JEREMY DAVIDSON IS outside the Gary Whetton bar in the main stand of Castres’ Stade Pierre Fabre, toasting victory over Munster with a well-earned pint of Guinness, when the small crew of travelling Irish media locate him.

He has already done his post-match press conference in the fluent, flowing French that comes with living there for 18 years.

His first stint in France was as a player with Castres from 1998 to 2001, during which time he became the club captain. Davidson returned to his native Ulster to finish out his playing days but he was back in Castres by 2007 in the guise of assistant coach.

Two years later, he went back to Ulster as part of the coaching set-up but he had to go to France again to become the head coach of a professional rugby club for the first time in 2011.

Davidson worked wonders with Aurillac, who he helped punch way above their weight in the Pro D2 for six years before a one-year spell as Bordeaux’s forwards coach led to a job as Brive’s boss. He guided them to promotion into the Top 14 and solidified their position in the top flight until 2022 when Brive decided to go in another direction only to be relegated at the end of that season.

It was always likely that Davidson would end up back in Castres at some stage and they pounced for him in February 2023. The Irishmen guided them to safety in the Top 14 a few months later and then almost got them into the play-offs last season but despite that positive record, he will leave Castres at the end of this campaign.

They’re promoting current attack coach Xavier Sadourny as Davidson’s successor, so it will be intriguing to see where the former Lions and Ireland second row ends up next.

One has to wonder if he will ever get a chance to coach back in Ireland.

“I’d love to eventually,” said 50-year-old Davidson.

Davidson has vast experience in French rugby. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

“I think I’ve been bouncing around doing a good job in many clubs that I’ve been to but I haven’t won any competitions. When I was at Aurillac we had the 16th budget out of 16 clubs in Pro D2 and we got to a final and two semi-finals.

“That’s kind of what got me up to Bordeaux and then Brive, got them up from the second division to the first.

“I think if I do get a club with a bit more money, I’ll be able to add a lot more to them and maybe add a bit more structure than some French coaches would, but I think if I want to move home I need to have a bit more credibility and that will come from getting to the quarter-finals, semi-finals or winning something over here.

“I’m not getting any younger either so I need to start doing it quickly.

“But coaching on your own doorstep is probably the hardest as well because you really want to do well and the moment you don’t start doing well the knives will be out for you. It’s a tough old game, this. I’d prefer to be a journalist!”

Davidson has a great eye for value in the player market, having done a particularly excellent recruitment job during his time with Aurillac.

He enjoys that aspect of coaching.

“Well, Castres have a bit of money as well with Pierre Fabre behind it, so if the president decides to bring somebody in you generally get them,” said Davidson.

“It’s slightly different in the smaller clubs in the second division where you really don’t have any money at all and sometimes some of your players are going to go somewhere else. But they always seem to keep the guys they want to keep hold of.

“One of the reasons they [Castres] have such a good team is that they have very little rotation compared to other teams.

“Some teams have maybe 15, 16, 17 players who leave at the end of each year whereas here it’s maybe 10, of which four or five haven’t played much over the year. So there’s very little turnover, there’s a lot of emphasis on team spirit and buying into that culture.”

Peter O'Mahony alongside Jeremy Davidson. Dan Sheridan / INPHO Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO

Davidson was delighted with how his Castres players showed energy, enthusiasm, and work rate against Munster, squeezing out victory in a game that could have gone the other way.

Their plan to go into the shortside from a lineout in the Munster 22 paid off handsomely as Abraham Papali’i blasted past Craig Casey and Thaakir Abrahams to score Castres’ only try.

“We had targeted that,” said Davidson. “We use that move quite often but more generally when they’ve got a scrum-half there.”

And their plan to go after Munster’s scrum also bore fruit in a big way as Castres won several penalties at the set-piece, including the game-winning one.

“We knew that Dave Kilcoyne coming back from injury and Oli Jager coming back from injury would maybe be missing a bit of time in their legs, so we thought we could target them in that area,” said Davidson.

Beating Munster means Castres are still alive in the Champions Cup and though the Top 14 is their priority, they have teed themselves up for a crack at reaching the Round of 16 in their final two pool games against the Bulls at home and Saracens away in January.

The victory over Munster also maintains Castres’ proud home record of winning all seven games as Stade Pierre Fabre so far this season. That pride is something Davidson learned about as soon as he joined back in 1998.

“I remember when I was here as a player, we played Bath at home and we lost in the European Cup and you don’t feel like going out of the house for three or four days. You want to hide because it means so much to everyone.

“Even when I used to play when you’re warming up behind the posts and it feels like you’re an extra flipping metre taller and maybe 20 kilos heavier. It’s just that small town environment where you represent so much and identity means so much in France.”

Davidson knows French rugby like the back of his hand and it seems likely that his coaching adventure will continue there after he bids farewell to Castres.

This week, all of his thoughts are on the visit of Bordeaux to Stade Pierre Fabre on Saturday night. Castres will be fired up once again.