Despite a successful start to the Top 14 season on the pitch, Aviron Bayonnais have again been rocked by major internal tensions after a “very heated” meeting between president Philippe Tayeb and manager Grégory Patat in late October. According to revelations from Sud-Ouest, the president is said to have violently attacked his coach’s management, going as far as telling him: “You’re not a good manager. Laurent (Travers) has to take everything back over.“

The stormy exchange, which took place a few days before Aviron’s comfortable win over Montauban, illustrates the rift that persists behind the scenes between the two men, despite Grégory Patat’s contract extension until 2028. President Tayeb is even said to have justified that extension by claiming it had only been signed “because you had public opinion on your side“.

Those humiliating words and the public questioning of the Gers-born manager, hugely popular with his dressing room and the supporters, come against a backdrop of a difficult cohabitation with Laurent Travers, who arrived as director of rugby this summer and is said to have made clear his desire to be “on the grass“. The former Racing 92 coach, a long-standing friend of Philippe Tayeb, is reportedly at the centre of a clash over territory and strategic vision.

A toxic atmosphere

A member of the Bayonne dressing room is said to have lamented this toxic atmosphere, taking the view that the coaching staff were more than meeting the targets set for them. For the Basque club, currently well placed in the Top 14, internal calm is under threat.

This fresh crisis is a reminder of the difficult end to former manager Yannick Bru’s tenure, whose relations with the Bayonne board also deteriorated. The Aviron Bayonnais board and Grégory Patat did not wish to comment officially on these revelations.