Newcastle provide the solution after Toulon's loss of Rhys Webb

Tongan Sonatane Takulua has joined Toulon following the pre-Six Nations exit of Rhys Webb from the club.

The scrum-half passed his medical examination on Tuesday and signed a deal on Wednesday that will take him through to the end of the 2021/22 season. 

Arriving from Newcastle, where he had been playing since 2015, the 29-year-old has 38 caps and featured in the last two World Cup including last October’s game with France in Japan.  

Midi Olympique explained that while Takulua couldn’t join this season with a medical joker status, Toulon have benefitted for a waiver following the announcement that signing Nehe Milner-Skudder won’t be at the club until early next season due to injury back in New Zealand.

Milner-Skudder opened up in November about going into “dark places” in what he described as “one of the toughest years” of his life.

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Israel Folau was a no show at a Dragons training session in Barcelona

Speaking at the opening of New Zealand’s first Suicide Prevention Office as an ambassador for Headfirst, he shared his personal experiences about the difficulties of dealing with the constant raft of injuries that have plagued him since he first burst onto the international scene.

“Out of all the injuries I’ve suffered, the many setbacks I’ve had in my career, this was by far the hardest to digest,” he said, speaking about his shoulder complications. 

“I’d built up in my head what this year was going to look like and I watched it shatter in pieces right in front of me and there was nothing I could do about it.” 

WATCH: RugbyPass went behind the scenes as Tonga prepared for the 2019 World Cup in Japan