Ex-All Black Guildford heading to France

Former All Blacks winger Zac Guildford has signed a three-year contract with French club Clermont Auvergne.

Former All Blacks winger Zac Guildford has signed a two-year deal with an option for a third with Top 14 leaders Clermont, the French club confirmed on Thursday.

Guildford, who is in his prime at 24 but has struggled with alcohol problems, will move to France after this year's Super Rugby season.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for us to enrich our team with a player of such talent and versatility," Clermont backs coach Franck Azema said.

"Like all the All Blacks we have in our ranks, we believe that he will bring us a bit of his culture, his feel for the movement of the game, which we want to continue to develop.

"Everyone knows his ability, technique, speed or the explosiveness that he can bring to the attacking line and we're really happy to offer him a new challenge and a first experience in France."

Guildford becomes Clermont's fifth recruit for next season after forward Sebastien Vahaamahina, centre Jonathan Davies, Australian hooker John Ulugia and No.8 Fritz Lee.

New Zealand has a policy of not selecting foreign-based players for the All Blacks, meaning the switch could effectively end Guildford's international career.

He played the last of his 10 Tests for New Zealand in mid-2012.

Guildford's alcohol problems first emerged publicly when he was reprimanded by All Blacks' management during their 2011 World Cup campaign.

Just weeks later, after New Zealand had won the tournament, he had a meltdown while holidaying in the Cook Islands, running naked into a bar and punching two men.

Then in January last year he allegedly became involved in a brawl at a party in Christchurch, prompting him temporarily to withdraw from rugby and seek help.

In March the New Zealand Rugby Union cleared him to return to his Super 15 club the Canterbury Crusaders and the New Zealand national team, although he failed to break back into the All Blacks.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world