Toulouse coach Guy Noves admitted that turning down the offer to become the next French coach had been one of the toughest decisions he had ever made.

"It was with a heavy heart that I turned down the coaching job. It has been an enormous honour for me [to be considered] and I thank those who thought of me," Noves, who lead Toulouse to an 18th league title last June, told Equipe TV.

Noves had been approached by the French Rugby Federation (FFR) to take over from Marc Lievremont after this year's World Cup. But after his refusal Toulon sporting director Philippe Saint-Andre was revealed as Lievremont's replacement.

"It's no secret that my sporting life began here 35 years ago," said Noves, who has spent virtually the whole of his career at Toulouse playing for them from 1975-88 and has been head coach since 1993.

Noves - who has coached Toulouse to nine domestic titles and four European Cup trophies - added that it would have been "complicated to let the people here down, whether it be the staff or the entourage".

The 57-year-old said there was "an emotional part of course, but also professional and a question of responsibility while at the same time knowing I'm not irreplaceable."

"Myself and club officials and our president have initiated some important projects for Toulouse - the opening of a new training centre, a training project with Philippe Rouge-Thomas," he said, adding: "it wouldn't be the time to drop all that."

"What is important today is the France team, the staff who are leaving for the World Cup," he said. "At the moment they're the people we have to support before talking about the future. I for one can tell you that I'll be 100 percent behind the France team."

AFP