Paris (AFP)

A strong decision, regardless of the pedigree of the player: the Racing 92 fired the Fijian international Leone Nakarawa, one of his best players and who is among the stars of the Top 14, to be back two weeks late, in November, of his holidays after the World Cup.

"At Racing, the only star is the team and the individualistic attitude of Mr. Leone Nakarawa is inconceivable, it denotes a total lack of team spirit and a characterized insubordination": the Paris club and its president Jacky Lorenzetti chose to set an example by breaking the contract of the second line Fijian, arrived in the Hauts-de-Seine in 2016 from Glasgow.

In question, a return to the club of the player "more than two weeks" after the date of recovery that had been fixed (October 28), after leaving the Japanese World Cup on October 9 with Fiji, from the group stage.

Back in the country, Nakarawa (31 years old, 62 sel.) Did not return until the week of November 11th. "His abandonment of post more than two weeks has caused a great prejudice to the Racing 92, prejudice that Mr. Leone Nakarawa does not ignore.And this is not the first time that the Club accuses him of his abandonment of post," continues the Racing 92.

This absence was coupled with a mutism depending on the club, since Nakarawa "also refused to respond to the messages that the club sent him and simply set his own date of return, the 9 and November 12 ".

- King of the pass after contact -

Layoff on a protective basis and then summoned, on November 22, to an interview prior to a possible sanction, the second line will have played his last match in the jersey sky and white on May 31, in the roadblocks of the Top 14 against La Rochelle ( defeat 19-13).

In three seasons, Nakarawa, Olympic champion in VII with the Fiji in Rio in 2016, has established himself as one of the most attractive players of the championship of France and the European Cup, in particular by his qualities of displacement and his individual technique, out of the ordinary for a player of his size (1.98 m for 108 kg).

King of the "pass after contact", he was voted the best player in Europe in 2018, after reaching the final of the European Cup (defeat 15-12 against the Saracens).

This title "should have encouraged him to be exemplary", according to Racing, which deprives itself of a key element in second line, post where it also has a tank provided little (Ryan, Bird, Palu, Red).

Several Top 14 clubs had, prior to Racing, faced the post-holiday delays of their Fijian players, such as Agen in the 2000s with Rupeni Caucaunibuca or, more recently, Montpellier in the summer of 2018 with Timoci Nagusa.

Rather poorly in the Top 14 (11th after 10 days), Racing moves Saturday in Swansea (Wales) to challenge the Ospreys, they will then receive Friday, December 13 as part of the European Cup.

© 2019 AFP