Bernard Laporte has been told he must stand down as president of the French Rugby Federation after his corruption conviction, reports said on Friday.
Former France coach Laporte had signalled an intention to remain at the helm of the federation (FFR), but the organisation's own ethics committee has decided he must go.
According to French newspapers Le Parisien and L'Equipe, the ethics committee has served Laporte with an injunction insisting he vacates his post.
Should Laporte not follow the instruction to leave office, the ethics committee would reportedly have the power to take control of the FFR disciplinary commission and impose sanctions on the 58-year-old president.
"We could not stay outside this situation," said the ethics committee, quoted by Le Parisien. "But it took time for the members to come together, far from the media tumult, to make a decision in calm and serenity."
Laporte stepped down from his role as vice-chairman of World Rugby on Tuesday as an act of "self-suspension" after he was given a two-year suspended prison sentence.
That came after an investigation which examined a number of decisions that favoured Mohed Altrad, the president of Top 14 side Montpellier, including the award of a shirt sponsorship deal for the France national team to Altrad's construction business.
Laporte, who was France's head coach between 1999 and 2007, was also hit with a €75,000 fine and a two-year ban from involvement in rugby by the Paris Criminal Court on Tuesday.
The ban from rugby activities is suspended pending the outcome of Laporte's planned appeal; however, France's sports minister Amelie Oudea-Castera and the French National Rugby League have this week both called for Laporte to be replaced.
France will host the Rugby World Cup next year.
Oudea-Castera said it would be inappropriate for Laporte to remain in charge "at a moment as decisive for French rugby as the home stretch before a Rugby World Cup where France will receive nations from all over the world".
Tedesco 'still hurt' by France defeat at Euro 2024
Domenico Tedesco says Belgium are still hurting after their Euro 2024 exit to France as they prepare to meet them in the Nations League on Monday.
Belgium suffered a 1-0 defeat to France in the round of 16 at the Euros, conceding an 85th-minute Jan Vertonghen own goal to send them crashing out after a poor tournament.
It was a tight affair when the sides met in July, with both only managing two shots on target, though France's came from 19 overall attempts compared to Belgium's five.
And Tedesco would rather forget about that meeting as he targets a more positive result this time around.
"At the European Championship, it was a close one against France. We could have won too,” Tedesco told reporters.
"France were a bit better, they deserved to win, but we also had our chances. It would be a lie if I said that match is forgotten. It still hurts. I often think about the European Championship, but you also must look ahead.
"Looking back is not always the best solution. We have to be ambitious; it's been a long time since we beat France in a competitive match with commitment. Let us perform well, and then the rest will follow."
Tedesco also admitted that Belgium over-prepared for that meeting with France, with their adjustments to the game plan proving detrimental.
"The last match at the European Championship was different from the one now, it was a knockout match," he added.
"We learned that we adjusted our own plans a bit too much then. You always have to analyse your opponent, but we adjusted excessively."
Deschamps 'not changing course' despite Italy defeat
Didier Deschamps will "not change course" ahead of France's Nations League clash with Belgium despite defeat to Italy in their last match.
France fell to a shock 3-1 loss in Paris in their opening Group A2 game at the Parc des Princes on Friday.
Deschamps handed debuts to Bayern Munich's Michael Olise and Roma's Manu Kone, who came on as a substitute.
The France manager, however, feels he must continue with the rotation against Belgium due to the structure of World Cup qualification.
"The six Nations League matches must be used to introduce new players and distribute playing time," Deschamps told reporters.
"If we had a different schedule and were playing World Cup qualifiers, I would not have chosen this course, that's for sure. But I chose it because I believe that we have to go through it. I'm not going to change course."
Despite Bradley Barcola scoring France's fastest goal ever after just 12 seconds, Italy were able to come back and win comfortably.
Prior to that meeting, France had not lost to Italy since June 2008. Deschamps will be hoping for an improved performance against Belgium, who his team beat 1-0 in the round of 16 at Euro 2024.
"I can't be satisfied with the match against Italy, nor can the players. Tomorrow is another game, another context, a different team with the same obligation," he added.
"The course I have taken is to give as much playing time to as many players as possible. Whatever the playing time, there is always pressure, you have to perform as well as possible."
France face Belgium in the Nations League on Monday at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon.
Australia 'fell off a cliff' in biggest-ever Test defeat
Australia suffered their biggest-ever Test defeat on Saturday, as Argentina came from behind to win 67-27 in the Rugby Championship.
And Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said his team simply "fell off a cliff" after taking a 17-point lead.
Having snapped an eight-game winless run in the Rugby Championship with their last-gasp victory over Argentina last week, Australia were looking to keep the momentum going.
And they looked well set to do just that as tries from Carlo Tizzano and Andrew Kellaway propelled them into a 20-3 lead.
But Mateo Carreras and Julian Montoya, who was playing for Argentina for the 100th time, dragged Argentina back into it and paved the way for Australia's capitulation after the break.
Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo, Juan Cruz Mallia and Lucio Cinti all crossed for the Pumas in the second half, with Santiago Carreras' conversion condemning Australia to their record defeat.
"To lead a Test match 20-3 and get run down in the manner which we did is really disappointing," said Schmidt.
"We cannot let a game get away from us like it did and fall off a cliff.
"We lost connection in our defensive line. We were forever chasing them.
"We didn't put enough pressure on at the breakdown, so they were operating off a lightning-quick ball, and it's just too difficult to keep chasing a team on a hot day when they’ve got the ball and going forward."
Australia's previous record Test defeat had come against South Africa in 1997.
Matters do not get any easier for the Wallabies, who now face two matches against Schmidt's native New Zealand as they aim to avoid finishing bottom of the pile.
Second-place Argentina, meanwhile, will tussle it out with Rugby Championship leaders South Africa.
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