Marc Lievremont might have had a brilliant playing career for the French national rugby union team but that doesn’t guarantee that he would have a similar illustrious career as a coach. Lievremont’s appointment as the new rugby union coach of the French national team came on Tuesday in the wake of the departure of Bernard Laporte to the post of a junior minister in the French government.
But doubts have already started to crop up over the appointment. The former flanker is relatively inexperienced in the coaching arena at the highest and that could be damaging for a national rugby team that has potential which was illustrated when they reached the semi-finals of the recently concluded Rugby World Cup on home soil.
But Lievremont has tremendous knowledge about the present generation of rugby players and also has a Under-21 World Cup title as a coach under his belt. Acknowledged as one of the greatest ever rugby player to have donned French colours, Marc Lievremont is hugely respected by the players and rugby fans alike. This popularity could be beneficial both to the coach and the players.
Marc Lievremont has signed a four-year contract with the French Rugby Federation. His assistant will be Emile Ntamack, who is also a former French international hero, and Didier Retiere. While Ntamack will coach the backs, Retiere will coach the forwards.
This balanced French rugby team has lots of potential and in all likelihood the novel and enthusiastic ideas of Lievremont would be good for the progress of the national team. Although some members of the French Rugby Federation are not entirely convinced that Marc Lievremont possesses the right pedigree to take charge of one of the best rugby team sin the world, Lievremont’s energy and confidence should see him through.
Image Source: Scrum
Source: BBC
