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Thursday

14:00

Joe Tekori's World Cup revelation on Instagram will hit Samoa hard

By Josh Raisey

23 Jul 2019

Joe Tekori was expected to feature at the World Cup with Samoa, but the Toulouse lock has announced his Test retirement (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)

Toulouse lock Joe Tekori has announced his international retirement only weeks before the start of the World Cup in Japan in September.

The giant Samoan earned 37 caps for his country since making his debut in 2007.

However, with the latest finals just two months away from starting, the forward has announced on Instagram that “my time has come” and that it is now time to “focus my rugby career on the club I am playing for now”.

At the age of 35, this was surely going to be the 20-stone lock’s international swansong, but he has instead decided to remain in France.

He is one of a number of players from tier two nations that have opted to miss the World Cup this year in order to stay in France. This was his post:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0QcGPVozRf/

Given the lucrative deals that players have in the Top 14, it is much more financially rewarding to miss international fixtures, particularly with the Pacific Island nations whose players earn a fraction for their country of what they earn with their clubs playing.

Tekori comes off the back of a brilliant campaign with Toulouse, as he played a starring role in the French giants winning the Top 14 and reaching the semi-final of the Champions Cup.

He would walk into the Samoa team on merit and feature in their key pool matches against Ireland, Scotland and Japan, but it is understandable if he feels that an international tournament of such magnitude is a step too far at this point in his career.

Nonetheless, questions will once again be asked as to whether the French clubs are coercing some of their players to avoid the World Cup and play the entire season in the Top 14. This has been a major concern of some people and Tekori’s retirement will undoubtedly spark that debate again.

For now, Toulouse have started pre-season ahead of the defence of their domestic title and will be buoyed by the fact that the powerful second row is remaining at the Stade Ernest-Wallon.

WATCH: Part one of the two-part RugbyPass documentary on what fans can expect to experience at the World Cup finals in Japan

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