LIFE MOVES FAST in the Top 14. In last weekend’s opening round newly-promoted Vannes lose away to Castres. Not a disastrous result, but given it was a game Vannes felt they could have won, only to underperform on the day, it’s one that stings. And with testing fixtures against Montpellier (3.35pm today) and Toulouse next up, things can get tricky very, very quickly.
“We’re under the pump a wee bit after the weekend,” says Jeremy Davidson.
“You’ve just got to learn fast in this league because it’s week after week, it’s a lot of pressure.”
The former Ulster and Ireland lock is now in his second season as Vannes’ forwards coach, his latest stop on a long tour of French rugby.
The travelling Vannes supporters in Castres last weekend. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
In 1998, he landed in Castres, before returning to Ulster in 2001, where he was forced to retire due to a knee injury at just 29 two years later.
Yet he’d made a strong impression in the south of France, returning to become Castres’ defence coach in 2007. After another return to Ulster there were stints at Aurillac, Bordeaux and Brive before taking the Castres head coach job in 2023, lasting two years in the role.
In Vannes, he’s landed in a town ready to get behind their club. Two years ago they became the first team from Brittany to reach the Top14, lasting one season before dipping back to ProD2. During that rise new sponsors came on board alongside a swell of support on the ground. Vannes has a population of around 55,000, but sucks in support from surrounding regions where football has traditionally provided the bigger draw.
Now, the clubs budget sits around €26 million, and the ambition matches the financial backing.
Because of the real identity there is in Brittany and Breton people all over the world, they want to support the rugby club and rugby is becoming very, very popular here.
“It’s kind of a wee bit like the same model as La Rochelle, who took a while to get up from the second division but then had a substantial uplift in their sponsorship, their following, their turnouts, their supporter base, and they developed a big stadium to back it up and went all the way to go and win the European championship back-to-back.
“I think that’s kind of what they’re hoping for here.”
Culturally, the club shares similar values to some of Davidson’s previous jobs.
“I’ve been at clubs that are possibly a wee bit more down to earth,” he explains.
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“For example, Brive and Castres and certainly Bordeaux, when I was at Bordeaux it wasn’t the Bordeaux on the same scale as what it is now after winning the European Cup. Those clubs are generally quite grounded, small towns, very big family emphasis on the way that they do things and their culture built around that, they look after players.
“Take Castres, they have an awful lot of players who’ve played well into their 30s, Benjamin Urdapilleta, Antoine Tichit, Leone Nakarawa, because it’s a family club where if you’ve given good service, they’re going to stand by you and let you play on until the end of your sell-by date.
Vannes play at the 11,300 capacity Stade de La Rabine. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
“That’s slightly different than other clubs I’ve heard of in Paris, like Racing or Stade Francais, because you’re maybe a wee bit more transient in that rugby environment, people get bought in and thrown out the other side of the washing machine very quickly.”
The same can go for coaches, and while Davidson has enjoyed some great times in French rugby, the volatile nature of coaching in France carries its challenges.
“Marc Lièvremont, when he coached Dax, he said coaches’ wives must have their furniture on wheels, which is very truthful because how long are you going to stay in one particular environment. Are you going to stay there for two years? If you’ve been particularly successful, are you going to stay there for three years, and then where are you going to move to?
“For a coach in Top 14, generally the average lifespan is about 18 months in a top job, which is very, very little, and makes it a very volatile environment.
“I think everyone kind of knows that and goes into a job with the most ambition possible, but in the back of their head, they know if the results go pear-shaped and there’s a chain of successive losses there will be one or two names dropped in the press, and whenever that happens, it doesn’t sound too good . . .”
Previously, those pressures could weigh heavily, but as an assistant coach Davidson is enjoying having a bit less on his plate, describing himself as “a lot more laid back” now that he’s focusing on his own areas of expertise.
The former Ulster man joined Vannes in 2025. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Naturally, it helps that it’s been going well. Last season Vannes finished with the second-best lineout in the ProD2, but you can sense the frustration as Davidson explains his side were just 0.5% behind chart-toppers Dax.
He’s chasing strong numbers again, as Vannes aim to hold onto their place in arguably the most demanding league in world rugby.
“We all know that we’re in the kind of job where we’re well paid, well looked after, everyone and their granny would like to be a professional rugby coach. There’s a lot of players coming out of rugby now and a lot of them would like to become coaches straight away.
“(But) It’s not the ideal job for everyone because you really do have to work particularly hard, long hours, analysing training, preparing schedules, analysing the opposition, etc.
So it’s maybe not all that it’s cut out to be, but you still have to pinch yourself from time to time and say, I’m very, very lucky in that I’m working day-in and day-out within the game that I’m so passionate about.”
Last season was one of the good ones, Vannes storming the ProD2 to finish 21 points clear of second-placed Colomiers, before edging Provence in the playoff final.
