Edinburgh's European opponents hit by major change 9 days before trip as Scotland stars set for regime change
Toulon announce departure of former France international after one Top 14 win in five.
Head coach Pierre Mignoni has left Toulon after a disappointing start to their Top 14 season that has seen them win just one of their opening five matches.
The final straw for the 28-times capped former France scrum-half came when his side were convincingly beaten 28-0 away to Montpellier at the weekend. It follows on from a largely sub-par 2025/26 campaign for the three time Champions Cup winners where they finished ninth in the league, missing out on the play-offs.
Edinburgh are set to welcome the Red and Blacks to the Hive when they kick off their EPCR Challenge Cup campaign next weekend. Unless the French side confirm a new appointment before then it will be former head coach Franck Azéma in charge for that contest.
“Insufficient results” - Toulon head coach departs with Challenge Cup clash in Edinburgh just over a week away
A statement from RC Toulon said: “Pierre Mignoni informed the management of Rugby Club Toulonnais of his decision to end his mission as Director of Rugby, which the club accepted. This decision comes in the context of insufficient sporting results since the start of the season.
“Faced with this situation, Pierre Mignoni chose to fully assume his responsibilities. After exhausting all available resources, he determined that a change was now necessary to revitalize the professional team. With this decision, he hopes to enable the squad to quickly return to winning ways. Franck Azéma takes over responsibility for the professional group from today and will assume the sporting direction of the team until further notice.
“Rugby Club Toulonnais would like to thank Pierre Mignoni for his commitment and for all the work he has done since returning to the club in 2022. In particular, he contributed to the reconstruction and structuring of the sporting project, around the professional sector and the Toulon training program, during these last seasons.”
Toulon currently have two Scotland internationals on their books in scrum-half Ben White, who has been at the Stade Mayol since 2023, and centre Huw Jones, who arrived this summer after leaving Glasgow Warriors. The current disruption comes at an inopportune time for the national team duo with the resumption of the Nations Championship next month, beginning with the visit of the All Blacks to Murrayfield.
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