Former South African coach Nick Mallett is to quit as Stade Francais coach at the end of the season because he misses his family.
The English-born Mallett signed a new two-year contract only in February after guiding Stade to the title in his first year in charge but the fluent French speaker found being separated from his family in South Africa too much.
”I am leaving for purely personal reasons,” said the 47-year-old, who has two sons, aged 15 and 17, living and being educated in Cape Town.
”It is two years since I arrived in France and I don’t see my family often enough.
”Next year with the championship becoming one pool of 16 teams it means the schedule will be even busier and leaving me no way of going home from time to time,” added Mallett, who said his decision was sealed after a phone conversation with his wife over the weekend.
Stade’s flamboyant president, Max Guazzini, said that initially Mallett had asked for his contract to be reduced by a year, but after his conversation with his wife he had decided to call it a day completely.
”He told 10 days ago that he would have to leave us for family reasons. I am sad he is leaving. For the moment there is no one in mind for his replacement,” added Guazzini, who has invested millions in the Paris club from his radio empire and seen them climb from the lower divisions to champions in a matter of years, firstly under present France coach Bernard Laporte.
Stade had a difficult start to the defence of their title as they had many players at the World Cup and then a series of injuries.
But Mallett, who coached South Africa from 1997 to 2000, guiding them to the 1999 World Cup semifinals and to a record-equalling 17 successive Test victories, managed to turn the season around and on Saturday they play Toulouse for a place in the semifinals of the championship.
He had been touted to return to the Springbok helm after the World Cup debacle saw Rudolf Straeuli ditched but he lost out to Jake White and he last declined an offer from English giants Leicester earlier in the season. — Sapa-AFP