Bobbie Goulding sticks with French Federation after taking back resignation threat
On Sunday, October 16, the head coach of the French Rugby League side, Bobbie Goulding, has pulled back his threat of stepping down from the head coach role, which surfaced after the squads 18-38 loss against England Knights.
The news about his offer to resign from the seat had created waves not only in French quarters but also in the National Rugby League (NRL), which is all set to kick-off the Gillette Four Nations in the later part of the running month.
The French side’s coach took an extreme stance because he was angered with the Super League club, Catalan Dragons, who did not provide four players to Goulding’s outfit because of their rift with NRL. The coach wanted the players to participate in the scheduled
match against Knights’ on Saturday night.
The loss incurred by the French side hit the French coach badly and he was genuinely upset with the awkward behaviour of the Dragons, which had cost France heavily, in form of an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Knights.
Goulding still had six months remaining on his three-year-contract with the French Federation but the recent defeat was so upsetting for the head coach that he himself offered to bow out from his position ahead of time.
While referring to his recent encounter and his decision to wrap up his stint as head coach, Goulding stated, "The French federation said they didn't want me to resign. They want me to carry on and I have their backing. We also had a team meeting, the players
want me to stay. I'm going to see out the next three games and we'll then sit down and talk about a new contract to the 2013 World Cup if everything is agreed. I've never given in and I'll never give in. I'm nearly three years into the job when everybody said
I'd be gone in three months."
The French coach had left everything in the hands of the federation to decide, after he himself had offered to step down from authority. However, just as NRL experts had speculated, the furious coach was pacified by his retention in the French side.
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