But now expectations have changed. Such was Vannes’ dominance last season, some clubs sent shadow sides to the Stade de la Rabine, accepting their fate before boarding the bus. This season, they face a fight to just stay in the top division.
The two-time Lions tourist acknowledges the need to manage that shift in mentality. In France, controlling the dressing room is a key part of the job. Whereas in Ireland a dressing room will be predominantly made up of Irish players, with a bulk of those playing for their home province, in France a squad will carry a more diverse mix.
While there’s plenty of French in the Vannes dressing room, there’s also South Africans, Argentinians, Fijians, Scots, Kiwis, Italians and even a German.
It does take an awful lot of effort to make sure that the head coach manages the dressing room well and keeps the key foreign players involved.
“What you can see from time-to-time is the culture or the environment can change quite dramatically. So if you get a run of losses in the league, it’s not unheard of to see the champions down in the relegation zone. For example, Montpellier have done a yo-yo over the past few years, won a Top 14 final against Castres (2022), and two years later were down in the relegation zone. The same thing recently for Stade Francais.
“So the changing room is very important over here and it’s very important you avoid any kind of cliques or separation between foreign clans and French clans or, indeed, different towns.
“When I was at Castres, at that particular period there was a bit of a split between the people who came from Castres and other areas in France and the people that came from Toulouse to play for Castres. They were kind of looked upon as if they thought they were better rugby players just because they came from Toulouse, you know?”
Thankfully, times have changed.
“I would say it’s a lot easier now. When I played in Castres, basically the town closed down on a Sunday and Monday.
“There wasn’t a shop open, which someone from Ireland or the UK or any other developed country would find kind of ridiculous. Not even a service station open. We didn’t lose too often at that stage, but after losing a Saturday night game at home, you’re sitting in Castres on a Sunday and you don’t feel like going out over the door and there’s not a shop open for 48 hours, let alone a takeaway joint.
“It can be a lonely place, and you can feel a million miles away from home in those situations.
“I’m sure some of the foreigners these days still feel that way. I think it takes a balance as well in your coaching staff with French coaches that can speak English, and thankfully now most of them do have a conversational standard of English to be able to talk to the foreign players.”
For now, Davidson is comfortable settling into life in Brittany. The pull of home is always there, with Davidson enjoying Ulster’s upturn in form over recent seasons, but with young children to consider, there’s a reluctance to uproot the family again.
“It’s a beautiful town, a beautiful region. I can now see why so many people from Ireland and England come over to Brittany for holidays. The beaches are beautiful, the seaside’s fantastic, and the weather’s better (than home), so we hope to stay here for a while longer. We’re incredibly happy here.”
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'Week after week, it's a lot of pressure' - Life as a coach in Top14 rugby
LIFE MOVES FAST in the Top 14. In last weekend’s opening round newly-promoted Vannes lose away to Castres. Not a disastrous result, but given it was a game Vannes felt they could have won, only to underperform on the day, it’s one that stings. And with testing fixtures against Montpellier (3.35pm today) and Toulouse next up, things can get tricky very, very quickly.
“We’re under the pump a wee bit after the weekend,” says Jeremy Davidson.
“You’ve just got to learn fast in this league because it’s week after week, it’s a lot of pressure.”
The former Ulster and Ireland lock is now in his second season as Vannes’ forwards coach, his latest stop on a long tour of French rugby.
In 1998, he landed in Castres, before returning to Ulster in 2001, where he was forced to retire due to a knee injury at just 29 two years later.
Yet he’d made a strong impression in the south of France, returning to become Castres’ defence coach in 2007. After another return to Ulster there were stints at Aurillac, Bordeaux and Brive before taking the Castres head coach job in 2023, lasting two years in the role.
In Vannes, he’s landed in a town ready to get behind their club. Two years ago they became the first team from Brittany to reach the Top14, lasting one season before dipping back to ProD2. During that rise new sponsors came on board alongside a swell of support on the ground. Vannes has a population of around 55,000, but sucks in support from surrounding regions where football has traditionally provided the bigger draw.
Now, the clubs budget sits around €26 million, and the ambition matches the financial backing.
“It’s kind of a wee bit like the same model as La Rochelle, who took a while to get up from the second division but then had a substantial uplift in their sponsorship, their following, their turnouts, their supporter base, and they developed a big stadium to back it up and went all the way to go and win the European championship back-to-back.
“I think that’s kind of what they’re hoping for here.”
Culturally, the club shares similar values to some of Davidson’s previous jobs.
“I’ve been at clubs that are possibly a wee bit more down to earth,” he explains.
“For example, Brive and Castres and certainly Bordeaux, when I was at Bordeaux it wasn’t the Bordeaux on the same scale as what it is now after winning the European Cup. Those clubs are generally quite grounded, small towns, very big family emphasis on the way that they do things and their culture built around that, they look after players.
