Bordeaux partways with coach Christophe Urios

Union Bordeaux Bègles have announced the departure of head coach Christophe Urios.

Urios led Bordeaux to back-to-back Top 14 semi-finals as well as a Champions Cup semi-final during his time at the Club but a disappointing start to the 2022/23 season has resulted in his departure.

Reports of tension between Urios and Club president Laurent Marti have been doing the rounds this season and it seems to have come to a boiling point.

Urios' activities outside the club has reportedly been one of the issues while it is rumoured that he has fallen out with several players, highlighted by Cameron Woki's swift departure ahead of the new season.

Star flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert has also had a fallout with Urios according to French media, which has seen him push for an exit despite signing a contract extension at the end of last season.

Bordeaux narrowly missed out on automatic qualification to the semi-finals of the Top 14 last season going down to Perpignan. In the aftermath of the match, Urios slammed many of his main players including Matthieu Jalibert and Cameron Woki.

A week later when they secured a semi-final spot, Jalibert told Canal+ “You saw the quotes from our coach in the press. I just wanted to say we don’t play for Christophe, we’re on a mission for the players.”

In a statement confirming Urios' departure, Bordeaux thanked the coach for his three seasons.

"We would like to thank Christophe for helping to make UBB progress over the past three seasons. His work has enabled the club to write a beautiful page in its history."

Former Toulouse hooker Yannick Bru is said to be a favourite to replace Urios. 

Bru is the former head coach of Bayonne and is currently working as an assistant coach with the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship.