Toulon boss hits out again

Unrepentant Toulon rugby boss Mourad Boudjellal has fired another salvo at his struggling All Blacks star Julian Savea, saying the big wing faces a ‘‘very long’’ final year of his contract.

Boudjella caused an outcry in the game when he questioned Savea’s form after Toulon’s latest loss last weekend, saying Savea wasn’t the player he had signed and that he didn’t want him at the club any longer.

Yesterday, Boudjellal told Le Parisien that he didn’t regret his comments.

‘‘On the contrary. I find his behaviour unacceptable. I went through the quarterfinals of the 2015 France-new Zealand World Cup and I always wonder if it’s the same player, the same man,’’ Boudjellal said.

Savea scored a hat-trick that day in Cardiff as the All Blacks belted France 62-13.

Boudjellal admitted Savea was ‘‘very nice, polite’’ but his form has left him frustrated as Toulon exited the European Cup and lie 11th in the French Top 14. Savea is in the first season of a two-year deal and has pledged to carry on and work his way through this form slump.

‘‘He has a little more than a year of contract, it will be very long for him,’’ Boudjellal warned.

Boudjellal said Savea was ‘‘paid dearly’’, revealing an annual salary in excess of $1.65m, and that he had been ‘‘very demanding’’ during his time with Toulon this season.

Savea’s team-mates and other international players have rallied around him since Boudjellal’s outburst.