Former Dolphin number eight James Coughlan is to take temporary charge of Top 14 side Toulon.
It comes after the French club dismissed head coach Patrice Collazo this afternoon.
A statement from the three-time European champions says they have mutually parted ways with Collazo, who had been in charge at the club since 2018 and was under contract until the summer of 2025.
He departs with the club second from bottom in the Top 14, with just two wins from eight games, the most recent defeat being a 39-6 loss at the hands of Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle last weekend.
Collazo had arrived from La Rochelle in 2018, leading the club at a ninth and eighth place finish in his two full seasons, with his side fourth in the table when the 2019/20 season was abandoned due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Former Clermont Auvergne head coach Franck Azema is expected to be named head coach when president Bernard Lemaitre holds a press conference on Friday.
However, the club say Coughlan will take charge on a temporary basis for Saturday’s meeting with Biarritz. There will be plenty of Cork accents on Saturday as fellow former Dolphin players Dave O’Callaghan & James Cronin, both unfortunately injured at present are with Biarritz.