“Take Castres, they have an awful lot of players who’ve played well into their 30s, Benjamin Urdapilleta, Antoine Tichit, Leone Nakarawa, because it’s a family club where if you’ve given good service, they’re going to stand by you and let you play on until the end of your sell-by date.
“That’s slightly different than other clubs I’ve heard of in Paris, like Racing or Stade Francais, because you’re maybe a wee bit more transient in that rugby environment, people get bought in and thrown out the other side of the washing machine very quickly.”
The same can go for coaches, and while Davidson has enjoyed some great times in French rugby, the volatile nature of coaching in France carries its challenges.
“Marc Lièvremont, when he coached Dax, he said coaches’ wives must have their furniture on wheels, which is very truthful because how long are you going to stay in one particular environment. Are you going to stay there for two years? If you’ve been particularly successful, are you going to stay there for three years, and then where are you going to move to?
“For a coach in Top 14, generally the average lifespan is about 18 months in a top job, which is very, very little, and makes it a very volatile environment.
“I think everyone kind of knows that and goes into a job with the most ambition possible, but in the back of their head, they know if the results go pear-shaped and there’s a chain of successive losses there will be one or two names dropped in the press, and whenever that happens, it doesn’t sound too good . . .”
Previously, those pressures could weigh heavily, but as an assistant coach Davidson is enjoying having a bit less on his plate, describing himself as “a lot more laid back” now that he’s focusing on his own areas of expertise.
Naturally, it helps that it’s been going well. Last season Vannes finished with the second-best lineout in the ProD2, but you can sense the frustration as Davidson explains his side were just 0.5% behind chart-toppers Dax.
He’s chasing strong numbers again, as Vannes aim to hold onto their place in arguably the most demanding league in world rugby.
“We all know that we’re in the kind of job where we’re well paid, well looked after, everyone and their granny would like to be a professional rugby coach. There’s a lot of players coming out of rugby now and a lot of them would like to become coaches straight away.
“(But) It’s not the ideal job for everyone because you really do have to work particularly hard, long hours, analysing training, preparing schedules, analysing the opposition, etc.
Last season was one of the good ones, Vannes storming the ProD2 to finish 21 points clear of second-placed Colomiers, before edging Provence in the playoff final.
But now expectations have changed. Such was Vannes’ dominance last season, some clubs sent shadow sides to the Stade de la Rabine, accepting their fate before boarding the bus. This season, they face a fight to just stay in the top division.
The two-time Lions tourist acknowledges the need to manage that shift in mentality. In France, controlling the dressing room is a key part of the job. Whereas in Ireland a dressing room will be predominantly made up of Irish players, with a bulk of those playing for their home province, in France a squad will carry a more diverse mix.
While there’s plenty of French in the Vannes dressing room, there’s also South Africans, Argentinians, Fijians, Scots, Kiwis, Italians and even a German.
“What you can see from time-to-time is the culture or the environment can change quite dramatically. So if you get a run of losses in the league, it’s not unheard of to see the champions down in the relegation zone. For example, Montpellier have done a yo-yo over the past few years, won a Top 14 final against Castres (2022), and two years later were down in the relegation zone. The same thing recently for Stade Francais.
“So the changing room is very important over here and it’s very important you avoid any kind of cliques or separation between foreign clans and French clans or, indeed, different towns.
“When I was at Castres, at that particular period there was a bit of a split between the people who came from Castres and other areas in France and the people that came from Toulouse to play for Castres. They were kind of looked upon as if they thought they were better rugby players just because they came from Toulouse, you know?”
Thankfully, times have changed.
“I would say it’s a lot easier now. When I played in Castres, basically the town closed down on a Sunday and Monday.
“There wasn’t a shop open, which someone from Ireland or the UK or any other developed country would find kind of ridiculous. Not even a service station open. We didn’t lose too often at that stage, but after losing a Saturday night game at home, you’re sitting in Castres on a Sunday and you don’t feel like going out over the door and there’s not a shop open for 48 hours, let alone a takeaway joint.
“It can be a lonely place, and you can feel a million miles away from home in those situations.
“I’m sure some of the foreigners these days still feel that way. I think it takes a balance as well in your coaching staff with French coaches that can speak English, and thankfully now most of them do have a conversational standard of English to be able to talk to the foreign players.”
For now, Davidson is comfortable settling into life in Brittany. The pull of home is always there, with Davidson enjoying Ulster’s upturn in form over recent seasons, but with young children to consider, there’s a reluctance to uproot the family again.
“It’s a beautiful town, a beautiful region. I can now see why so many people from Ireland and England come over to Brittany for holidays. The beaches are beautiful, the seaside’s fantastic, and the weather’s better (than home), so we hope to stay here for a while longer. We’re incredibly happy here.”
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jeremy davidson Rugby top14 Vannes vannes life