France international David Auradou has paid tribute to departing Stade Francais coach Nick Mallett, who is leaving the post to return to his native South Africa.
Mallett led the club to consecutive French titles in his two seasons in Paris but has found the separation from his family too difficult to cope with.
Team captain Auradou is full of respect for the 47-year-old and will be sorry to see him go.
Nick is a man with a great mental strength, Auradou said. He has fantastic coaching qualities.
He is a true manager capable of judging right at the right time. He never refused communication with us even when things were going wrong for the team.
During the season Nick has had harsh words, and sometimes there were tensions but in the end we won the French trophy twice in a row and this means he has done a great job.