Former Munster number eight James Coughlan has “only all positive things to say” about his time with French side Pau, and is looking forward to playing Top 14 rugby next season after his side secured promotion.
Coughlan had a year left on his Munster deal when he joined up with former Munster backs coach Simon Mannix at at the Pro D2 side last June, and the move was seen as something of a gamble.
Pau secured promotion to the Top 14 last month, and, after an impressive first season in France, Coughlan will be playing in the top flight next year; the gamble appears to have paid off.
“It’s been fantastic,” Coughlan told RTÉ Sport, on his way to a celebration in Pau where he predicted 30,000 to 50,000 people would take part.
“We’ve been getting the pats on the back the whole time and the whole town is rowing in behind the club.”
He said moving to a new country and culture had taken some time to get used to, but the presence of a former Munster colleague had helped.
“Obviously it takes a lot of acclimatising when we arrived,” he said. “We were lucky in that, obviously, we had Simon in Munster, so that obviously was a big help.
"Unless you’re happy in the place that you’re, it doesn’t matter if the rugby is going brilliantly or not" - James Coughlan
“But just general life, things are a lot different here than they are at home. You just have to realise you can’t change it. That was the reason we moved out here, was to experience these things.”
Coughlan was 33 when he signed for Pau, and the move was a figurative and literal departure for the Cork native. Relatively late to break into the Munster first team, he had gone on to become an important figure in the province’s back row, having made 139 appearances.
“All I had ever known was Munster, so just to experience new things and new experiences was the reason we moved out, and thank god, everything has gone according to plan on the rugby side of things, and that helped with getting on with things in normal, everyday life as well.”
Coughlan agreed that making the move might be considered brave – “brave or stupid, one or the other” – and said getting the chance to travel was one of the perks of being a professional rugby player.
“It’s one of the benefits of the job, as well as maybe one of the disruptions, or the downfalls, is that you get the opportunity to maybe go and see different parts of the world.”
He said his French-language skills were improving, and that he had acted as something of an advisor for new recruits on the practical aspects of moving for Irish players like Paddy Butler and Sean Dougall. However, he made clear that he had spoken to them only after they signed.
“I was just telling the lads about the town more than the rugby, to be honest with. Because unless you’re happy in the place that you are, it doesn’t matter if the rugby is going brilliantly or not, you’re going to be pissed off.”
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