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Julian Savea sensationally released by Toulon - reports

By Ian Cameron
Julian Savea. Photo / Getty Images

Julian Savea has been told he is ‘no longer welcome’ at Toulon according to shock reports emerging from France.

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Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal has said that the All Black is ‘not the player’ he signed after another poor outing for the Top 14 side.

Savea was easily out paced by Agen’s Benito Masilevu, who scored a crucial try in his side’s win over a Toulon team that have struggled in this season’s competition.

Boudjellal didn’t hold back, savaging the former All Black.

“I’m going to ask for a DNA test. It is not Savea that we recreated but ‘Savéapas’. They had to change it on the plane. If I were him, I would apologize and I would go home.

“When we reach this level of play, we must apologize and leave (…) I told him he was released and he was no longer welcome in Toulon!” Boudjellal told RMC Sport.

Whether or not Boudjellal will follow through on his words is yet to be seen, but it could signal the end of a short lived time in Europe for the superstar winger.

The 28-year-old is in his first Top 14 season, shifting to Toulon after the Hurricanes’ 2018 Super Rugby campaign. He has largely been a flop since landing in France, and has played much of his rugby out of position at 12.

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Savea’s mid-season leave to attend his brother’s wedding in December caused backlash from Toulon fans, to which his wife responded.

“Let me set the record straight,” Fatima Savea – Julian’s wife – tweeted. “Before Julian signed his contract he asked for time off in December to attend his ONLY brother’s wedding. So this was agreed upon by both the club and Julian or else Julian would not have come to Toulon in September and instead in January.”

In November Savea was involved in car accident when he fell asleep behind the wheel.

He was capped by the All Blacks 54 times and scored 46 tries, giving him one of the best try scoring strike rates in international rugby history. However a loss of form saw him slip out of contention for the All Blacks and eventually at the Hurricanes, at which point to decided to make the switch to Europe.

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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