Siya Kolisi’s Racing 92 exit confirmed amid fallout from owner’s ‘putting on weight’ jibes

Racing 92 have cancelled Siya Kolisi’s contract only one year into the double World Cup-winning captain’s three-year deal with the Top 14 club.

Just a day after scoring a try in South Africa’s 18-12 victory against New Zealand, which secured the Freedom Cup for the Springboks for the first time since 2009, Racing confirmed that Kolisi would not be returning to Paris. “Siya Kolisi and Racing 92 have reached an agreement to end the contract,” a club statement read on Sunday.

It brings to an end an unhappy spell in the French capital where Kolisi lifted the World Cup with the Springboks last October. Kolisi’s family reportedly failed to settle in Paris while the flanker’s form was subject to withering criticism from the club owner Jacky Lorenzetti.

At the end of last season, following a loss in the play-offs to Bordeaux, Lorenzetti accused Kolisi of being “anonymous” and claimed that he had gained weight during a midseason break.

“[Siya] had a remarkable start to the season, where he was a unifying presence off the field,” Lorenzetti, 76, told Midi Olympique, the French rugby newspaper. “The break was harmful for him. He put on weight, lost form and yesterday he was anonymous. On the back row, we got used to having an ultra-present warrior, called Wenceslas Lauret. For now, Siya isn’t reminding me of him. But I think that will change next year.”

That will not come to pass with Kolisi poised to return to one of the South African franchises where he would feature in the United Rugby Championship. It means he will not play with Owen Farrell, the former England captain who made his debut for Racing in the defeat to Castres on Saturday.

Whether it was emotional or physical fatigue, there is no doubt that Racing failed to see the best version of Kolisi who was one of the league’s best paid players on a salary of around €1 million (£850,000) a season. He is not the first high-profile import who failed to settle in the Top 14: John Smit, another Springbok World Cup-winning captain struggled for game time at Clermont while the Toulon owner once claimed to have signed the wrong Julian Savea, such was the All Black winger’s lack of impact.

Regardless, Kolisi returned to his usual high standards for the Springboks and played against New Zealand in Cape Town on Saturday after suffering a broken nose the week before.

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