France coach Bobbie Goulding has offered to resign following his side's 38-18 defeat to England Knights in Leight.
France coach tenders resignation after defeat by Knights
France coach Bobbie Goulding has offered to resign following his side's 38-18 defeat by England's second-string Knights.
Goulding dropped the bombshell moments after the defeat at Leigh Sports Village in what could hardly be worse timing for the French national side.
They are due to face England's senior team in Avignon in just six days and have other internationals lined up against Scotland and Ireland before the end of the month.
The former St Helens and Great Britain scrum-half blamed the shock offer on a rift between the governing body and Super League club Catalan Dragons.
Goulding said the Dragons, who provided all but four of the players in his17-man squad for Saturday's game, had put unreasonable demands on their players, placing them in an extremely difficult position.
"I've just been in and had a chat with Herve the secretary of the Federation and I've asked him to consider me finishing," Goulding told reporters after the match.
Awful
"It's up to the Federation now, I'll step down if they want me to. There's too much (friction) between the Catalans and the French Federation and it's not fair on the boys.
"They are caught in the middle, with the Catalan Dragons saying don't do this, don't do that and the boys don't want to bite the hand that feeds them.
"They are in an awful position and that's all I care about. I'm a players' coach and I'll always be a players' coach."
The coach's offer was immediately relayed back to Federation president Nicolas Larrat in France but no response is anticipated before Sunday.
Larrat has been a big supporter of Goulding since he was appointed as the successor to Australian John Monie after the 2008 World Cup.
Asked if he expects to be in charge against England next Friday, Goulding said: "There's a big chance I won't be. It's not up to me. I've told them what I think should happen.
"I've loved every single minute of my job. I've tried my best. C'est la vie. I've got a lovely wife and four lovely kids who I want to spend more time with."
