Guy Novès sacking symptomatic of French conflict going back 23 years | Paul Rees

France coach tried to restore Les Blues to the way they were before flamboyance was squashed under dumbbells, medicine balls and outside influencesOne of rugby union’s more unusual books goes some way to explaining recent events in France. Guy Novès last week became the first national coach to be sacked and the French Rugby Federation is claiming “serious misconduct” by the 63-year-old amounted to a breach of contract which meant he was not entitled to compensation.Alex Potter, an Englishman, and Georges Duthen, who was the rugby editor of L’Equipe, published The Rise of French Rugby in 1961, …