Savea's wife hits back at abusive fans after Toulon axing
The wife of humiliated ex-All Black Julian Savea has slammed Toulon fans on social media after the winger was told he was not welcome by the club's owner following the club's 10th loss of the season.
Despite having a year left on his contract, French publication RMC Sport reported the New Zealand star's latest performance for the team forced the owner's hand.
Following the match, fans on social media leveled abuse at Savea with some horrific comments which provoked a response from Savea's wife Fatima.
Savea with his wife Fatima. Instagram
“Take a minute to think about how your words can affect someone’s life and their mental health,” she tweeted.
“And people wonder why mental health in rugby had become a big problem. Take a minute to be considerate of people’s feelings instead of bashing them behind a keyboard or phone screen.
“With rugby you are only as good as your team is. It’s not an individual sport, it’s a team sport and sometimes you can be let down by your team.
“But that shouldn’t give anyone the right to ridicule a player and their livelihood because no one knows what these players go through on a daily basis and the struggles they face.”
Savea"not welcome". AAP
Savea's wife is no stranger to defending her husband, with rugby star's significant other forced stand up for him earlier during his stint in France.
In December, the club’s fans took aim at the Kiwi for attending his brother's wedding in Fiji.
“Before Julian signed his contract he asked for time off in December to attend his ONLY brother’s wedding,” Fatima tweeted.
“So this was agreed upon by both the club and Julian or else Julian would not have come to Toulon in September and instead in January.”
Savea was told he was free to go and not welcome at Toulon anymore after his performance in a 19-10 defeat by Agen.
"I'm going to ask for a DNA test. They must have swapped him on the plane (when he joined from Hurricanes). If I were him I would apologise and go back to my home country," Mourad Boudjellal told French radio RMC on Sunday.
"I've told him that he was free to go and wasn't welcome at Toulon anymore."
Julian Savea has been sacked by Toulon. PA/AAP
Savea, the 2015 World Cup winner, joined last year from Super Rugby side Hurricanes.
Toulon have been struggling this season as they lie 11th in the standings.
