TOULON – Former All Black wing Julian Savea has been left out of Toulon’s squad to face Pau in the French Top 14 on Saturday, less than a week after the club’s owner Mourad Boudjellal slammed his performances.
Savea, 28, scored 46 tries in 51 Test starts, and won the 2015 World Cup with the All Blacks.
But he has dotted down only twice since joining the French giants last summer.
“I’m going to ask for a DNA test, this isn’t the Savea that we signed. They must have changed him on the plane,” Boudjellal fumed on Sunday, the day after a 19-10 defeat to Agen.
“I told him he was free and no longer welcome at Toulon. He has one year left on his contract. He can do what he wants. It’s going to be a long year for the club, but especially for the player,” the millionaire added.
Coach Patrice Collazo defended his decision to leave Savea, nicknamed ‘The Bus’, out of Saturday’s match-day 23.
“If I decide that Julian Savea is not ready to play, he will not be in the team. I don’t need someone to tell me what I should do,” he said.
Toulon sit in a surprising 11th place in the league table, having won only six of their 10 games this campaign, and are eight points away from Grenoble in the relegation playoff spot.
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