Mike Ford looking forward to being out of the spotlight at Toulon
Monday 26 September 2016 17:23, UK
Former Bath director of rugby Mike Ford says he is happy to play second fiddle to Toulon head coach Diego Dominguez.
Ford has joined the coaching team at former European champions Toulon, replacing another ex-Bath boss Steve Meehan as the backs coach.
The 50-year-old, who left the Recreation Ground at the end of last season following a disappointing ninth-place finish in the Aviva Premiership, will work alongside Toulon head coach Diego Dominguez and insists that for the time being he does not have ambitions to become the boss.
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"Diego Dominguez is the boss," Ford said. "I'm going to quite enjoy this time of being No 2 and under the radar. The last year at Bath rugby was quite stressful.
"As the director of rugby you are in the spotlight every week and it will be nice for these next three months going under the radar and do what I'm good at which is coaching on the field - I'm looking forward to that.
"In the future one day I would like to get back to being the boss, but for now I'm really happy in the role."
Dominguez's side have had a mixed start to the new season with just three wins from their six league games in Top 14 and Ford, who guided Bath to the Premiership final in 2015, hopes to have an immediate impact on the French giants.
"They have already got a very strong coaching staff with Diego Dominguez, Jacques Delmas and Marc Dal Maso and my job is to come and help them take their attacking game to the next level.
"I enjoyed my time at Bath. I think everyone would agree the way Bath played over the last few years has been exciting and I hope to replicate that in France."
Ford also gained experience as a defence coach working at international level with England, guiding the squad to the 2007 RWC Final. He will have responsibility for attack and defence, as well as Toulon's overall game plan.
"The attacking side and the way the French rugby and the Top 14 is played is quite different to any other league, the Premiership in England is the nearest to it.
"The challenge will be to be able to keep the ball in play so we can create some opportunities that the fans and spectators can get excited about, like we did at Bath."
