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Ex-All Black Casey Laulala has left Toulon with immediate effect - reports

(Photo by Patrick Bolger/Getty Images)

Former All Black Casey Laulala has quit his coaching post at Toulon with immediate effect.

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The Samoan-born 37-year-old, who last played for Racing in the 2016/17 season, had taken up a skills manager post at Toulon after initially dipping his toe in the coaching waters at Racing, the club he joined from Irish club Munster in 2014.

Laulala had been contracted with Toulon through to the end of a season where the club have shown improvement on last year’s efforts, rising to fourth on the table heading into this Sunday’s home tie with Stade Francais. 

However, that match is going ahead with the twice capped All Black no longer on Patrice Collazo’s backroom staff.

French media are reporting that the reason for his exit is “personal suitability”.

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Laulala had been trekking up and down France as his family had continued to live in Paris rather than make the move south. 

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It left the ex-midfielder struggling with the burden of being separated from his family and it resulted in him seeking – and being granted – early release from his contract which was due to expire in July at the end of the French league season.  

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G
GrahamVF 1 hour ago
Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

"has SA actually EVER helped to develop another union to maturity like NZ has with Japan," yes - Argentina. You obviously don't know the history of Argentinian rugby. SA were touring there on long development tours in the 1950's

We continued the Junior Bok tours to the Argentine through to the early 70's

My coach at Grey High was Giepie Wentzel who toured Argentine as a fly half. He told me about how every Argentinian rugby club has pictures of Van Heerden and Danie Craven on prominent display. Yes we have developed a nation far more than NZ has done for Japan. And BTW Sa players were playing and coaching in Japan long before the Kiwis arrived. Fourie du Preez and many others were playing there 15 years ago.


"Isaac Van Heerden's reputation as an innovative coach had spread to Argentina, and he was invited to Buenos Aires to help the Pumas prepare for their first visit to South Africa in 1965.[1][2] Despite Argentina faring badly in this tour,[2] it was the start of a long and happy relationship between Van Heerden and the Pumas. Izak van Heerden took leave from his teaching post in Durban, relocated to Argentina, learnt fluent Spanish, and would revolutionise Argentine play in the late 1960s, laying the way open for great players such as Hugo Porta.[1][2] Van Heerden virtually invented the "tight loose" form of play, an area in which the Argentines would come to excel, and which would become a hallmark of their playing style. The Pumas repaid the initial debt, by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park, and emerged as one of the better modern rugby nations, thanks largely to the talents of this Durban schoolmaster.[1]"


After the promise made by Junior Springbok manager JF Louw at the end of a 12-game tour to Argentina in 1959 – ‘I will do everything to ensure we invite you to tour our country’ – there were concerns about the strength of Argentinian rugby. South African Rugby Board president Danie Craven sent coach Izak van Heerden to help the Pumas prepare and they repaid the favour by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park.

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