Stade Francais have opened talks with Paul Gustard about extending his deal, which expires on the finish of subsequent season, after his former membership Leicester Tigers did not agree a switch charge to purchase out the final yr of his contract.
Gustard, 49, was a part of the Tigers facet that defeated Stade to win the Heineken Cup in 2001 and was Leicester’s first alternative to interchange Michael Cheika, whose one-year contract expires at Welford Street this summer season.
However Capri-Solar king Hans-Peter Wild, one in every of Europe’s wealthiest males, desires to reward the previous England defence coach for his loyalty to Stade by providing him a long-term extension to his present deal.
Multi-billionaire Wild was reluctant to lose Gustard, who steered Stade to Top 14 security after being promoted to go coach when Karim Ghezal was sacked final September, simply 4 video games into the marketing campaign.
Gustard was handed sole management of staff affairs in February after director of rugby Laurent Labit was moved apart following defeats to Toulon and Vannes, which left Stade backside of the desk regardless of a win over Montpellier.
Nevertheless, Gustard has since plotted a mini-revival, shifting Stade into twelfth place with a six-point hole forward of Vannes, who’re favourites to drop again into Pro D2 after just one season among the many high tier.
Gustard spent seven years teaching at Saracens earlier than changing into England’s defence coach in 2016. He has labored overseas since leaving Harlequins in 2021, the place he was head of rugby for 3 years.
He spent a season as assistant coach at Benetton earlier than shifting to Paris in 2022 as Stade’s defence coach, later being promoted to the highest job.
Gustard mentioned that when he moved to Italy, he wished to expertise working overseas whereas his household was younger and to problem himself, with no signal the journey is ending quickly.
