Return of Regis Sonnes a notable coup for Bandon RFC and Bandon Grammar School

‘I AM a West Cork man,’ Regis Sonnes declared before he left these shores in 2018 for a new challenge, but the Frenchman is lined up for a surprise return to his spiritual home this summer.

The highly-rated coach will, once again, link up with Bandon Rugby Club and Bandon Grammar School – and it’s big news for both.

Sonnes (50) is joining Bandon RFC as underage director of coaching, while he will work as a technical advisor for boys and girls’ rugby at Bandon Grammar.

Naturally, both are thrilled to have the French man back on board following his successful two-year spell from 2016 to 2018.

‘We maintained our relationship with Regis while he was away, and he always had a desire to come back. The stars have aligned – this suits him, it suits us and it suits the Grammar School,’ Dan Murphy of Bandon RFC told The Southern Star.

‘His role with the club will be slightly different to before; he is joining us as the underage director of coaching. He will look to harvest the efforts of what is going on at underage level in the club to bring those players through to adult level. And to make sure they get the right experience and that the philosophy that we have is being implemented throughout the various ages.

‘Regis will coach the coaches, and that will very much be his role with the Grammar School as well.’

Sonnes’ CV is stacked. He arrived in Bandon in 2016 – to work with both the local rugby club and the Grammar School – having coached the Spanish men’s national team and having worked as a forward coach with Bordeaux Begles.

In his playing days the Mont-de-Marsan man lined out for Toulouse, Brive and Agen. His impact on Bandon rugby was huge.

‘Regis brought that professional approach to Bandon and he gave us a lot of belief,’ Bandon player Tom Ferguson told the Star previously. Sonnes’ influence helped Bandon win the 2017/18 Munster Junior League Division 1 title and the Munster Junior Cup in 2017 for the first time in the club’s history. He left Bandon in 2018 for Top 14 giants Toulouse, but five years later Sonnes is on his way back to West Cork, a corner of the world he has a deep connection with. He starts his new roles with the club and school in August.

‘Hopefully this will allow the club to create a platform and a structure where the kids coming in at U7 or those U10 or U15 will all benefit, and it will help sustain the club. The club is not about one team, it has to be about the collective of everyone; that is what the club is about,’ Dan Murphy explains.

This announcement is another feather in the cap of West Cork rugby which continues to grow in strength and in profile, helped by the influence of figures like Sonnes.

While strengthening the connection between Bandon RFC and Bandon Grammar School, Sonnes’ return is good news for rugby in the Bandon area and West Cork as a whole.