RC Toulon boss explains the detours of the Ihaia West case

Arriving at rugby club Toulonnais last summer from Stade Rochelais, New Zealand opener Ihaia West signed a contract with RCT until June 2025.

Finally, the player decides to cut short his adventure on the banks of the Rade.

He will return to La Rochelle this summer after asking to be released from his contract with the Toulonne captains.

In an interview with the regional newspaper Morning mouseThe president of the Toulonnais rugby club, Bernard Lemaître, went back to detailing this early departure.

In particular, he notes that Ihaia West had reconsidered his decision to leave Toulon, but that he had already signed a pre-contract with Stade Rochelais and had to pay very high compensation to disengage and stay in Toulon.

Explains why Ihaia West left Toulon two years before his contract expired. Extracts:

“For us, it was a surprise. One day, his agent came to see me to announce his departure. So we questioned him, he was hesitant. Then he came up with the idea of ​​being able to stay. As if by chance, it coincided with when his level of play was improving, when he joined the group and when he left. Dan Biggar to the Six Nations Championship, which actually propelled him to No. 1…

Except when he found a great form, and expressed the idea of ​​staying, we knew he had to pay a fine to La Rochelle in case he changed his mind. A huge amount that he could not afford. And we weren’t the ones going to pay for it, when he was under contract with RCT and chose to stick with La Rochelle.

To replace him, the leaders of Toulon recruited Brivist Enzo Hervé.