Centre Gael Fickou said he will “respect” teammate Siya Kolisi’s choice if the Springbok captain decides to leave Racing 92 after just one year of a three-year deal.
Two-time World Cup winner Kolisi has been linked with a move back to the Sharks in Durban.
According to Rugby Pass, an American businessman has offered to pay for Kolisi’s transfer with the flanker’s family homesick in Pari.
“His choice will be the right one for him,” Fickou told AFP on Monday.
“If he feels like his family are not well settled in France and that he needs to be down there, then I understand it and we will respect that.
Kolisi’s arrival after last year’s World Cup was heralded as a major factor in turning Racing from glamourous also-rans, whose roster of former players includes the likes of Dan Carter, Jonny Sexton and Finn Russell, into genuine title-contenders.
Fickou says that Kolisi’s departure will not affect the team’s preparations for the new Top 14 season which begins this weekend with new star signing Owen Farrell expected to make his debut at Castres.
“No one is indispensable at Racing,” said Fickou. “We’ll find other solutions.”
Kolisi suffered a facial injury in South Africa’s Rugby Championship win over New Zealand last week and is a doubt for Saturday’s rematch.
The 33-year-old is only expected back with Racing in late-September after the end of the Rugby Championship.
© Agence France-Presse
Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
