After 11 years in the jersey of the CO, with which he was crowned French champion twice in 2013 and 2018, the player of South African origin, passed behind the Uruguyan Santiago Arata and the young Jérémy Fernandez in the hierarchy of his position, had played little in recent months.
A necessarily frustrating epilogue for this emblem of the club, much appreciated by Castres supporters, whose wife Stéphanie got carried away last week before the final of the Top 14 lost against Montpellier (29-10), to which her husband did not took part.
"The manner in which his career ended is beyond disrespectful and unjustifiable on the part of those in place," she wrote on Twitter before deleting her message.
"The difficult end of the season that I experienced led my entourage to have inadequate public reactions and I regret it," commented Kockott in the press release announcing his integration into the Castres coaching staff.
"The passion I feel for the club and for the city goes far beyond that and I am very happy to be able to join the staff of Pierre-Henry Broncan, for whom I have the greatest respect and to whom I hope to bring my contribution to allow the CO to remain at the highest level", he added.
"There were difficult times for him at the end of the season, but we all share things and the important thing is to be able to benefit from his skills in the service of the collective", declared for his part the Tarn president Pierre- Yves Revol.
Selected 11 times for the France team during his career, Kockott will replace as defense coach the Englishman Joe Worsley, in office since 2019.
© 2022 AFP