Yarde was ordered to quit Harlequins
MARLAND YARDE was told to leave Harlequins before his negative influence became toxic, it can be revealed. The England wing has said his goodbyes at Quins and could join Sale as early as today. ‘Yarde was told he needs to get out before it becomes a bit poisonous,’ said a source. ‘His head is obviously not in the right place here.’ Yarde has missed three training sessions this season, offering unsatisfactory excuses each time. The first came before the squad were due to travel to Germany for a pre-season trip. Yarde claimed he had slept through his alarm after taking sleeping pills. The 25-year-old then did not turn up for a routine midweek session, was uncontactable on the day and later offered no reasonable excuse. The final straw for director of rugby John Kingston was when Yarde missed the captain’s run on the Saturday before facing Wasps in the Champions Cup, which Quins lost 41-10. Yarde claimed there was an illness in his family, but gave no warning of his absence and did not answer his phone when the club were trying to locate him. He was dropped as a result and has not played since. Last week Kingston had enough and informed him he should find another club. Yarde signed a three-year contract worth £250,000 a year from London Irish in 2014 and extended the deal in 2015. His contract was set to expire at the end of this season and was unlikely to be renewed, so there is not expected to be a transfer fee involved. Yarde’s representatives declined to comment. BATH wing Semesa Rokoduguni has replaced the injured Elliot Daly in the England squad for the autumn internationals.