In a statement on Monday, RC Toulon announced the departure of its world champion winger, a year before the end of the South African's contract. "Rugby Club Toulonnais and Cheslin Kolbe have decided by mutual agreement to release each other from their commitments at the end of the 2022-2023 season. This allows Cheslin Kolbe to commit to a new project as early as the 2023-2024 season," the RCT said in the statement.
The @RCTofficiel and @CheslinKolbe have mutually agreed to release each other from their commitments at the end of the 22-23 season The RCT & Cheslin Kolbe have mutually agreed to release each other from their commitments at the end of the 22-23
🇿🇦🤝. 🇫🇷
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— RCT - RC Toulon (@RCTofficiel) May 29, 2023
Kolbe, 29 years old, 24 caps, who "should announce his future destination soon" says the Var club, had repeated recently that he intended to go until the end of his contract with the RCT, where he had arrived in the autumn of 2021 from Toulouse.
"I would have liked to stay at Toulon but the financial constraints of the clubs and injuries made things difficult," said the South African, quoted in the statement. At the end of March, the pocket winger, 1.72m, 80kg, who scored 6 tries in 18 matches with Toulon this season, had suffered a sprained ankle, which had kept him away from the field for four weeks.
He was able to return in time to play in the Challenge Cup semi-final against Treviso, before being part of the starting XV that won the competition on May 19 in Dublin against Glasgow (43-19). At the end of the match, the South African had seemed very moved, as he was also Sunday evening, on the 26th and last day of the Top 14, for the victory of Toulon against Bordeaux-Bègles (35-19) at the Mayol stadium.
While he was not scheduled to participate in the post-match celebrations paying tribute to the departing Toulon players, he waited in the corridor of the stadium with his wife before entering the field with her, splitting the guard of honour, at the moment when New Zealand fly-half Ihaia West was announced by the speaker.
A kind of farewell in secret that surprised the Toulon supporters and stirred even more rumors of departure.
In an interview with AFP last February, he said he was frustrated by his first season on the Rade, due to too many injuries, before strongly affirming his desire to honor the rest of his contract with the Var club.
"I'm still here, under contract until 2024 and I'm not going to Japan. Nor anywhere else. I'm staying here. I am attached to this club, I like to play rugby here and I still have a lot to give to this shirt," he said.
