An 'open war' looks likely to kick off between French Rugby (FFR) and recently sacked national team coach Guy Noves.
Noves was ousted as France head coach after less than two years in the role, having won just seven of his 21 tests in charge.
Now, L'Equipe reports his departure has really kicked off following allegations of serious misconduct that are being pursued by the FFR against the departed coach and his staff.
It's unclear what the misconduct is but it was reported that the FFR doesn't want to pay off Noves' contracts.
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Noves and his coaching team of Yannick Bru and Jean-Frederic Dubois were all dismissed by FFR president Bernard Laporte and it's thought the trio are owed up to NZ$5.69million in severance pay.
Noves will be replaced as head coach by former Italy Jacques Brunel on a contract running until the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Brunel's assistant coaches are yet to be decided, with France set to appoint new coaches from the Top 14 on a per tournament basis over the next two years starting with the 2018 Six Nations.
Brunel is understood to have been the only French candidate in the running for the job, with the FFR ruling out an overseas coach due to the timing of the change coming in the middle of the current season.
The news of Noves' departure was announced by the FFR on Thursday (NZ time) following a review by Laporte of the national side's recent performance in the autumn internationals. Laporte had previously set an unofficial target of three wins from France's four tests in November.
There was not been even a hint of that kind of success for Noves during his brief stint with les Bleus, leading the FFR to act and replace a coach midway through his contract for the first time since the game in France turned professional.
The Telegraph understands that certain players in the national squad were reacting positively to not being selected by Noves, suggesting that not playing for the side given France's current run of form was a positive, with the bonus of being able to spend more time with their families.
Despite Noves' record in charge the FFR and Laporte have been keen to stress that the blame does not entirely lie with the 63 year-old, highlighting a wider range of issues within the game in France.
Those problems include the high number of foreign players in the Top 14, France's domestic league, along with a disconnect between the national side and the leading French Clubs