Paul Gustard back on top after his French club fires boss

Paul Gustard has been handed sole control of first-team affairs at Stade Français on the day it was reported he is set to rival Stuart Lancaster to become the new head coach at Leicester Tigers.

The Daily Telegraph has reported that it’s a straight shoot-out between Gustard and Lancaster to replace Michael Cheika at Welford Road when the former Wallabies and Argentina coach leaves at the end of the season.

Gustard, 49, was part of a Tigers squad that won four Premiership titles in the five seasons that he spent at the Tigers between 1997 and 2002, when he left to join London Irish.

He came on as a replacement in the 2001 Heineken Cup final when the Tigers defeated Stade Français 34-30 at the Parc des Princes, and the former England defence coach has been working in Paris since 2022.

Gustard has been working abroad for four years. In January 2021, within a week of leaving his job as Head of Rugby with Harlequins, he joined Italian outfit Benetton as an assistant coach.

He initially moved to Stade as defence coach but was promoted to head coach when they sacked Karim Ghezal last September, just four games into their Top 14 campaign.

Director of Rugby Laurent Labit stayed in control of team affairs, but Saturday’s 24-6 defeat at Toulon, combined with Vannes beating Montpellier 34-27, has seen them slump to the bottom of the Top 14 table.

It has sent the alarm bells ringing and prompted several crisis meetings, which have seen Labit removed from all coaching duties and Gustard placed in sole charge with immediate effect.

Midi Olympique has reported that several Stade players reported to management that they did not know who was in charge of coaching Labit, who remains at the club, or Tigers target Gustard.

Gustard will be assisted by Morgan Parra and Julien Tastet, and his first game in sole charge will be for the visit of La Rochelle this weekend.