Laporte to step down after 2007 World Cup

FRENCH rugby coach Bernard Laporte will quit his job at his contract’s end after next year’s World Cup to concentrate on his own business interests.

“One thing is for sure, I will not be coach and I will not take over at a club,” said Laporte when asked about his future after the next World Cup in France.

But he added that if he were ever to return to rugby, it would be to Paris giants Stade Francais, the club he led from the third division in 1995 to French champions three years later.

“That club taught me that above all rugby is a pleasure,” said 41-year-old Laporte.

Named as France coach in November 1999, Laporte extended his contract by four years after the 2003 World Cup, when his side finished fourth.

He has also led the French side to three Six Nations titles (2002, 2004 and 2006), the first two after completing Grand Slams.

“I want to do something else,” said Laporte expressing his interest in the food growing business. “When you’re a coach of a team you can’t do anything else.”

French rugby federation president Bernard Lapasset said Laporte’s comments came as no surprise.

Lapasset said that any talk of seeking a successor to Laporte was premature. ” We have to get past the World Cup first.”

Meanwhile, , the 53 Argentinian rugby union players summoned for training ahead of Wales’ two-game tour and a one-off match against New Zealand have gone on strike.

The players, led by captain Agustin Pichot, are unhappy with the poor financial package they receive from the cash-strapped Argentinian rugby federation , and are demanding the payment of a yearly bonus for training with the national team.