richard Cockerill’s brief run as Montpellier manager six days ago, after just five months and a total of seven Top 14 matches.

- JAMES SHARRINGTON

The ‘results today’ demands of high-pressure clubs like Montpellier meant that the end was both predictable and predicted. Despite the expectation, however, it was still spectacular when it came after a sixth defeat in a row.

It turned out owner Mohed Altrad had been in contact with former FFR President Bernard Laporte, who accepted the post of director of rugby the morning after last Saturday’s defeat at Perpignan. He wasted no time ripping out the existing coaching set-up.

Within hours, Cockerill was out, and head coach Jean-Baptiste Elissalde shifted into a new role, away from first-team affairs. Sporting director Neil McIlroy, L’Equipe reported, was also shown the door after less than a month in post.

Patrice Collazo, who lost his job as manager of Brive the previous week, dashed to the GGL Stadium to replace Cockerill. It was, the club said, ‘an emergency situation’.

The new manager revealed at a press conference this week that the period from first contact to job offer to his arrival in Montpellier was so short that he had not had time to clear out his office at his former club.

Ex-Soyaux Angouleme head coach Vincent Etcheto replaces Elissalde; Christian Labit, whose last coaching job was at Carcassonne, and Antoine Battut – who had been expected to arrive at Montpellier shortly as lineout coach, anyway, having lost his job at Bayonne before the start of the season after being found guilty of assaulting a nurse – also arrived this week; defence coach Benson Stanley is the only survivor of the not-so ancien regime.