TOULON — Pierre Mignoni has quit as Toulon director of rugby after just one win in five Top 14 matches left the club in 13th place, the relegation/promotion spot. The decision followed last Sunday’s 0-28 defeat at Montpellier, with Franck Azéma taking charge as head coach ahead of next weekend’s home fixture against Racing 92 at the Stade Mayol.
Club president Bernard Lemaître said the decision came from Mignoni himself and that he had tried to keep him, telling rugbyrama.fr: “The decision came from Pierre. To be perfectly honest, I spent all of Monday trying to convince him to continue his mission. I didn’t succeed.” Lemaître added: “For me, the problem with our poor start to the season doesn’t stem from Pierre… It’s not the staff who are responsible; it’s the players,” and said: “The players weren’t behaving like competitors. And I took the liberty of telling them this Tuesday morning at 9am. I expect a reaction from them against Racing at Mayol in front of our fans.”
Toulon had reached the Investec Champions Cup semi-final last May and took Leinster to the wire in Dublin, but endured a difficult 2025/26 domestic campaign where they finished ninth, 13 points off La Rochelle in the sixth and final play-off spot. Hopes of an upturn in 2026/27 have faded quickly, with only winless Vannes below Toulon in the automatic relegation place. Mignoni, who took a leave of absence for a month last season following a breakdown, had returned to the club in 2022.
Lemaître confirmed the new structure, saying: “Franck Azéma becomes head coach, and the assistant coaches remain the same. I repeat, the problem wasn’t with the staff but with the players. I blame them, and they know it. I regret Pierre’s departure.” In its own statement, Rugby Club Toulonnais said Mignoni had informed management of his decision to end his mission, which the club accepted, stating that after exhausting all available resources he determined a change was necessary to revitalise the professional team. Azéma will assume sporting direction of the team from Tuesday until further notice.
French media have since speculated that Mignoni could quickly find a new role with Fabien Galthié’s national team, with Les Bleus on the lookout for a new assistant. Toulon thanked Mignoni for his commitment since returning in 2022, noting he contributed to the reconstruction and structuring of the sporting project around the professional sector and the Toulon training programme.