MIKE FORD IS relishing the chance to work in the Top 14 after agreeing a deal to join Toulon as their backs coach, working alongside head coach Diego Dominguez.
Ford had been heavily linked with a move to France following his departure from Bath at the end of the last Premiership season.
And, following weeks of discussions with Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal, a deal was struck and Ford was unveiled at a media conference on Monday.
The 50-year-old will replace Steve Meehan working with Toulon’s array of stars, and arrives on the back of Sunday’s impressive 23-21 win over leaders Clermont Auvergne.
“This is the biggest club in Europe,” said Ford. “This is an exciting challenge. I will work with great coaches and world-class players.
“Mourad wants to see the beautiful game, he wants his team to score lots of tries that will make fans want to come to the stadium, but he especially wants to win.
“I was a defence coach for 10 years. When you study the defence, you look at how the teams attack. When I arrived in Bath, I set up a game which was very difficult for other teams to defend against.”
Ford was quick to stress he was not taking full charge at the club, insisting Dominguez remains the man in charge and he is just there to assist the Argentine.
“We have talked several times,” he added. “Diego’s the boss. I’m here to help. “Last year in Bath, I lived with a lot of tension on and off the field, so it’s not a problem for me to be deputy, on the contrary.
“I am only on the ground to take care of the backs. There are good things in place. I’ll try to progressively improve things for that attack some more.”
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