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12th February 2016
01:55pm GMT

“The disappointment Paul and his wife Emily may feel…will be short lived. Emily was set on going there and I think Paulie may still end up coaching in the south of France next year. “Toulon have a lot of persuading to do. But if they want a forwards coach, or a man who can offer so much on the training pitch or in the dressing room it’s Paul O’Connell.”
The Irish influence in French rugby has grown hugely over the last four years with Bernard Jackman in charge at Grenoble, while a number of players have also decided to take the plunge in the grueling French leagues.
O’Gara feels that if O’Connell wants to take the first steps towards running his own rugby side, Toulon may present the ideal opportunity.
“He has run the Munster and Ireland line-out for 15 years. He has run 80% of the team meetings for 15 years. If he eventually goes down the forwards coach route he’ll have some research to do on lines of running, the breakdown etc. But forward play, and leading – that’s his bread and butter, and this guy is different gravy. The language isn’t an issue there, because everyone in Toulon speaks English.”
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