The charismatic coach created a stir earlier this month when he announced he was leaving the Parisien club as he could no longer live without his family, who still live in his native South Africa.

Mallett had been in Paris since taking over from Australian John Connolly at the start of the 2002-2003 season and led the club to consecutive French titles, this years triumph coming after hammering Perpignan 38-20 in the final on Saturday.

The 47-year-old had put pen to paper on a two-year contract extension in May but found the continued separation from his relatives too difficult to cope with and threw in the towel.

Club president Max Guazzini chose one-time club captain Galthie as his replacement - a decision which has met with the considered approval of Mallett.

Although he does not have a coaching background, Galthie has been a leader throughout his career, winning the 2002 Six Nations with Les Bleus and the 2003 French title with Stade Francais.

I had insisted with president Max Guazzini to include Fabien in our technical staff next season as I was originally meant to stay on afteer extending my contract by two years, said Mallett.

I wanted him to become my assistant and the fact that he succeeds me is perfectly logical.

He worked with Bernard Laporte (with the France team) and Jacques Brunel in Colomiers.

He is constantly in thought about the game, he is a passionate, intelligent and charismatic man.

I knew that he really wanted to coach a team so everything is fine.

The fact that he used to be a Stade Francais player and that he will coach his former team-mates is not a problem, on the contrary, I see it as a huge advantage.

His former team-mates know how demanding he was with himself as a player. He is a perfectionist and hates failure.

He will be supported by the president and he has three years to reach success, whereas when I arrived, as I had been the Sprinboks coach before, I had to lead to results immediately.

This is the collective spirit that makes things work. Fabien is a solitary man who does not show his emotions very easily but I know he will bring the motivation and success to his group.

He will work with his own personality and his great ability to listen to people.