Frenchman Takes Over Japan

[Mulboyne]

[Mulboyne]

That was short and sweet.

Japan to axe coach Elissalde over club row

Japan's rugby coach Jean-Pierre Elissalde is set to be axed over his involvement with French club Bayonne, the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) said on Wednesday. JRFU officials were angered by Elissalde's decision to take over as Bayonne's general manager without consulting them and will confirm his sacking later this week.

My sympathy is with the JRFU. If Elissalde had pulled that with any other national team he would have been kicked out of his job promptly there too. You probably can balance the two roles but it more often happens that a club coach is asked to take on national tean duties rather than the other way round. In any case, it's just common sense that you talk first with your original employer and it was always going to be unlikely that the JRFU wanted a part-time manager in a high-profile role.

[Mulboyne]

I've just seen this:

Elissalde commented: "For the federation it's a question of principle, and they are strong on principles in Japan".

Perhaps by comparison with France.