Sad News “Coach lost his Job”
Upheaval at Montpellier as Cockerill sacked and disgraced bigwig hired : PlanetRugby
Upheaval at Montpellier as Richard Cockerill sacked and disgraced bigwig hired

Threatened with relegation Following a dismal start to the 2023–24 Top 14 season, Montpellier has had a significant coaching turnover.
In an attempt to salvage the season, club owner Mohed Altrad fired head coach Richard Cockerill and appointed scandal-plagued former vice chairman of World Rugby Bernard Laporte as the team’s new director of rugby.
This comes after the team suffered six straight losses and only one victory in their first seven games of the new campaign.
With Patrice Collazo in place of Cockerill
At the beginning of the season, Cockerill, who had worked for England as an assistant coach under Eddie Jones and Steve Borthwick, was named head coach of Montpellier.
But, due to his dismal run of performances, he was let go, and Patrice Collazo, a former coach of La Rochelle, Toulon, and most recently Brive, will take his place.
Only two weeks after being let go by Pro D2 team Brive, Collazo is headed to Montpellier. Vincent Etcheto, Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, Christian Labit, and Antoine Battut will be Collazo’s assistants.
Laporte, who resigned last year as vice-chairman of World Rugby and president of the FFR, is back in rugby.
Having been found guilty of four cases of passive corruption, including one implicating Montpellier owner Altrad, influence peddling, and an illegal conflict of interest, his conviction for corruption led to his resignations.
Saving the club
Laporte said that a three-hour meeting was held to put the new coaching staff together with the goal of keeping the squad from being relegated after coming and verifying the lineup.
To get the team back on track, Collazo is rumored to have inked an 18-month contract with them. Montpellier has also verified that Philippe Saint-Andre has not left as a result of Laporte’s arrival.
Going forward, Saint Andre will continue to serve as an advisor to the Top 14 team, handling “sovereign issues and ensuring relations with the authorities.”
In a club release, Altrad stated, “We are convinced that Bernard Laporte is one of the best French rugby experts.”
“In this sporting period, which is one of the most complicated that this club that I love so much has known, Bernard Laporte will have to strengthen cohesion within the collective. His support for our objectives and his passion for rugby make him the sports leader that the MHR urgently needs.”