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Ben Volavola set for Pro D2 after defeat in his Racing battle with Finn Russell

(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Ben Volavola has called time on his two-year stint at Racing 92 and is set to step down into the Pro D2. The Fijian has spent the majority of his stay in Paris playing second fiddle to Finn Russell, starting just two matches this past season alone. 

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That has left him restless for more action and having turning 29 last January, he is now set to forge his own path by signing with second-tier Perpignan whose likely promotion back to the Trop 14 was foiled by the recent termination of the French season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Volavola was Fiji’s first-choice out-half at the recent World Cup in Japan, but his battle with Russell for the No10 jersey at Racing simply hasn’t gone his way after joining the French capital club in summer 2018 after initially coming to Europe to play a season with Bordeaux.

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Volavola’s signing, which is due to be confirmed on Monday according to French newspaper L’Independant, with be a huge boost for the Catalan club as they had been hunting a playmaker who could occupy a number of positions in the back line.

They had reportedly lost out in their efforts to recruit Scotland’s Greig Laidlaw and Volavola’s fellow Fijian Isaia Toeava, who are both said to be leaving Clermont.

But they now have secured the serviced of the Fiji No10 on a one-year contract that will be electronically signed on Monday after Volavola verbally agreed to the deal with Christian Lanta, the Perpignan sporting director. 

Volavola’s club career has seen him do the round at plenty of clubs looking for he perfect fit. Speaking to Midi Olympique last year about his nomadic existence, he said: “I spent a year at the Crusaders. When I got there, Dan Carter had just joined Racing. Then there were the Rebels and North Harbour. I have a lot of bad luck. Then Bordeaux recruited me.

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“I didn’t succeed what I wanted to accomplish with them. I wasn’t good enough and the club decided to release me before the end of my contract. It was then that Racing extended their hand.”

 

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J
JW 3 hours ago
'Let's not sugarcoat it': Former All Black's urgent call to protect eligibility rules

Yep, no one knows what will happen. Thing is I think (this is me arguing a point here not a random debate with this one) they're better off trialing it now in a controlled environment than waiting to open it up in a knee jerk style reaction to a crumbling organtization and team. They can always stop it again.


The principle idea is that why would players leave just because the door is ajar?


BBBR decides to go but is not good enough to retain the jersey after doing it. NZ no longer need to do what I suggest by paying him to get back upto speed. That is solely a concept of a body that needs to do what I call pick and stick wth players. NZR can't hold onto everyone so they have to choose their BBBRs and if that player comes back from a sabbatical under par it's a priority to get him upto speed as fast as possible because half of his competition has been let go overseas because they can't hold onto them all. Changing eligibility removes that dilemma, if a BBBR isn't playing well you can be assured that someone else is (well the idea is that you can be more assured than if you only selected from domestic players).


So if someone decides they want to go overseas, they better do it with an org than is going to help improve them, otherwise theyre still basically as ineligible as if they would have been scorning a NZ Super side that would have given them the best chance to be an All Black.

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