Top 14: Clermont terminate contract of "depressed" Nalaga; Henson future in doubt

21 March 2011

While the RBS Six Nations played out its final round on Saturday there was sad news emanating from defending French champions Clermont Auvergne following confirmation that Napolioni Nalaga's contract had been cancelled.

The free-scoring winger has been an integral cog of the Clermont machine since joining in 2006/7, racking up an impressive 51 tries in 76 league games, as well as 10 in 14 Heineken Cup matches.

The 24-year-old has twice been the leading try-scorer in Top 14 - in 2007/8 (with 18 in 16 games) and again in 2008/9 (with 21 in 21 games) - but domestic problems have now led to Clermont reluctantly terminating his playing contract.

Nalaga has not played in France since going home to Fiji in November, with reports initially suggesting he had nipped back to get married to his girlfriend.

But when he failed to return it became clear all was not right with the international winger and it subsequently emerged that he had slipped into "deep depression" following a car accident which left his fiancé injured.

Clermont allowed Nalaga as much time off as he required and initially sent messages of support to try and ease his mental state. When they failed to get any reply from the player, or his agent, they then sent manager Neil McIlroy out to the island to try and gain a clearer picture.

But at the weekend Clermont vice-president Jean-Marc Lhermet reluctantly announced that Nalaga's contract - which ran until 2012 - had been cancelled, although a club statement did leave the door open for the player to return in the future.

"Even though the club was prepared to draw a line under this season and look forward to the next one, the Fijian player was not able to guarantee that he would come back next season," it read.

"The two parties therefore came to a mutual agreement that they should terminate the contract between Napolioni Nalaga and ASM Clermont Auvergne," it added.

"We've reached the end of the road," admitted Lhermet. "We did everything to put the pieces back together again, but I don't think there was anything we could have done to get Napolioni back to the Auvergne. We're disappointed to have reached this point but there was no other solution. We are running a professional club and we need assurances," he added.

Lhermet confirmed Clermont would now be looking for a new singer to join the club, having previously announced a raft of new signings for 2011/12. Those include Benjamin Kayser, Nathan Hines, Gerhard Vosloo, David Skrela and Lee Byrne.

Clermont have also confirmed that Springbok international Marius Joubert is leaving to return home in the summer, having signed to play for Natal Sharks. The South African franchise had also tried to sign Brive's Ronnie Cooke - as confirmed by the player himself - but he is still under contract for another season.

Top 14 transfers for 2011/12

One player that definitely won't be replacing Nalaga at Clermont is Welsh winger Shane Williams. The pocket dynamo had previously appeared keen to move across Le Channel but has now ended speculation by agreeing a two-year deal with current club Ospreys.

"I never really wanted to follow the likes of Hook, Byrne and Gavin Henson by going out there. Staying at the Ospreys was always my preferred option," said Williams. "I'm chuffed to bits," he added after confirming his contract extension.

Meanwhile, it seems that fellow Welsh international Gavin Henson is likely to be looking for a new club next season after his short-term deal with Toulon has failed to take off.

Henson has yet to play a match for the Cote d'Azur side and time is fast running out for the Welsh and British Lions international. There are just five games to go in the regulation Top 14 season, although that could be extended by two if Toulon - currently seventh - make the end-of-season play-offs and progress to the final.

Henson has at least started training after a lingering calf injury, but Toulon boss Philippe Saint-André admitted that the payers' lack of match fitness would hinder his chances.

"He needs to know the system and everything so I am not sure when he will play," Saint-André told the BBC. "He's serious, he's very professional and he's training very hard. He just needs to be free of injury to be on the pitch and that is the important thing for him.

"He has not had too much game time in the last two years so he needs game time. He was injured for the last two months," added the Toulon head coach.

It always seemed like a gamble for Toulon to sign Henson, but they were hoping his desire to reclaim his Welsh shirt could prove the spur for a series of explosive performances. However, they signed him with a view to covering for Jonny Wilkinson while the England fly-half was away for two months on international duty, and yet Henson failed to make a single appearance during that time.

Reports in France suggested his short-term deal was instigated by Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal rather than Saint-André, and the head coach wasn't exactly purring with enthusiasm when asked if Henson would still be at the club next season. "We will see," was his diplomatic reply.

Toulon have signed Wallaby international Matt Giteau for next season, among others, since Henson has arrived.

Henson, for his part, has admitted his injury problem has been a "nightmare", but that he now hoped to prove his fitness sufficiently to make the Toulon squad for Friday's game against Castres.

One player that had been on his way out but could yet stay at Toulon for another season is former Wallaby captain George Smith. The retired international had been set to join Japanese club Sanyo Wildknights, but that deal has now been cast into doubt following the devastation wrought by the country's recent earthquake and tsunami.

SU Agen, meanwhile, have confirmed that English lock Andrew Springgay, 29, has signed a new two-year deal with the Top 14 club, while Bayonne have announced the signing of Grenoble's France Under-20 winger Marvin O'Connor. The 19-year-old has scored two tries in nine starts for Grenoble in ProD2 this season.

Elsewhere, Racing-Métro 92 have confirmed that fly-half Jonathan Wisniewski has agreed a three-year contract extension with the Top 14 side. Other contract extensions confirmed include those of Stade Toulousain's South African duo Daan Human and Shaun Sowerby, with the pair both signing on for another year, with a further year's option.

Castres have also tied up several of their squad on new deals, with club record scorer Romain Teulet agreeing a three-year extension, scrum-half Alexandre Albouy a two-year extension and prop Anton Peikrishvili a one-year extension. Their deals follow earlier ones for Ibrahim Diarra and Marc Andreu, while the club has also signed Scottish international Max Evans.

Finally, RC Narbonne registered a potentially crucial away win at basement club Saint-Etienne to ease their relegation fears in ProD2 on Sunday.

The visitors had to rally from 9-0 down after 41 minutes after three Julien Baron penalties raised Saint-Etienne hopes of only a second league win of the season, with the home team's hopes aided by a fifth yellow card of the season for Narbonne prop Jérémy Castex.

But Narbonne fought back to claim the victory after two penalties in reply from Delkeith Pottas and a 55th-minute try from Tongan inside centre Karne Kaufana.

That put Narbonne 11-9 ahead, but Baron's fourth penalty success briefly put Saint-Etienne back in the lead after 69 minutes, only for Sébastien Regy to reply in kind two minutes later to seal Narbonne's win.

The victory only lifted them one position - from 13th to 12th - but it saw them move eight points clear of the drop-zone as they won their game in hand.

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